title: Kwame Alexander&rsquo;s Page-to-Stage Writing Workshop: Awakening the Writer, Publisher, and Presenter in Every K-8 Student
author: Kwame Alexander
description: <DIV>A gift that Kwame has given all of us as he shares his journey, as he shares his voice, as he shares his insights and understandings. Kylene Beers</DIV><br /><br /><DIV>Kwame is a life forcea captivating, authentic leader.He has a knack for getting every student excited about the workby making reading, writing, and sharing in groups exciting and fun. Greg David and Priya Sitaraman, Head Teachers, Bank Street School for Children</DIV><br /><br /><DIV>Kwame's workshop was an enriching and engaging project that excited students about poetry, publishing, and literacy. By making personal connections with each student Kwame was able to draw sincere thoughts out of students and help them mold those thoughts and feelings in to heart-warming poems. Parents, teachers, students, and the community who participated in the culminating book signing event were extremely impressed with the final book produced."<br></br>Ann Gwynn, Principal, Herndon Elementary School</DIV><br /><br /><DIV><P>&quot;This is a great program for helping kids write as well as understand publishing as well. This would be ideal for a homeschool program. My daughter (not homeschooled) tried it out and it kept her interest quite well. I was concerned because my daughter is in 6th grade and this is for Kindergarten though grade 8 (which is quite an age range) but it was engaging, educational and challenging for her. Great writing &#39;workshop&#39;.&quot; --Tory<BR /><BR /><I>Provided via Amazon Vine</I></P></DIV><br /><br /><DIV><P>&quot;Kwame Alexander is an inspiring educator, and this is an inspiring book for educators.</P><P>Part I of the book is about teaching poetry. There&#39;s a discussion of how to structure and start a poetry workshop, how to read poetry, a lesson on metaphors and similes, discussions and ideas on drafting and revising poems, and some specific lessons and activities, references and checklists.</P><P>Part II is about publishing. Alexander says, &quot;&quot;Publishing is probably the least used aspect of the writing workshop in schools, but possibly the most rewarding.&quot;&quot; I&#39;ve found that publishing makes a big difference to the student experience, and Alexander gives practical step-by-step advice for making it a part of your classroom.</P><P>I really like the idea of creating teams for editing, proofreading, producing, marketing, and designing the publication. It could be a physical book or various other physical or virtual objects.</P><P>Part III is on presenting the poetry. There are some intriguing ideas for performing poetry and some great ways to help students develop poise and confidence in front of others.</P><P>Part IV, the appendix, includes lots of great resources. There are lesson plans for specific poems and sections of the process, references on proofreaders marks and grammar, checklists for all the teams listed above, and nice online resources. There&#39;s also a USB drive with one-click access to all the online resources. These include some great videos.</P><P>I taught writing for 30 years and am currently a web publishing professional, and I think that this book could give a new teacher a complete writing course right out of the box. It&#39;s intended for classroom use, but it might also be a good resource for scouts, Sunday School, home school, or after school groups.&quot; --Rebecca Haden<BR /><BR /><I>Provided via Amazon Vine</I></P></DIV><br /><br /><DIV><P>&quot;As a homeschool mom, I was excited to receive this product for review. I didn&#39;t realize that it would focus on poetry over other styles of writing, but am pleased since my 7th grader likes to write poetry. This kit, while written towards classroom teachers, provides the instruction we need to take my daughter&#39;s poetry up a notch here at home. It would easily work in a homeschool co-op setting, for a library group, or, of course, in a traditional classroom setting. Kwame offers practical, straightforward advice that I can see really getting students excited about poetry, even those students who may not have cared for it before. I love the enthusiasm he shares in this kit!&quot; --Vicki Bohn<BR /><BR /><I>Provided via Amazon Vine</I></P></DIV><br /><br /><DIV><P>&quot;This is a good package to help young writers. Kwame Alexander understands young writers and how to draw out their best work. The bundle comes with a spiral book, a motivational poster and a USB that expands on the material in the book. Within the book, there are links to Kwame&#39;s videos hosted on Scholastic.</P><P>I&#39;d always wondered why my kids worked on poetry in their classes the beginning of each school year. The book explains why and how it makes the writer more comfortable with using descriptive words in all of his or her writing. The first section is about the writing process and the second section is about publishing and celebrating the finished work. There is also an appendix with some nice information and resources.</P><P>I was surprised that this book just focused on poetry. It&#39;s something I struggle with or maybe get bored with and I&#39;ve had a hard time making myself stick with it to help teach my kids. Fortunately, they are more motivated than I when it comes to poetry and they&#39;ve had fun learning how to make their poems and other writing descriptive and catchy. I&#39;m glad we&#39;ve been taking the time to improve or writing with this set.&quot; --W. Simpsen<BR /><BR /><I>Provided via Amazon Vine</I></P></DIV>
zlib_text: ![](Images/image00150.jpeg)
  
  Dedication
  
   _To Neil Gleichman, who taught me the importance of finishing strong._
  
   _I hope I have._
  
   _Thanks, Coach._
  
   **Contents**
  
  > Cover
  
  > Title Page
  
  > Dedication
  
  > Chapter One
  
  > Chapter Two
  
  > Chapter Three
  
  > Chapter Four
  
  > Chapter Five
  
  > Chapter Six
  
  > Chapter Seven
  
  > Chapter Eight
  
  > Chapter Nine
  
  > Chapter Ten
  
  > Chapter Eleven
  
  > Chapter Twelve
  
  > Chapter Thirteen
  
  > Chapter Fourteen
  
  > Chapter Fifteen
  
  > Chapter Sixteen
  
  > Chapter Seventeen
  
  > Chapter Eighteen
  
  > Chapter Nineteen
  
  > Chapter Twenty
  
  > Chapter Twenty-one
  
  > Chapter Twenty-two
  
  > Chapter Twenty-three
  
  > Chapter Twenty-four
  
  > Chapter Twenty-five
  
  > Chapter Twenty-six
  
  > Chapter Twenty-seven
  
  > Chapter Twenty-eight
  
  > Author’s Note
  
  > The Last Word
  
  > Acknowledgments
  
  > Also by Aprilynne Pike
  
  > Copyright
  
  > About the Publisher
  
  ![](Images/image00155.jpeg)
  
   **T** amani pressed his forehead against the chilly windowpane, fighting back
  a wave of exhaustion. Sleep wasn’t an