Marvelous Minilessons for Teaching Intermediate Writing Grades 3-8.

Lori Jamison Rog is a well-known literacy educator who has published several highly recommended resource books for teachers. Rog is known for her practical and easy-to-implement literacy strategies as well as for her accessible writing style. In 2018, Rog published Marvelous Minilessons for Teaching Intermediate Writing Grades 3-8, which is an updated version of previous book with a similar title, Marvelous Mini lessons for Teaching Intermediate Writing Grades 4-6. In this new version of Marvelous Mini lessons, Rog has updated the format and structure of the book.

The new version of Marvelous Mini lessons for Teaching Intermediate Writing Grades 3-8 is separated into three parts. First, Rog outlines the Writer’s Workshop format and provides tips for organization. In the next section, Rog presents complete units with accompanying minilessons about different forms of writing: Writing to Learn, Writing to Inform, and Writing to Persuade. These are commonly taught text formats in the junior and intermediate grades, and these chapters are particularly helpful for classroom teachers. In the final section, Rog has compiled minilessons that target three key areas of writing: content (topics, details, and organization), craft (word choice, voice, and fluency), and conventions (spelling and mechanics).
A highlight of Rog’s approach is the simple, but theoretically sound, framework of the minilessons. Rog has embraced the gradual release of responsibility model, using the approach of I DO (teacher modeling), WE DO (guided practice), and YOU DO (independent practice). This matches the current approach of balanced literacy that has been a fixture in literacy classrooms for years. Modeled writing, shared and interactive writing, guided writing, and independent writing are clearly a part of the lessons, making the link to balanced literacy easy for teachers. Each minilesson is succinctly presented and follows this gradual release of responsibility model.

Another feature of Marvelous Minilessons is that it can be dipped into as needed. It’s not a program per se; teachers can pick and choose which lessons they would like to use rather than following a specific sequence of lessons. Moreover, the lessons are very generic (a good thing!) and can be adapted as needed to suit the class. As Rog states, “I encourage you to adapt rather than adopt these minilessons.”

There are additional elements to Rog’s book that I appreciate. I like the attention to detail she pays to student/teacher conferences, explaining three different types of writing conferences, each with a different purpose. I also appreciate the section on unit planning and the rubrics provided for each unit. Rog also developed a very clear and practical figure (on p. 26) for teachers to follow that encapsulates the writing process presented in the book. The embedded text boxes with practical tips for teachers, such for peer editing and spelling, are particularly helpful.

In sum, Marvelous Minilessons for Teaching Intermediate Writing Grades 3-8 is an outstanding teacher resource. The abundance of minilessons presented makes it a worthy purchase. Rog’s book has something for everyone, from novice to experienced teachers. It would be excellent professional reading for in-service teachers, and, because of its scope, it could also be a text for a pre-service teacher courses.