"While we have all heard of ′writing across the curriculum areas,′ Walling gives us an understanding of what this really means and provides examples that any teacher can modify to expand lessons to a more meaningful level, thus enhancing both writing and critical thinking skills in students."
―Mark S. Strauss, Principal
Virginia Schuman Young Montessori Magnet Elementary School, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
"Walling demonstrates through student writing samples and classroom dialogues how all content teachers can use various writing modes to enrich students′ content knowledge to the level of innovation and greater clarity."
―Carol Conway-Gerhardt, President
Catholic Schools Education Alliance of the Bay Area, Inc.
Develop effective writing assignments to boost student achievement in the content areas!
You don′t have to be a writing instructor or English teacher to use writing in the classroom. Writing for Understanding focuses on using writing as an essential instructional tool to deepen and expand student understanding in the content areas. Written specifically for non–language arts teachers, this book debunks myths about using writing in the classroom and offers practical approaches for the upper elementary grades through high school.
Writing activates higher-level thinking skills and engages students in concepts and content. Through sample writing prompts and classroom dialogues, Donovan R. Walling shows you how to create writing lessons that:
- Guide students in using narrative, descriptive, expository, persuasive, and argumentative writing
- Are adaptable to various subjects and disciplines
- Require students to process content using critical thinking skills
This valuable resource helps teachers in any subject incorporate writing as a tool of effective instruction.
Donovan R. Walling is a writer, editor, educator, and consultant. He serves as a senior consultant for the Center for Civic Education. He has taught art, English, and journalism in the United States and abroad and has worked as a curriculum administrator in public school districts in Wisconsin and Indiana. From 1993 until 2006 he was director of publications for the education association Phi Delta Kappa International.
Walling is the author or editor of more than a dozen professional books for educators and numerous articles and other publications. He is nationally recognized in the field of art education, where some of his publications include Under Construction: The Role of the Arts and Humanities in Postmodern Schooling (Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, 1997); the Corwin Press books, Rethinking How Art Is Taught: A Critical Convergence (2000) and Visual Knowing: Connecting Art and Ideas Across the Curriculum (2005); the core chapter on visual and performing arts for the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development’s Curriculum Handbook (2002), and the “Art in the Schools” entry for Macmillan’s Encyclopedia of Education (2003).
Walling’s recent books include Public Education, Democracy, and the Common Good (Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, 2004) and Teaching Writing to Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Learners (Corwin Press, 2006).
