Since its publication in 1998 Craft Lessons has become a mainstay of writing teachers, both new and experienced. Readers value the pithy, practical lessons-each printed on one page-and appreciate the instructional language geared to three grade-level groupings: K-2, 3-4, and 5-8.

In the decade since Craft Lessons' publication the world has changed in many ways, yet one thing has remained constant: teachers continue to feel starved for time. With new curriculum mandates, daily specials, "pull-outs," and precious time devoted to test preparation, the situation has never been worse, and the need for a succinct resource like Craft Lessons has never been greater.

The features that made Craft Lessons so valuable have been augmented. This edition includes:

Seventeen brand new craft lessons; many based on veteran teachers' observations about typical student writing.
Revisions to other craft lessons: model texts that have gone out of print have been replaced with current titles, and the resource materials sections have been expanded.
New thinking about teaching elements of craft and the reading-writing connection.
Two new indexes: a handy subject index to make it easier to find specific craft lessons, and an index that shows how these craft lessons can be integrated into Ralph and JoAnn's curriculum resource on the "qualities of writing"-Ideas, Design, Language, and Presentation.


The 95 lessons in this book provide a wealth of information for teaching leads, character, endings, stronger verbs, and much more. This new edition reestablishes Craft Lessons as the crucial "desert island book" for harried writing teachers everywhere.