Write Like This by Kelly Gallagher

Fortunately for me, I am in a profession where I have the opportunity to be presented with materials that are truely inspirational. As teachers, we are always craving new information and strategies in order to use to become better educators. Granted, some of the information that we have access to or that is recommended to us isn't doesn't always "light our fire," but much of the time, we can find some useful information to take back to our classrooms with us.

The most recient book that I decided to read was one that I bought at a Professional Development training that I participated in last year. I had heard Kelly Gallagher's name mentioned numerous times, and since one of my goals as a teacher this year is teaching purposeful writing, I figured I had to read his book since its focus was, infact, writing.

As I told my collegue (and awesome mentor!), Mrs. O'Dell, this book has now become "My Bible". Gallagher writes with such passion for teaching that I often found myself smiling and nodding and doggy-earing pages like a crazy person. So many of his ideas support the goals that I have for this year that I have begun experimenting with some of his strategies in my classroom only days after finishing the book. Like any strategies that teachers try out, we have to change and adapt them for our students' needs, our classroom community, our curriculum, and our own teaching styles. Luckily, Gallagher's ideas can be implemented easily into our classrooms based on these aspects of teaching. One of the ideas that Gallagher presents is six types of "Real-World Writing Purposes". These purposes are Express and Reflect, Inform and Explain, Evaluate and Judge, Inquire and Explore, Analyze and Interpret, and Take a Stand/Propose a Solution. I presented these different purposes to my students so that when I ask them to write on a certain topic (or when they choose their own topic), they have six different ways to write about it. This allows them to learn a variety of structures and purposes for writing that support our Common Core Standards, while at the same time having some choice about how and what they write.

As a new teacher, I often feel that I have to have a mastry of strategies before trying something new in my classes, but I was so inspired by Gallgher's writing that I had to start right away. This was an important lesson for me to learn and accept: teachers are continually learning along side their students, so it's okay to try new things and experiment together with my students. (Also, I need to be less of a control freak, which is something I have been working on the last three years...)

All in all, I think any teacher who is interested in teaching any type of writing should read this book. It is truely amazing!