Readers familiar with Miriam Plotinsky’s work will know that her focus is always on the practical. This book is no exception, as she explores how teachers can empower students to feel a sense of worth in their own abilities that will carry beyond school into the lives they go on to lead. Plotinsky uses writing instruction as the access point for this important aspect of teaching, since writing is an expression of the self that carries particular vulnerability. Thus the text is filled with strategies and tools on topics such as rejecting the myth of the “bad writer”, separating writing grades from class participation and providing clear, actionable feedback on student writing. But students’ belief in their own capacities goes beyond writing and so does the book; teachers across content areas share their most effective strategies for building students’ academic identity in subjects like maths, physics, physical education and music.
