About This Course

In this teacher-training course, you'll learn from an experienced educator how to motivate and assist developing writers. We'll begin with an overview of the writing basics, focusing on the importance of the task, audience, and purpose. Then we'll delve into how to organize your materials to create an inviting writing environment.

We'll discuss each step of teaching writing and the strategies you can use with your students. You'll also work on strengthening your students' writing using technology. Along the way, you'll develop engaging lessons for literary response, narrative writing, expository writing, and persuasive writing. We'll look at the characteristics of each type of writing, and you'll get practical suggestions for teaching them to your class.

Two writing approaches we'll cover, 6+1 Trait Writing and Writer's Workshop, will enable you to put everything you learn in this course into a workable format. You'll also discover the secrets of effective writing assessment as you learn about evaluation tools like portfolios and rubrics.

About The Instructor

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Melanie Park. For the last 15 years, Melanie Park has shared her passion for writing with students in preschool through middle school. Her classroom teaching experience includes serving as the language arts teacher for her school district's gifted program. Melanie graduated with Highest Distinction from Indiana University where she earned a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in language education. This prepared her to work with fellow teachers as a reading and writing consultant. Melanie is excited to share her love of literacy with more educators through online courses.