As I read through my student’s letters of introduction, many implications for teaching occurred to me; I could envision opportunities for the coming school year. Yes, I had a specific curriculum to teach, but now I also had students with particular needs, clear (or vague) aspirations, marked individual differences, and varied skills. Their letters helped me get a handle on both how to teach them and what to teach them.

— from the chapter, “Day One: Getting Started,” in Writing For Real: Strategies for Engaging Adolescent Writers by Ross M. Burkhardt