Brighten Up Boring Beginnings and Other Quick Writing Lessons (Grades 4 and up)

This is a rather dry book but is packed with information and ideas. As a writing teacher for lower elementary grades, I found I used the ideas but made modifications to the lesson suggestions. This would be a good resource book.

I have used this for tutoring as well as within my classroom. It is an excellent resource to utilize to aid in writing instruction. Students are motivated to write and assisted in formulating their writing. Good discussion of transitions and process.

As a 4th grade teacher, I've been looking for a book with exercises that will help my students with their writing - something with short, easy to digest information, and something that will allow them to write just a paragraph (as opposed to 1-2 pages). I think this book looks to be the ticket. I've not used it yet, but the components are all there. There are 18 lessons, each containing tips for the teacher, 2 paragraph rewrite challenges, and a "before" and "after" example, which I really like. The "before" shows what students typically write before employing the recommendations of the tips, and the "after" example shows how the example could be written when using the tips. Some of the lessons include: repairing run-on sentences, giving specific information, beginning with unusual facts, and using active verbs.