Bursting with the energetic voices of young writers and their families, this book follows the development of emergent and beginning writers as they explore the power and joy of written communication. Wollman-Bonilla’s analysis of how two primary grade teachers implement Family Message Journals in their classrooms illustrates that the journals are a workable, realistic, and effective strategy for literacy and content-area learning. Wollman-Bonilla focuses on the journal entries of four representative students and their families; questions widespread assumptions about teaching writing; and identifies teachers' and families' roles in helping elementary students appropriate new genres, topics, and purposes for writing. By the end of the book, readers will understand why these children protested the rare day of class that did not include writing in their Family Message Journals.
144 pp. 2000. Grades K-5. ISBN 0-8141-5245-7.
No. 52457
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