The Responsive Writing Teacher, Grades K-5: A Hands-on Guide to Child-Centered, Equitable Instruction

Melanie Meehan · Kelsey Sorum

Feb 2021 · Corwin Press

About this ebook

"This book is an instructive call to action for all of us who need to be reminded of what hope enacted as classroom practice can look like." — Cornelius Minor

Every classroom is shaped by the skills, languages, social and cultural identities, perspectives, and passions of the children within it. When you approach writing instruction with a deep understanding of children in your classroom, everything else—assessment, planning, differentiated instruction, mentor and shared texts—begins to fall into place. And you can teach writing with inclusion, equity, and agency at the forefront.

Authors Melanie Meehan and Kelsey Sorum show you how to adapt curriculum to meet the needs of the whole child. Each chapter offers intentional steps for responsive instruction across four domains: academic, linguistic, cultural, and social-emotional. Features include:

• Inspiration, classroom examples, and scaffolded tips for creating individualized resources
• Customizable information-gathering and planning tools, classroom charts, and writing samples
• Space for making notes and working through ideas
• Links to online content, including printable templates

Just as you adapt instruction to your students, this book adapts to you. The authors designed every guide, tool, and resource to be usable in its original form, or customized as you see fit. This indispensable resource will make responsive instruction actionable—and your students feel valued and heard as they recognize the possibility and power they have as writers.

About the author

Melanie Meehan has been the Elementary Writing and Social Studies Coordinator in Simsbury, Connecticut, since 2012. Within that position, she writes curriculum, works with teachers, and strives to send students off into the world as confident writers who love to express their ideas. Melanie is a co-author of Two Writing Teachers, a blog dedicated to the teaching of writing, as well as a regular contributor to Choice and Lead Literacy. She wrote Every Child Can Write, which was published by Corwin Press in October 2019, and she co-authored The Responsive Writing Teacher with Kelsey Sorum, which was published in 2021. You can reach Melanie on Twitter, @MelanieMeehan1.