num_pages: 128
description: How do children choose the topics they write about? Is their goal of writing to achieve a certain level of literacy, or are they accomplishing something more personal and social? Can a child's writing really be political? How does a child's social and physical environment influence his or her writing?The answers are as different and complex as the children, as Dan Madigan and Vicki Rybicki reveal in this compelling study of third- and fourth-grade writers in an inner-city school. The ten children they portray have discovered that writing is another way to express their lives, explore their ideas, and define the world around them. In many ways, they are like children in any classroom, but there is a difference. These children have space and time and a forum in which to present their writing. This atmosphere of encouragement with an attentive audience of their peers is the support they need and use to grow as articulate, thoughtful writers.You will meet Latoya, a budding writer who finds that talk is not enough to deal with the shock of her cousin's suicide. You will meet Jakeem, introspective and uncertain about his life, whose writing is a way to confront his own fears and nourish his self-esteem; and Dana, a child of rare social awareness, who uses writing as a tool to reveal her political point of view. Allen finds in writing a way to work out his thoughts about the issues of guns and violence in his world. Anika writes to prompt her friends' thinking and writing about the ideas and issues that attract her.All children find ways of expressing their lives whether through the use of drama, music, art, or writing. These children have emerged as writers who interpret their world and communicate themselves as authors to others. Vicki, their teacher, has taken on an advocacy role that encourages and supports their use of literacy. Each child's writing and ideas are unique; their stories, poems, and essays reveal strength and intensity and an articulate understanding of their culture and their own roles in it.
language: English
title: The Writing Lives of Children
titlecomplete: The Writing Lives of Children
publisher: Routledge