Writing in the Middle is the opportunity of a teaching lifetime: to watch Nancie Atwell at work, side by side with her students as they become skillful, intentional writers. On this staff development DVD, Nancie shows us the methods that have made In the Middle a celebrated classic. You’ll see how she helps students develop topics they care about, provides practical advice that transforms both writing and writer, and creates the conditions that lead her students to finish more than twenty pieces of writing each year and to win recognition for their excellence as writers.

Nancie gives us a guided tour of her classroom, a seat in her writing workshop, and a CD full of before-and-after samples of her students’ work, plus her own reproducible forms. We see how she:

·   organizes herself and her classroom to support and keep track of students’ writing

·   sets clear expectations and ground rules for writing workshop

·   talks with individuals and helps them move their writing forward, toward literature

·   presents accessible minilessons that demonstrate the processes and practices of effective writers

·   inspires every student she teaches to engage, produce, and improve as a writer.

Thirty years in the making, Writing in the Middle highlights the practices that have made Nancie one of America’s most respected and influential educators. It inspires teachers to new heights so that we, like Nancie, can look back in June and say, “My students and I worked this year. The work was real. And I was of use to my kids.”