Feedback That Moves Writers Forward: How to Escape Correcting Mode to Transform Student Writing (Corwin Literacy)

Another book i am reading for my MFA. It has lots of useful activities on using positive feedback. I will just put the rough draft of my annotated bib entry as my review.Patty McGee hits the teacher right off the bat with the removal the dreaded red pen from the writing process. The red pen represents more than the physical marks on a page but all the negative so many beginning writers feel they receive from instructors. Patty continues to instill more effective and useful ways to give new writers proper feedback on their papers. She also insists on giving timely and specific feedback geared toward the individual author. One way she stresses the authentic writing experiences is that the author themselves is included in every step of the process with stated goals the author is trying to achieve. The book is full of testimonials where students have said one of the best parts of working under Patty’s program was, they got to select the topic that they wanted to write on. She achieves this through students exploring what kind of writer they think they are by listing their strengths and areas they find challenging. She also has them answer many other questions, such as do they right outside of school, and what compels them to write? She grafts an entire list that students should use to self-examine before they get started. Once the student understands their writing identity, Patty encourages students to take risks. Knowing that the kind of feedback they get will help guide them positively students tend to take on more challenging writing projects. Patty provides chart after chart allowing the instructor to use and create a complete individual feedback plan for each student based on the goals of the individual author allowing students to take ownership of their work and their feedback process. This creates stronger authors who feel better about themselves and will continue to work forward on their writing. As part of her final session with these young authors she asked them to state their favorite mistake, which again encourages growth and shows that errors they make can be used to learn from and make them stronger writer.

The media could not be loaded.  This book brings renewed hope to students everywhere struggling to improve their writing. The author explains practical ways of moving beyond the red-ink-bloodbath style of writing instruction. I've seen the results of that style of instruction in my public library job -- and the affront to human dignity ensures that students dislike writing even more after receiving instruction than before they received instruction. There has got to be a better way -- and this book points towards that better way. My one hope is that the message of this book travels to the corners of the world where traditional writing instruction continues bashing students over the head. Maybe there's a role for you in helping to transport this message of hope. Do your part, won't you? Someone you have never met will be immensely grateful.

My goodness! After reading this book, I want to MEET and just spend time following Patty McGee around. I wish I grew up getting writing feedback like this- I can only imagine the difference it would have had on my writing identity and confidence. This book reads like a conversation with a mentor. Patty provides information, insights, and ideas in a clear and accessible way. She follows up by including language, students work, and charts to make us, as teachers, see how this will look and play out in our classrooms. The combination of research-backed insights, personal stories, and practical classroom resources make this a tremendously useful and needed addition to every teacher's bookshelf- whether or not they teach writing!

I HIGHLY recommend this book. I have been teaching for 23 years and have had more than my fair share if struggles teaching kids how to write. This book explains how to help young writers hone their skills in positive terms. It offers a very refreshing perspective. I haven't found anything else like it. The suggestions offered can be applied to all age groups and are realistic and "do-able" for any teacher.

It's great to have a writing resource actually written by an educator. I can't wait to try some of her strategies with my students in September. The supplemental resources Patty offers online to support instruction are an added bonus. Hopefully she'll follow this book with a primary version!

I love the language-- it is conversational, effective, and precise. I am looking forward to using some of Patty's techniques with my students to get the most out of their writing voices.

The back cover of the book indicates that this book is for grades 3-8. Unfortunately this is not indicated or shown anywhere else so high school teachers beware. This book is not designed for and is not helpful to high school teachers hoping to find new strategies for their students.

The book is fine, but I wish I would have purchased the physical book instead of the Kindle version.

Great resource!