100 Quickwrites: Fast and Effective Freewriting Exercises that Build Students' Confidence, Develop Their Fluency, and Bring Out the Writer in Every Student

by Linda Rief

A rich collection of poems and short passages, perfect for middle school. Teachers read one of the powerful pieces aloud and invite students to respond to one of the freewriting suggestions. Teachers will be amazed at what students can write in 2-3 minutes! A quick and effective way to share models of strong writing and to get students writing and thinking . . . and a great way to focus attention at the beginning of class! For use with Grades 5 & Up.

Genres: Teaching, Writing, Education, Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2003

Reviews

[Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

These prompts are thought-provoking and really create the stage for analysis and discussion.

[Julie Kudish · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a special education teacher currently teaching high school English, I am constantly trying to reinvent what I do in order to "get it right". At this time of year, especially, as I reflect on the ending year and look toward a new one, I feel a small sense of accomplishment, but a bigger sense of what I should have done. I think I've gotten a pretty good handle on teaching my students reading... after many years of trial and error and reinvention. Writing, however, has eluded me... it's hard to teach, difficult for my students, a lot of grading, time consuming... I have, for many years, said that writing and reading should be taught over two separate class periods as each is so difficult for "our" students. However, this will never happen and I must make the best of the time I am given with my students. This book, along with others on the topic, has been a beacon of direction in the darkness for me. The use of quickwrites as seeds of writing makes so much sense to me - especially when tied to pieces the students have read. I've found my students lack any sort of general fund of knowledge needed to write and expand on their writing, making it a difficult process for all of us. I've resorted to general whole class lessons to fill in gaps in their writing, but this teacher centered approach to writing is ineffective, at best. Starting with a reading and giving them choices on what to write, and then conferencing should go very far in breaking through those barriers for us. I'm going to have a very busy summer of learning and planning... I can't wait!

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will refer back to this book in the future as I teach English and creative writing. There are some great prompts in here. The pieces from professional authors (about 1/3 of the quickwrites) are much better than the student samples (the other 2/3); however, there are a few student samples that are outstanding. Linda Rief's ideas for the rambling autobiography and the "When S/he was 15" are great!

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this years ago, but have pulled it back out in recent months to work with teachers on increasing opportunities for and (volume of) writing. I think every classroom should have a copy of this book. Let your kids discover the stories and ideas inside them with low-risk writing!

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good ideas here.

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have used resources from this book for ages, but am only now getting around to adding it to my Goodreads shelf. Teacher friends: this is a great resource for generating writing and thinking in your classroom!