Crafting Creative Nonfiction: From Close Reading to Close Writing

• Published in: The Reading teacher Vol. 70; no. 1; pp. 49 - 58
• Main Author: Dollins, Cynthia A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Newark Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.07.2016; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc; Wiley-Blackwell
• Subjects: 2-Childhood; Animals; Childrens Writing; Creative nonfiction; Creative Writing; Creativity; Editing; Elementary education; etc.; Genre studies; Genres; Grade 3; Information; Informational text; Instructional models; Instructional strategies; Literary elements; Literature-based instruction; Mentoring; Narratives; Nonfiction; Process Approach (Writing); Reading Comprehension; Reading teachers; Specific subject areas (math; Specific subject areas (math, art, etc.); Students; Style; Teaching Methods; teaching strategies; text features; text structure; Text types; Writer's workshop; Writing; Writing across the curriculum; Writing Improvement; Writing instruction; Writing process; Writing processes; Writing strategies; Written narratives
• ISSN: 0034-0561; 1936-2714
• DOI: 10.1002/trtr.1465

A process writing project in a third‐grade classroom explored the idea of using nonfiction mentor texts to assist students in writing their own creative informational texts about animals. By looking at author craft and structure during close reading activities with nonfiction Twin Texts, students were taught how to emulate these techniques in their own writing. A process for implementation of the project is presented here. The project included mini‐lessons on various aspects of writing improvement such as crafting strong leads, using specific revision strategies, and exploring narrative elements in some informational texts. The results suggest that students were able to replicate writing style strategies found in mentor texts. Final writing drafts displayed how students included important facts in their informational writing and presented these facts in an engaging and powerful way.