Bernabei, a middle and high school teacher and author, and Hall, a principal and former English teacher, show teachers how to teach expository writing in a way that draws from students' personal narratives and ideas, giving them the opportunity to write about what is meaningful to them. They present 13 writing activities for familiar teaching situations, such as using personal narrative and reflection, starting with journal writing, using 11-minute essays for anxiety reduction, exploring topics for deep development and systemic growth, responding to prompts, writing open essays, developing theses, writing book report essays, and using writing skills for content areas, with step-by-step lessons, including extension ideas. No index has been provided. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)