Nonfiction Writing Power

Nonfiction writing is writing for the real world. It is an essential skill required not only during students’ school lives but also in their lives outside of school – going far beyond the traditional descriptive reports about animals to include the tweets, texts and blogs they compose. The majority of our daily reading and writing experience is made up of nonfiction, and students are writing in this form long before they are taught how to do it in the classroom.

The writer’s intent is the underlying foundation of Nonfiction Writing Power. Building on Adrienne Gear’s Reading Power books and Writing Power, this valuable addition to her highly successful series addresses the close link between reader and writer. This remarkable book shows teachers how to help student recognise that they write to connect and engage with their reader. It argues that writing nonfiction well means considering the writer’s intent and understanding the structure, language and purpose of the various nonfiction genres.

Nonfiction Writing Power is designed to help teachers develop a writing program that focuses on the different forms of nonfiction. This practical book helps teachers work with students to explore:

• the Power to Describe
• the Power to Instruct
• the Power to Compare
• the Power to Persuade
• the Power to Explain
• the Power to Report

Ideal support for teaching writing in the content areas, the book includes ways that a particular form can link to science, humanities and social sciences, and other subject areas.

This comprehensive resource comes complete with scripted sequential lessons, samples of student work, blackline masters, assessment rubrics and lists of suggested anchor books.