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Every summer I dream of my classroom. When considering my third grade writers, what do they need to grow and how can I provide classroom spaces for that?

All writers need mentors. Who are yours?

All writers need mentors. Who are yours?

Today's interview holds a host of insights into the way in which Megan Jean Sovern, author of The Meaning of Maggie, develops characters, brings themes to the fore, and plans plot trajectory. Suffice it to say, I came away more than a little inspired.

Awhile ago I was a 7th grade language arts teacher. My last year in the classroom I had one of the coolest classes that may have ever been compiled. It was the last… Read More →

I was watching or listening or reading something this week — I don’t remember what — but the message was: You can’t be a writer if you’re not a reader. True. (And probably the reason I don’t remember who said it since this little tid-bit is fairly common knowledge.) The person went on to say: [...]

I was watching or listening or reading something this week — I don’t remember what — but the message was: You can’t be a writer if you’re not a reader. True. (And probably the reason I don’t remember who said it since this little tid-bit is fairly common knowledge.) The person went on to say: [...]

Every year, just before December sets in, I ask the publishers who are kind enough to send review copies to me for books about Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanza so I can inform readers about some of the best new books that are out there.  This year The Carpenter’s Gift came from Random House and touched [...]

I have been in a lot of different writing workshops lately. Just this week I’ve been in 13 writing workshops and have met with 13 different teachers in either reflective practice meetings or planning meetings. Therefore, I have SO MUCH I want to record. Which leads me to my current dilemma: what do I not [...]

When we think of using mentor texts when teaching writing workshop, often our first thought is to use them at the beginning of a unit of study so students can gain a sense of the genre they are going to write. Recently, the stars have been aligned in my writing life. First I embarked on [...]

Check out the “Share a Story, Shape a Future” Blog Literacy Tour.  This post relates to today’s theme, “Literacy My Way/Literacy Your Way,” of the Tour, which is hosted by Susan Stephenson at The Book Chook. I loved to write as a child, but never had someone hand me a book and say, “You write a [...]

Last month I was consulting in a school with some primary grade teachers. They expressed concerns about infusing mentor texts into their classrooms. I provided them with some language for developing theories about what an author is doing in a text, as well as links to booklists I’ve created and a book that [...]

In many of the classrooms I’m working in, we are moving into a Personal Narrative study.  I asked teachers to gather books they would like to use to anchor their teaching.  Below is a list of some of the texts: A Tree Named Steve by Alan Zweibel and David Catrow Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very [...]