Edpuzzle Book Club: A Review of Make Writing by Angela Stockman

We’ve been talking about makerspaces in education for nearly 20 years (where does the time go, right?).

But what about making as applied to the writing workshop?

That’s why we couldn’t wait to read Make Writing: 5 Teaching Strategies That Turn Writer's Workshop Into a Maker Space by Angela Stockman.

Her innovative approach to student writing makes this a must-read!

Who Should Read Make Writing

Whether you’re an elementary school teacher, a middle or high school English teacher, or a parent of a child who struggles with writing, this book appeals to a wide audience.

You’ll love Make Writing if you want to:

• Engage writers who appear resistant
• Inject creativity into your writing instruction
• Bring joy and creativity into the classroom using research-based techniques
• Find a a blueprint of what writing instruction can look like

Who is author Angela Stockman?

Angela is an experienced English teacher who’s taught elementary school through college. She’s also served as a consultant designing and leading professional development initiatives for teachers across New York State and is the founder of Make Writing Studios: a community of writers and teachers of writing.

Perhaps most importantly, she’s a writer and a storyteller, which makes Make Writing a great read.

What is Make Writing about?

So what can you expect from Angela’s book?

You’ll find out how to incorporate makerspaces and writing workshop techniques into one instructional model to create multimodal composition.

You’ll also learn how to support students that need to “move, build, mix, tinker, blend, sculpt, shoot, smear, and tackle their writing together.”

In the book, there are 5 major hacks that Angela uses:

1. Make Writing: Write Physically and Collaboratively
2. Remake Your Space: Design With Making in Mind
3. Teach Them to Tinker: Play Through the Process
4. Keep it Real: Connect Writers to Authentic Audiences
5. Hack Your Curriculum: Hack Standards, Not Standardization

Want to learn more about the hacks? You’ll have to read the book to find out!

And in the meantime, you can check out this Edpuzzle LIVE workshop with Angela to get a sneak peek:

5 Takeaways From Make Writing

What did we learn from Make Writing? Here are our 5 biggest takeaways:

1. It’s okay for the writing process to be messy.
2. Writing should not be a solitary endeavor. It is a communal process that includes editing, brainstorming, supporting, talking through the process.
3. Doing writing and making writing are very different. Anyone can make writing. Take the pressure off.
4. All writers need some inspiration (commit creative theft!). Liberally incorporate mentor texts. Cut the the text apart and explore what makes the writing effective or powerful.
5. Give students space to create writing that matters!

What will you discover in Make Writing? Let us know (@edpuzzle and @AngelaStockman) on Twitter – we can’t wait to hear your impressions!