In This Issue | Writing | Northwest Education

A small-town newspaper in a San Francisco suburb gave me my first break as a writer. I was 15 and a bit on the nerdy side—the only girl in an advanced math class, an aspiring student journalist, and a jock at a time when girls were expected to "glow, not sweat." At the end of a winning tennis season, our coach pointed out that, while our all-girl team had gone undefeated, we had yet to receive any ink in the local newspaper. Meanwhile, the boy's football team dominated the headlines, loss after loss. Her words inspired me to knock on the editor's door and ask for more balanced coverage. His response: Why don't you cover girls' sports for us? He even offered to pay me—25 cents per column inch. Waving the thick black pencil used for editing back in those days before desktop publishing, he cautioned against padding for the sake of extra bucks. In a few curt sentences, he laid out his rules to live by: Write tight. Meet your deadlines. And never spell a name wrong. I've heard plenty of other advice about writing since then, but those early lessons still ring true.

Lasting lessons about writing are the focus of this issue of Northwest Education. We've approached the subject from a variety of perspectives, drawing insights from researchers, classroom teachers, and professional authors. You'll find examples of student writing woven throughout this issue, too.

A section called "Ideas Worth Borrowing" gathers great classroom ideas, ranging from whimsical projects that use storybook characters and fairy tales to inspire young writers to ambitious publishing projects that use writing to connect students with the world beyond the classroom. In "Keepin' It Real," a remarkable teacher named Erin Gruwell shares her experience of coaching a group of students who call themselves the Freedom Writers. They've harnessed words instead of weapons to make a difference in the world. In an article called "What They Remember," professional writers reminisce about their own classroom writing experiences—for better or worse.

This issue also includes a special section about the 6+1 Trait™ Writing Assessment and Instruction Model. Developed by Northwest teachers to provide students with useful feedback about key aspects of their writing, the model has spread to every state and many other countries. The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory has developed a variety of tools and publications to help teachers use the traits to promote better student writing. We highlight some new products along with some old favorites.

What gets your students excited about writing? As always, we invite you to share your ideas and feedback with other readers of Northwest Education.

—Suzie Boss