Created During COVID: Hoboken Educator Releases Book On Writing

HOBOKEN, NJ — On many mornings in the mile-square city of Hoboken, local mom and writing instructor Leah Mermelstein would awaken at 4 a.m. to work on a writing project before helping her daughter with remote schoolwork. Now, Mermelstein's project — a new book about methods for teaching writing to young people — will help others with their own writing.

"Teaching writing is complex," Mermelstein said, "but the tools to teach it should be simple."

The book was released last month through a well-regarded educational publisher, Benchmark Education, and is also available on Amazon and in bookstores like Hoboken's indie bookseller, Little City Books. Benchmark made it part of its professional development Essential Line (see it here).

Mermelstein, a literacy consultant who has spoken on the topic nationally, has authored three other books about writing instruction. She'll be working with various school districts this summer to get them ready for next year, including in Washington Township, N.J.

"It’s a great book for teachers and a great end of the year present to give to your child’s teacher," Mermelstein noted.

Mermelstein's "We-Do" method of teaching writing to younger people, which has its own Facebook group, involves several steps, including having kids share their writing out loud.

The various steps in the We-Do model of teaching — meant to make the process interactive and memorable — employ what Mermelstein has learned through research and experience.

"Did you know that research shows that when children say things out loud, they are more apt to remember those words and transfer that language to future writing pieces?" Mermelstein asked fellow educators in a thread in her Facebook group last month. She said that by applying her methods, "all children get the learning opportunities they need to become independent writers."

Mermelstein told Patch, " 'We-Do' introduces readers to the 'We-Do' model—a simple tool for complex work. It is a book that infuses the art and science of teaching writing, meaning it’s research-based, but also builds on 20 years of spending time with teachers and students in the classroom. It’s a book that doesn’t shy away from tough but inspiring conversations."

She explains more about the book and the model in this interview and in various webinars and educational blogs online.

So far, the new book has been getting positive reviews, including on an educational blog: "As a third grade teacher ... I can feel…overwhelmed...One of the many things I loved about Leah Mermelstein’s book is the idea that collaborative writing experiences allow you to work on content related topics. A teacher might lead an interactive writing session at the end of a math lesson, writing about how students solved a word problem."

Mermelstein said that during the past year, she worked virtually with teachers to learn the "We-Do" model, via organizations ranging from Partnerships for Literacy and Learning in Vermont to Capital Region BOCES in Albany.

Mermelstein holds a Master’s Degree in Cultural Diversity and Curriculum Reform and "aspires to ground all of her work in creating equitable access to children and families," she says. She lives in Hoboken with her 7-year-old daughter. Follow her on social media here:

• Twitter: @MermelsteinLeah https://twitter.com/MermelsteinLeah
• Facebook: We Do Writing Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3458003700963828
• Instagram: We Do Writing: https://www.instagram.com/wedowriting/

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