Putting Everyday Life on the Page

Marc Levitt is a writer/storyteller/consultant who tours throughout the United States and to over thirty-five countries. Levitt has created one-person historical shows, musically enhanced historical and ecological narratives, and award-winning audios, and has produced plays and a documentary film on Narragansett stonemasons.

Preface Acknowledgments About the Author Introduction 1. Beginnings 2. Sequential Thinking 3. Observations, Description, and Colorful Language 4. Finding and Using Characters 5. Finding and Using Place 6. Motivating Your Students 7. Grammatical Conventions: Sentences, Paragraphs, Commas, and Periods 8. Encouraging a Culture of Writing in Your Classroom: Creating a Writer's Studio and Salon 9. Endings Index

"This book has some of the strongest writing prompts and examples I have read in a long time!" -- Brenda Lynch, Spanish Teacher "This book is packed with lessons ready for use." -- Jim D'Acosta, Teacher "This book is written from years of passionate experience in classrooms with students. It offers a multitude of great ideas for lessons." -- Diana W. McDougal, Art Teacher "Young writers often don't grasp what they are being asked to do by their teachers. The author offers many strategies to make abstract writing concepts more concrete." -- Stacy Gardner Dibble, Fifth-Grade Teacher and Reading Coordinator "Inventive and original, Marc Levitt's ideas actually put the fun back in writing-for teachers and for students." -- Susan Ohanian, Senior Fellow "A refreshing break from the rule-obsessed 'how to teach students to write' manuals that litter the educational marketplace. What better way to teach students to write than through their own experiences, their own senses, their own feelings of mystery, wonder, excitement, and dread! Let teachers everywhere use this book to make new Kafkas, Woolfs, and Ellisons, and to awaken in every student a love for making words that just sing off the page!" -- Thomas Armstrong, Author of The Multiple Intelligences of Reading and Writing "With pre-writing and observing activities, targeted lessons, and simple strategies that create a desire to write, Levitt shows us that teaching students to write better is not only possible but fulfilling and fun." -- R. James Stahl, Founder "Lucky for all young writers, Levitt has turned his storytelling talents to talking to teachers in this practical and user-friendly book. Teachers across the curriculum will find Levitt's suggestions innovative and helpful as he describes how to transition students through the writing process. Always student-centered, Levitt invites us to keep children and their interests at the heart of writing." -- Pat Cordeiro, Professor of Elementary Education