JoAnn Portalupi

JoAnn Portalupi is an educator, consultant, and author known for her work in teaching writing to children in grades K–8. She began her career as a fourth‑grade teacher in Epsom, New Hampshire and has since worked as a classroom teacher, staff developer with the Teachers College Writing Project, university professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and independent educational consultant. She earned a Ph.D. in Reading and Writing Instruction from the University of New Hampshire, where her dissertation, Autobiographical understandings: The evolution of a teaching self (1995), examined teacher identity and the uses of autobiography in teacher education.

Portalupi is the coauthor, often with Ralph Fletcher, of several influential professional books and resources on teaching writing, including Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide, Craft Lessons: Teaching Writing K–8, and Nonfiction Craft Lessons: Teaching Information Writing K–8, along with additional professional books and videos for teachers. Her work focuses on helping teachers understand and implement the writing workshop model and on developing students’ craft in both fiction and nonfiction writing.