The Write Thing

Empower students with lessons that promote authentic self-expression and a love for writing

In The Write Thing, Newbery Medal–winning author Kwame Alexander shows you how to inspire students and make writing engaging and fun. With this book, you’ll empower students to discover their voices through writing and publishing. By combining creative expression with the real-world experience of producing published works, this resource nurtures confidence, literacy skills, and a sense of ownership in young writers.

Organized into three sections—Writing, Publishing, and Presenting—The Write Thing emphasizes poetry as an accessible entry point for all. It offers an inspiring look at the practice of writing along with a practical framework that includes more than 25 step-by-step lessons and mini-lessons, student writing samples, and teacher reflections. You’ll also find QR codes linking to online videos—some designed to help educators and others for classroom use with students. With these valuable resources, you can build a writing culture that helps students find their voices.

This Second Edition features guidance on transitioning from writing poetry to other genres, updated research on writing instruction, and advice on the classroom use of AI tools. Part how-to and part inspiration, The Write Thing supports educators in promoting self-expression and a love of writing. This book:

• Includes more than 25 step-by-step lessons and mini-lessons for different forms of poetry
• Features easy-to-use content such as Quick Tips, success stories, publishing templates, and videos (via QR codes)
• Provides guidance for engaging reluctant writers and supporting English language learners
• Centers student publishing as a core instructional element to motivate learners

Use Kwame Alexander’s classroom-tested and student-approved workshop model to guide students as they develop creativity, confidence, and a love of writing.