Another Review at MyShelf.Com

The Write Start
A Guide to Nurturing Writing at Every Stage, from Scribbling to Forming Letters and Writing Stories
Jennifer Hallissy

Roost Books - books says Trumpter
December 2010 /ISBN: 9781590308370
Nonfiction/Writing
Amazon

Reviewed by Willie Elliott

Jennifer Hallissy's pun of a title The Write Start is indeed a valuable edition to anyone who is involved with the instruction of children on writing.

Much of the book is devoted to the very physical basics of writing: size of pencil, how to hold the pencil, and even choice of writing implements. This info is valuable for parents and teachers of the very young.

To make the assignments easier to assign, the author has a graduating scale for each assignment (both the early physical activities and the actual writing prompts activities. The different levels are scribblers, spellers, storytellers, and scholars.

One of the strong points of the fifty-two wilting prompts is the large diversity of writing. Too many times students are limited to short stories, poems, essays and memoirs. These are included but so are many, many more. "All the News" gives students a chance to make a news story out of events in their lives. "Signs" allow children to make their own signs about projects they are involved in. A clever sample appeared in "Autograph Book."

2 Good
2 Be
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4 Got Ten

This is the book I needed back when my students spent the first part of the period writing in their journals to prompts. This book certainly should be on the desk of teachers of writing.

Reviewed 2012
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