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Even though I am working on my rewrite like mad, I am taking time out to share my husband's wonderful photography exhibit in Galicia. Our friends, Terri and David Anderson set it up with the mayor of Ferreira, a small town near our village. The sneak preview was this week-end but it's really for the wine festival which begins June 2nd.


They did an awesome job of setting it up, and I hope you will go take a peek at the album I set up on Facebook on my timeline: here is my FB Timeline site. When you go there, just click on "Photos".(It's the first album. You'll recognize the cover picture.)


Sooo. . . , back to work now! See you in a couple of weeks.

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The Brochure Book Report

Do you get groans from students when you announce it's time to write?  Are you running out of ideas for teaching writing?

Now more than ever it is important for teachers to find authentic engaging ways for their students to write.  Otherwise writing becomes a "forced" activity with little perceived value to the student.  And when that happens, little learning is likely to occur and those standards we are so intent on teaching will not likely be internalized.

This past fall in my 10-week writing classes for 3-6th graders and 7-9th graders, one particular assignment became the most popular writing project.  It's a twist on the standard book report and one that your students are bound to find engaging and maybe even fun.

Before Any Assignment, Review Your State Standards

Take a few moments to review the writing standards for your state.  I have chosen to highlight writing standards from the state of GA, likely similar to the writing standards in your state:

ELA5W2:  "The student produces informational writing . . . "  and

chooses a speaker's voice,
develops a controlling idea that offers a perspective,
creates an organizing structure appropriate for the purpose and audience,
includes appropriate facts and details,
excludes extraneous details,
provides a sense of closure, includes appropriate word choice.

ELA4W4 focuses on the writing process and includes elements such as being able to appropriately plan and draft, revise, edit, and publish.


Guidance for the Teacher


One of the most important keys to writing instruction is to be a writer yourself.  Do you write articles for your state IRA affiliate's journal, do action research and document it, write for personal pleasure (a diary or journal, blogging, etc.)?  When you do, you can bring an authenticity to the writing experience. 

For example, I always say to my students early on that "I've been writing for 47 years and I'm not the best writer I will ever be."   Then I add that everyone in the class is likely to be at a different place as a writer but my goal for them is that each will move further down the reading road.  That first statement always surprises my students but it emphasizes the importance of making effort and growing.  The second encourages them and lets them know my focus and commitment to them.  With that approach and a true "writer's workshop" environment, I find that even reluctant writers leave my classes excited about writing and having the skills to be a more competent composer.


To Begin . . .

Ask each student to choose a book to read (choice is very important for

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You can now download and print your very own Just One More Book!! bookmark. Click on the image of the bookmark that appears just below the image of our brochure in the left sidebar.

We’ve also updated the list of books reviewed on Just One More Book!! To download the PDF, click on the image immediately to the right of this text.

Thanks, again, to Nico at Snowy Day Design for his brilliant design work and to Vivian of the CLIP Podcast for the booklist idea and the nudge to get an updated version out!

Tags:book list, bookmark, brochure, Snowy Day Designbook list, bookmark, brochure, Snowy Day Design

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Thanks to the geniuses at Snowy Day Design, we now have a “Just One More Book!!” brochure.

The brochure outlines the goals of this podcast and our Powered By Passion philosophy. It also includes some pretty nice quotes from listeners and authors!

To download a copy of the Just One More Book brochure, right-click on the image at the right and select “Save as…”

Tags:brochure, Powered by Passionbrochure, Powered by Passion

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