Lots of books teach us the reasons why writing matters, yet Colleen adds a new reason to the list: Writing can be a lever that lifts our kids' reading work. And that can happen even when kids are not writing about reading, but are, instead, doing their own important writing work. Once again, Colleen nudges us forward. -- Lucy Calkins
Colleen offers literacy teachers a valuable comprehension instruction 'hack': help students get inside the brains of the writers they read by doing the same kind of writing themselves before they read. She argues convincingly that the more students understand how something was made, the better they'll understand it when they encounter it as readers. She doesn't just offer compelling research to prove it; she offers teachers dozens of paired lessons so that students will read and write information texts with more power. The lessons are streamlined to allow students maximum time for practice and application, and to help the busy teacher go from the page to the classroom quickly and almost effortlessly. I encourage all upper elementary and middle school teachers to give these lesson sets a try!
-- Jennifer Serravallo
Most professional books on teaching nonfiction focus on teaching writing or reading, but not both. In this unique book, Colleen Cruz shows us how to teach complementary writing and reading lessons that will help students use what they're learning about nonfiction writing to help them become more powerful nonfiction readers
. -- Carl Anderson
This book refuels your energy to think about the way you plan and teach reading and writing. Colleen holds strong to the tenets of workshop-choice, voice, and agency-then beautifully blends the lessons and theory with her vast experience in classrooms, new research on writing and reading, and the dance we do with it all now in the digital world. The structure of the book and the lessons are completely accessible for all teachers, the way Colleen believes the learning and craft to be accessible for all students. It's a gamechanger for those looking to augment and reflect on their current workshop model and for those who are going to give it a go. Colleen is with you every step of the way. -- Sara K. Ahmed
