Already Ready: Nurturing Writers in Preschool and Kindergarten - Paperback

by Katie Wood Ray (Author), Matt Glover (Author)

From the very first chapter of this informative and inspiring book, a clear picture emerges of how even three- and four-year-olds capacities for serious authorship can and should be supported. Lillian G. Katz Coauthor of Young Investigators: The Project Approach in the Early Years By the time they reach preschool or kindergarten, young children are already writers. They dont have much experience, but theyre filled with stories to tell and ideas to expressthey want to show the world what they know and see. All they need is a nurturing teacher like you to recognize the writer at work within them. All you need to help them is Already Ready. Taking an exciting, new approach to working with our youngest students, Already Ready shows you how, by respecting children as writers, engaged in bookmaking, you can gently nudge them toward a lifetime of joyful writing. Katie Wood Ray and Matt Glover guide you through fundamental concepts of early writing. Providing numerous, helpful examples of early writingcomplete with transcriptionsthey demonstrate how to:

• make sense of childrens writing and interpret how they represent sounds, ideas, and images
• see important developmental signs in writers that you can use to help them grow further
• recognize the thinking young children engage in and discover that its the same thinking more experienced writers use to craft purposeful, thoughtful pieces.

Then Ray and Glover show you how little ones can develop powerful understandings about:

• texts and their characteristics
• the writing process
• what it means to be a writer.

Youll learn how to support your writers quest to make meaning, as they grow their abilities and refine their thinking about writing through teaching strategies such as:

• reading aloud
• working side by side with writers
• sharing childrens writing.

Writing is just one part of a busy early childhood classroom, but even in little doses, a nurturing approach can work wonders and help children connect the natural writer inside them to a life of expressing themselves on paper. Find that approach, share it with your students, and youll discover that you dont have to get students ready to writetheyre Already Ready.

Author Biography

For many years as the author of bestselling Heinemann books such as About the Authors, Study Driven, Already Ready, and In Pictures and In Words, and as a member of Heinemann's Professional Development Services, Katie Wood Ray gave teachers resources and PD that transformed writing instruction and helped children discover a lifelong love of writing. In 2014, Katie "moved to the other side of the desk" and joined the dynamic team of editors at Heinemann where she works closely with authors to craft powerful professional books on a range of literacy topics. Katie is also the series editor for the new Classroom Essentials books from Heinemann. Tasked with bringing foundational, progressive practices to a new generation of teachers, Katie works to ensure that the sharp focus and enhanced design of each book best serve the content. She also teamed up with her longtime collaborator, Lisa Cleaveland, to write one of the first books in the series, A Teacher's Guide to Getting Started with Beginning Writers. You can find her on Twitter at @KatieWoodRay.

Matt Glover has been a teacher, principal, and consultant for over 30 years. He is the author and co-author of many Heinemann titles including I Am Reading, Engaging Young Writers, Projecting Possibilities for Writers, Already Ready, and Watch Katie and Matt..Sit Down and Teach Up, a video- enhanced ebook. Matt was also co-editor with Ellin Oliver Keene of a best-selling collection of essays, The Teacher You Want to Be. An international literacy consultant, Matt frequently speaks on topics related to nurturing writers of all ages, early reading, and supporting children's intellectual development.