Blending Genre, Altering Style: Writing Multigenre Papers Book

Oh my word. I heart Tom Romano BIG TIME. I just want to curl up on a couch with him, writer's notebook under my arm, and say, "Teach me. Tell me stories. Write with me." Rarely do I find a professional development book that I joyfully read from one cover to the other. True, when I first bought the book, I was hurting for student examples of multi-genre projects; since the book contained FIVE full projects, I just flipped through, photocopied those, and threw the book back in my bag.

Later though, when I did not have an appropriate book on me for a "Read-in," I fished it back out of my bag and started from the first chapter. By the time the Read-in was over, I was enthralled. I even stopped the kids exiting my room with a, "Wait, listen to this." Another day, I began their workshop time with 3 pages from another chapter. Their mouths were gaping open when I finally looked up.

This book does not contain lesson plans, rubrics, organizational strategies for your classroom, or troubleshooting solutions. If you're looking for that, check out Melinda Putz' book. THIS book reveals multi-genre writing for everything it can and should be. It is spiritual nourishment for a tired writing teacher. It is darn good writing from a variety of authors. It is vignette after vignette of great yet humble teaching moments. I simply adored it.

Finally, I had a big "WOAH" moment toward the end as he was discussing expressive, poetic, and instructional writing. I feel like I understand....or at least desire to understand...the writer's notebook on a whole new level. I really want to start a study group this summer with some teachers who have tried this tool in their classroom so we can share the ups and downs of particular features or approaches. If you're interested, please email me.