Voices from the Middle, Vol. 9, No. 1, September 2001

Table of Contents

Issue Theme: Creating Writers

• Writing Giants, Columbine, and the Queen of Route 16

  Penny Kittle

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  Abstract: "I was a writing teacher who didn't write," confesses Kittle, as she reflects on her evolvement from writing teacher to a teacher who writes. Tragedy inspired her to write, and writing mentors gave her the courage to share her writing with her class. The end of the story is just a beginning: by becoming a writer, by experiencing the process with her students, her teaching was renewed.

  Keywords: Middle, Writing, Professional Development

• Out of the Box

  Lawrence Baines

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  Abstract: Baines describes a multimedia project utilizing visual and auditory prompts to help remedial students edit their scripted poetry projects. The project, Baines says, was "out of the box" of traditional process writing, which has a two dimensional framework that presupposes prior topical knowledge and mastery of syntax and vocabulary. By adding a third dimension - images, music, and other non-linguistic stimuli, which are more concrete and familiar - his students made significant advances in expression and were more enthusiastic about writing.

  Keywords: Middle, Secondary

• Cultivating the Questions in the Minds of Young Writers

  Jim Fredricksen

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  Abstract: Adolescence is a time of great change, and, because of those changes, introspection is difficult during this time. It is also difficult for students to manipulate and internalize their own process of writing. Fredricksen discusses some of the strategies he uses to help students learn to ask the right questions about their writings. By offering a wide range of writing experiences and by creating a safe, casual environment in which to develop students' relationships to the world, he helps students discover how, when, and which questions to ask as they write.

• The Eliot Conference: An analysis of a Peer Response Group

  Jenny Denyer and Debra LaFleur

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  Abstract: Peer response is one of the most challenging tasks we ask students to tackle, and we wonder, "are they really on task?" Denyer and LaFleur investigate this by looking closely at one peer revision group, seemingly off track, and find that students do engage in complicated tasks as they struggle to justify their decisions as authors to their peers and offer feedback to challenge those decisions. They advise that teachers should continue to create situations for students to meet with their peers to talk about their writing, guiding them to thinking about how they integrate that feedback into their text.

• A Framework for Choosing Topics for, with, and by Adolescent Writers

  Kelly Chandler-Olcott and Donna Mahar

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  Abstract: Successful teachers of writing have found ways to support and extend self-selection of writing topics. Educators Kelly Chandler-Olcott and Donna Mahar share a framework they developed and an example of its use with a set of women's history month assignments.

  Keywords: Middle, Pedagogy, Research, Technology, Writing

• Activities for Writing Instruction

  Sharon Abbey

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  Abstract: Sharon Abbey offers a series of writing activities, including several for poetry.

  Keywords: Middle, Literature, Pedagogy, Writing, Professional Development

• Responding to Student Writing: Keep Pedaling!

  Carol Jago

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  Abstract: Jago advocates for a health balance of criticism and encouragement when responding to student writing. It's like learning to ride a bicycle, she tells them, there are so many things to do at once that at first it seems impossible that you will ever get it right. Her article includes usable advice on writing from popular authors and noted scholars, which can be shared with students.

  Keywords: Middle, Assessment, Pedagogy, Writing

• EDITOR'S MESSAGE: Creating Writers

  Kylene Beers

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Middle

• A HAND UP: The ME Factor

  Chris Crutcher, editor

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Middle

• ONE LAST THOUGHT: Inquiring Minds Want to Know!

  Jeff Wilhelm, editor

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Middle

• TECH CONNECT: Computers and Writing: Feeling the Power

  Nancy Patterson, editor

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Middle

• PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEWS: Power Reads for Powerful Writing

  Leigh Van Horn, editor

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Middle

• BOOK TALK: Timing: The Right Book at the Right Moment

  Teri S. Lesesne, editor

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  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: Middle

• FROM STUDENT TO STUDENT: Reading and Writing: Two Sides of a Coin

  Kim Ford, editor

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  Abstract: Student reviewed books.

  Keywords: Middle

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