Spring_2012_About_the_Authors

=About the Authors: Writing Workshop with Our Youngest Writers=

__Biography__
Katie Wood Ray is the author of the Heinemann titles Already Ready (2008), Study Driven (2007), About the Authors (2004) and its DVD companion The Teaching Behind ABOUT THE AUTHORS (2005), and What You Know by Heart (2002). A former Associate Professor at Western Carolina University Katie is now a full time writer and researcher of the teaching of writing. With a particular focus on the study of writing craft, she leads teacher workshops and summer institutes across the nation related to the teaching of writing. Her professional background includes both elementary and middle school teaching experience and two years as a staff developer at The Reading and Writing Project, Teachers College, Columbia University. She was also the coeditor of the journal Primary Voices K - 6, a publication of the National Council of Teachers of English. Katie is also the author or coauthor of Spelling in Use: Looking Closely at Spelling in the Whole Language Classrooms (1996, NCTE), Wondrous Words: Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom (1999, NCTE), and The Writing Workshop: Working Through the Hard Parts (And They're All Hard Parts) (2001, NCTE). A frequent speaker at conferences and summer institutes around the country, Katie also has extensive experience teaching teachers in workshop and demonstration settings. Source: http://www.amazon.com/Katie-Wood-Ray/e/B001IGNT6M

__Other Books__

 * [|Wondrous Words: Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom]
 * [|In Pictures and In Words: Teaching the Qualities of Good Writing Through Illustration Study]
 * [|The Writing Workshop: Working Through the Hard Parts (And They're All Hard Parts)]
 * [|Study Driven: A Framework for Planning Units of Study in the Writing Workshop]
 * [|Already Ready: Nurturing Writers in Preschool and Kindergarten]
 * [|What You Know by Heart: How to Develop Curriculum for Your Writing Workshop]
 * [|Spelling in Use: Looking Closely at Spelling in Whole Language Classrooms >>]

__Book Summary__
Renowned author, researcher, and educator, Katie Wood Ray shares her knowledge about working with the youngest authors, who are in kindergarten through second grade. Understanding what is developmentally appropriate for children of this age level, Ray believes that writing should be about “making stuff.” She emphasizes that children naturally like to explore ideas and create things. This can be applied to making something that they are already have familiarity with- picture books. Wood emphasizes getting the children excited about writing by offering a variety of supplies to help them create their books. The launching of the writers’ workshop and the establishment of procedures are stressed as well. She also talks about the use of mentor texts to inspire young writers, and writing assessments at this age level. In addition, Ray covers topics such as conferring (including peer conferences), sharing, and teaching about genres. The text includes many examples of students’ as well.