Pyrotechnics on the Page

Writers in every field play with words each time they sit down at their desks. In his newest book, Ralph Fletcher demonstrates how playful craft can energize student writing and breathe new energy into the writing workshop.

Children have a natural affinity for language play; Pyrotechnics on the Page demonstrates how writing teachers can tap into it. This book provides a wealth of resources for teachers:

• Information on the roots and developmental importance of language play;
• A how-to on using the writer's notebook as a playground for students to explore and experiment with verbal pyrotechnics;
• An in-depth look at the kind of language play commonly used by writers, including chapters on Puns and Double Meanings, Idioms and Expressions, Inventing Words, and Harnessing the Supple Power of Sentences (these chapters end with a “Bringing It to the Writing Workshop” section that includes explicit classroom connections);
• Twenty-four brand new craft lessons to bring pyrotechnics into the classroom
• An extensive bibliography of relevant mentor texts that make it easy to model language play for students

Pyrotechnics on the Page is vintage Fletcher: personal, anecdotal, and practical. It represents the latest chapter in Ralph's efforts to widen the circle in the writing classroom, make it a more engaging place for student writers and, in the process, lift the quality of their writing.