The inventor of the School Library Writing Center makes it easy for librarians and teachers of kindergarten through sixth grade learners to provide highly effective writing instruction.

Students in the early years of their development have a tremendous capacity for learning. By focusing on providing authentic writing experiences for kindergarten through sixth grade students, librarians and teachers can help transform students into competent writers well before they reach middle school. Written by the inventor of the School Library Writing Center, this book is the only one of its kind. It gives you clear and easy-to-read instructions on how to create and structure engaging and productive lessons in writing as well as reproducible worksheets that are ready to implement in your library or classroom. Each worksheet relates directly to writing lessons discussed in the book and serves to guide students (and their teachers) as they explore the exciting world of writing.

Readers will learn why and how they can create and maintain a School Library Writing Center. The book moves sequentially through the grade levels, starting with kindergarten and concluding at grade six, with each chapter focusing on a specific grade level. The author explains best practices with regards to tutoring writing in each grade; discusses the developmental levels and skills expected in a particular grade with regards to writing and reading; addresses grade-specific Common Core learning standards; discusses grade-appropriate online resources and technology-enabled activities that will help students become better writers; and identifies practical tutoring methods that will help students develop as writers.

Presents practical, actionable guidance for creating and maintaining a School Library Writing Center in a school library setting

Provides a clear explication of Common Core Writing Standards as they pertain to kindergarten through grade six

Explains how the writing center is more than a physical location and is the site of a process that encourages successful collaboration between the school librarian and the classroom teacher

Underscores how the creation of a School Library Writing Center serves to highlight the educational strengths of the school librarian and the pedagogical necessity of the school library

Includes original reproducible worksheets with each chapter to save readers time and effort in designing their own

Describes the writer’s workshop and tutoring techniques, technological resources and activities that improve student writing, and the creation of a writing portfolio at the end of each grade