Writing Clubs

“One clarion call of the pandemic is that we need to humanize our classrooms. In Writing Clubs, Patty and Lisa offer us a roadmap for how to reimagine writing workshop where children know and value each other as people and writers. They’ve anticipated all of our questions, and every chapter is chock full of answers in the form of easy-to-use calendars, unit plans, schedules, mentor texts, and teacher talk. If you're looking for the future of writing workshop, it's right here.” —Katie Cunningham, author of Start with Joy and Story.

“Too often when educators think about what their students need to flourish as writers, collaboration is not always at the forefront of our minds. Well, no more! Lisa and Patty demonstrate the myriad of ways collaboration is essential—not in the 'ask students to give feedback around checklist items' approach that is prevalent in classrooms, but as the heartbeat of students' writing lives. Writing Clubs is the book you didn't know you needed, but absolutely do. Lisa and Patty position the kind of collaboration that lives in writing clubs is vital; it is the pulse that propels writers forward and creates transformative writing experiences.” —Sonja Cherry Paul, educator, author, and co-founder #IREL, and Dana Johansen, middle school educator and author.

“This book is written for teachers who wish to infuse new life into their writing workshop by implementing writing clubs that honor student choice and deepen classroom writing communities. Patty and Lisa have created a roadmap to help teachers implement complement and stand-alone writing clubs that will not only help students grow as writers, but will also help them learn how to collaborate. These are two life skills that will serve them well for the rest of their lives.” —Stacey Shubitz, author of Welcome to Writing Workshop: Engaging Today's Students with a Model That Works