ABSTRACT
Conventions clubs are the perfect stand-alone unit of study. When planning for conventions clubs, teachers often turn to favorite texts and study the authors’ use of conventions. Forming and launching conventions clubs should mirror the launch of any stand-alone club. Conventions clubs are opportunities to illuminate the conventions of writing in powerful and purposeful ways. After assessing students’ needs and examining standards, teachers should gather texts and imagine the teaching possibilities around them. Students participated in the self-assessment activities, and clubs were formed before the first mini-lesson. Students are empowered by the tools they use, the ability to play with language, and the experience of being both mentor and mentee. Students had writing partners and had been working with their current partners for a few weeks as they were finishing up their most recent unit of study. Students were working to edit the final drafts of their literary essays.
