Teaching Idea Development: A Standards-Based Critical-Thinking Approach to Writing

`The most marvelously practical and engaging approach to come along in decades. It goes beyond the basics to take up very practical techniques that are terribly useful but not covered in most textbooks. All of us want our students to think critically and creatively - this book shows us how to teach them to do just that. A superb text' - David R Russell, Professor of English Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa `A wealth of practical instruction activities to use in the classroom that can help students at all levels learn to flesh out the bare bones of their ideas. The world of effective writing, meant for authentic audiences and purposes, guides every suggestion made in this book' - Jan Isenhour, Executive Director The Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning Lexington, Kentucky `An excellent writing resource for teachers interested in helping students develop critical thinking skills. Loaded with specific objectives, student models, and classroom lessons, this book provides a catalog of useful strategies. New teachers, especially, should find this extremely useful' - Harry Noden, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio The authors believe that in order to meet the communications standards for a 21st Century education, both teachers and students must be able to think more critically and write with ideas fully developed in authentic forms for readers. Idea development is recognized as a concrete skill or strategy that should not be taught in an isolated manner. Teachers are shown the reading-writing-thinking sequences that are needed as they instruct students to internalize the strategies successful writers use when developing ideas. The careful analysis of critical thinking skills and their connection to writing offered in this book will assist teachers of all content areas as they provide effective, integrated instruction for their students.

Table of Contents:
PART ONE: IMPLEMENTING IDEA DEVELOPMENT IN THE CLASSROOM Promoting Effective Writing Identifying and Solving Common Idea Development Problems PART TWO: STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING IDEA DEVELOPMENT Purposeful Detail Description Compare and Contrast Cause and Effect Dialogue Anecdote Vignette Analysis

About the Author :
Sharon Crawford Hatton has been a teacher of writing and English for more than twenty years, with most of the last ten years as a consultant and advisor on writing. A long-time member of the Advisory Board of the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, and a member of Advisory Board of the Bluegrass Writing Project since 1994, Hatton is currently a curriculum and assessment coordinator at the elementary school level. Her strengths include written and oral communications, participatory leadership skills, and the design development, and implementation of assessment-driven curriculum. Pam Leneave Ladd has been active in literacy and writing programs for many years, including work as a P-12 consultant with the esteemed Kentucky Writing Program from 1990 to 1999. Currently a K-6 writing consultant for Cooper-Whiteside Elementary School in Paducah, Kentucky, Ladd is also the owner of Writing Connections, Inc., an educational consulting firm that promotes best practice teaching and curriculum development, especially as it relates to reading and writing integration. Ladd is also an accomplished group leader and presenter of hundreds of professional development workshops and conference sessions since 1986.

Review :
"The most marvelously practical and engaging approach to come along in decades. It goes beyond the basics to take up very practical techniques that are terribly useful but not covered in most textbooks. All of us want our students to think critically and creatively – this book shows us how to teach them to do just that. A superb text."  "A wealth of practical instruction activities to use in the classroom that can help students at all levels learn to flesh out the bare bones of their ideas. The world of effective writing, meant for authentic audiences and purposes, guides every suggestion made in this book."  "An excellent writing resource for teachers interested in helping students develop critical thinking skills. Loaded with specific objectives, student models, and classroom lessons, this book provides a catalog of useful strategies. New teachers, especially, should find this extremely useful."