This book is a "best of" collection of tips and exercises to help nurture young writers and strengthen core skills. Since each activity has been tried and tested in thousands of classrooms, you'll find successful methods for turning even the most reluctant students into effective, powerful writers. Writing proficiency is more important than ever, especially with the demands of standardized testing and the rigors of new standards impacting our schools. This classroom-tested manual, created from a combination of the author's extensive in-class experience and acclaimed research in neural science and developmental biology, addresses all facets of writing competency. The content links to common core curriculum elements in state language arts standards for every state. Written by experienced educator and author Kendall Haven, the work features 13 innovative writing tips and 30 engaging activities for helping students become better writers. The first part of the book covers writing hints and techniques, while the second half contains core content activities for coaxing the best writing out of your students. A short introductory section lays out the five steps of effective student writing. Lastly, the text reveals how teachers-even those from non-literary backgrounds-can successfully teach and grade writing.