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Nonfiction Writing Power

Nonfiction Writing Power

Adrienne Gear. Pembroke Publishers, 2014. 184 pages, $24.95
♥♥♥♥♥
Reviewed by Jessica Crowley

Nonfiction Writing Power aims to help students and teachers improve their writing. Designed to help teachers develop their classroom writing programs, this resource provides step-by-step instructions to empower students to write with intent and purpose.

Nonfiction Writing Power focuses on different ways to write with impact. Each section describes the various types of writing (power to describe, instruct, persuade, compare, explain and report). The author has included anchor books for primary and intermediate levels and provides details about different types of writing and language features. In the technique section, the reader begins to see how to make their writing more specific. Included are useful curriculum integrations with Science and Social Studies and a rubric to help teachers assess student work.

This book provides engaging hands-on lessons, starting with a teacher model and extending to an interactive whole-class writing assignment where students begin together and complete their work independently. Each chapter gives samples of student work and meaningful examples of different techniques. Each chapter includes templates that educators can photocopy and distribute in their classrooms. These make the activities more doable in the classroom.

Nonfiction Writing Power provides educators with interesting activities to make writing more powerful. The included lessons can be customized to best fit the needs of your classroom. In the words of the author, “Writing is powerful, and if done well, can influence people to create change.”

Jessica Crowley is a member of Grand Erie Elementary Teacher Local.