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A few posts ago I shared my evolving thoughts about the writing process. Last week I was able to put my thinking to the test. In third grade, kids were getting ready to move from notebooks to drafts. It was a little bit of a painful process because I was breaking the news to them [...]

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In honor of Labor Day, I’m writing a little post about the kinds of “labor” I expect to see in writing workshop. Early on in the school year, it’s important to define student and teacher roles in writing workshop. With the holiday, this may make a perfect minilesson in your workshop this week. The teaching [...]

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Last month at MRA, I listened to Jacqueline Woodson speak about her writing process. It wasn’t the first time I heard her speak and I hope it won’t be my last. She is one of the writers I consider as my personal mentor. Not to be over-dramatic, but listening to her last month changed my [...]

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The other day I posted about minilessons being one way to plant a seed of learning. I firmly believe this is a purpose of a minilesson and then through independent practice, conferring, and sharing, the learning “seed” grows and becomes personal and solidified in each writer. After I posted, I was reading a friend’s thoughts [...]

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One of the things I’m working on as a writing teacher is keeping minilessons, well, mini. As I’ve focused on this goal, I’ve realized sometimes lessons go long because I’m working toward perfection. I try to cover all of the bases so students can write in exactly-the-right-way. It is hard to admit this to myself, [...]

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Here’s a little Slice of Life from the first student day. As a coach, the first day is one of the days I miss the most about being a classroom teacher. Thankfully,  Christi Overman (she blogs during the school year only, so you’ll want to check back regularly on Chocolate for Teachers) invited me to [...]

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Slice 1: All morning I waited for Laurie Halse Anderson’s post about the writing challenge for today. Although a little apprehensive about whether this would be worthwhile, I found myself writing interview questions and then answering them in the voice of a dad. Well past the required fifteen minutes, I was still writing, learning all [...]

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Tomorrow morning in Reading Workshop, I’ll be teaching a lesson with the following teaching point: Readers keep track of who is speaking in a text, regardless of whether or not there are dialogue tags. The reason they do this is so they always know who is speaking. I’m going to be using two passages from The [...]

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Memoir: Early Strategy Chart Originally uploaded by teachergal I tend to have a lot of mini-charts for my students’ notebooks rather than hanging large ones around the room (these days). However, I thought this one was worthy of some wall space. Essentially, these are the teaching points from the first four collecting minilessons of our Memoir Unit [...]

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So what are the basic parts of a minilesson?  Here’s a short list according to the Teachers College Reading & Writing Project at Columbia University: Connection – The reason for teaching today’s lesson.  A great way to start out is with these words, “Yesterday I noticed . . . ” Our teaching should be in response [...]

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Structures and routines need to be clear in your head so they can be implemented when you start Writing Workshop. You can shift to a new routine or modify one that’s not working mid-year, but explaining WHY you’re doing it to your students is important. If you’re unsure of whose model you wish [...]

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My markers may have been drying up, but there was nothing that was going to stop me from recording my kids’ responses during the minilesson I gave today. Take a look at what they had to say. (Click here for the corresponding lesson.) Posted in minilesson, writer's notebook      

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I head back to school tomorrow. I am starting a new unit of study in both Reading and Writing Workshop (nonfiction and notebook writing, respectively). Hence, I thought I’d share my first Writing Workshop Minilesson of the new year about the multiple purposes writers have for using writer’s notebooks. Minilesson Teaching Point: Writers [...]

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After reading through “Using Web 2.0 in the Classroom” in the most recent issue of Reading Today, I went online to ReadWriteThink.org to read through a lesson entitled “Weekly Writer’s Blogs.” It was too advanced (i.e., grades 9-12) for my students, but I realized it might not be too old for Ruth’s. I decided to [...]

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After all of the writer’s notebook work and the storyboard work and the oral storytelling, it sometimes seems as though students don’t realize how they then need to craft their draft.  I’ve found that explicit teaching of this idea is important. Today I did just that with some third graders.  I showed them my storyboard and [...]

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In Keith Bollman’s fifth grade class, students are beginning to consider moving into drafts.  They’ve envisioned their writing and are moving out of the rehearsal stage and into drafting.  Today I taught them how to stretch a scene.  The Great Pumpkin Switch by Megan Mcdonald and Ted Lewin  is one of the texts in play in the [...]

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I was asked, by Ro, about my Strong Emotions/Skittles Lesson. I normally don’t post minilessons I write in this forum for several reasons (one of which is that it doesn’t align with the mission statement Ruth and I composed for this blog). However, this one is a bit out-of-the-box. Hence, I am [...]

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Ro left a comment a couple of days ago asking about meeting areas in upper elementary school classrooms. I’ve been corresponding with her, but thought that it might be useful to open up a bit of my thinking on the site. I believe it was Don Graves who said that having the kids in your [...]

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Starting My Poetry Craft Table Originally uploaded by teachergal Tomorrow, I’m doing some explicit instruction on identifying poetic tools in poems we admire and then trying to use those tools in our own poetry. Hence, I’ll be using this Poetry Craft Table, which I either adapted from Pat Werner or from Davis & Hill’s Book (can’t [...]

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We’re starting a new unit of study on Monday: MEMOIR! I’ve taught it twice using Calkins and Chiarella’s Book. However, this year is going to be different. Kate and I decided to mesh C&C’s book with Katherine Bomer’s Book entitled Writing A Life. Our teaching points are from both books. [...]

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Today’s Writing Workshop lesson went soooo well. I had never had kids write about quotations before, but it was such a success! I look forward to folding this lesson into the first unit of study in September. (One student I conferred with wasn’t writing much… she was just doing literal explanations, rather [...]

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I like challenging myself and my students with their writing. So… in honor of National Poetry Month, I thought about creating a week-long poetry challenge since I’d like to create more poetry of my own to share with my students during minilesson demonstrations. Hence… I was thinking about starting this Challenge on Saturday, 4/12 [...]

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During our common planning time today, my colleagues and I brainstormed a list of texts we’re going to have students select from for their literary essays. Many people think that kids should pick whatever book they’re reading, I’ve come to believe that having children select from a pre-selected set of short texts is better. [...]

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Recent Publishing News mostly from PW...

• Walter Lorraine is retiring from Houghton Mifflin after working in children’s publishing for 55 years. Cool Walter Lorraine fact from PW: in 1992 Lorraine edited both the Caldecott and the Newbery winners (Lois Lowry’s The Giver and Allen Say’s Grandfather’s Journey).
• Disney Publishing is moving from New York City to White Plains (where I just was for a wedding), but Hyperion is remaining in NYC.
• The Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards were given out last week. See their website for the list winners which includes an honor award for Sara Pennypacker and Marla Frazee's Clementine. (They also offer the whole awards ceremony on video.)
• In December, former Dial senior editor Nancy Mercado will become executive editor of Roaring Brook Press (a position most recently held by Deborah Brodie).

Below are the full CWIM listings for Roaring Brook (which now includes Nancy's name) and Hyperion. They both prefer agented material.


HYPERION BOOKS FOR CHILDREN
114 Fifth Ave., New York NY 10011-5690. (212)633-4400. Fax: (212)633-4833. Web site: www.hyperionbooksforchildren.com. Manuscript Acquisitions: Editorial Director. Art Director: Anne Diebel. 10% of books by first-time authors. Publishes various categories.

• Hyperion title Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, written and illustrated by Mo Willems, won a 2005 Caldecott Honor Award. Their title Who Am I Without Him?: Short Stories About Girls and the Boys in Their Lives, by Sharon G. Flake, won a 2005 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Award.

Fiction Picture books, young readers, middle readers, young adults: adventure, animal, anthology (short stories), contemporary, fantasy, folktales, history, humor, multicultural, poetry, science fiction, sports, suspense/mystery. Middle readers, young adults: commercial fiction. Recently published Emily's First 100 Days of School, by Rosemary Wells (ages 3-6, New York Times bestseller); Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer (YA novel, New York Times bestseller); Dumpy The Dump Truck, series by Julie Andrews Edwards and Emma Walton Hamilton (ages 3-7).
Nonfiction All trade subjects for all levels.
How to Contact/Writers Only interested in agented material.
Illustration Works with 100 illustrators/year. "Picture books are fully illustrated throughout. All others depend on individual project." Reviews ms/illustration packages from artists. Submit complete package. Illustrations only: Submit résumé, business card, promotional literature or tearsheets to be kept on file. Responds only if interested. Original artwork returned at job's completion.
Photography Works on assignment only. Publishes photo essays and photo concept books. Provide résumé, business card, promotional literature or tearsheets to be kept on file.
Terms Pays authors royalty based on retail price. Offers advances. Pays illustrators and photographers royalty based on retail price or a flat fee. Sends galleys to authors; dummies to illustrators. Book catalog available for 9×12 SAE and 3 first-class stamps.


ROARING BROOK PRESS
143 West St., Suite W, New Milford CT 06776. (860)350-4434. Manuscript/Art Acquisitions: Simon Boughton, publisher. Executive Editor: Nancy Mercado. Publishes approximately 40 titles/year. 1% of books by first-time authors. This publisher's goal is "to publish distinctive high-quality children's literature for all ages. To be a great place for authors to be published. To provide personal attention and a focused and thoughtful publishing effort for every book and every author on the list."

• Roaring Brook Press is an imprint of Holtzbrinck Publishers, a group of companies that includes Henry Holt and Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Roaring Brook is not accepting unsolicited manuscripts.

Fiction Picture books, young readers, middle readers, young adults: adventure, animal, contemporary, fantasy, history, humor, multicultural, nature/environment, poetry, religion, science fiction, sports, suspense/mystery. Recently published Get Real, by Betty Hicks.
How to Contact/Writers Primarily interested in agented material. Not accepting unsolicited mss or queries. Will consider simultaneous agented submissions.
Illustration Primarily interested in agented material. Works with 25 illustrators/year. Illustrations only: Query with samples. Do not send original art; copies only through the mail. Samples returned with SASE.
Photography Works on assignment only.
Terms Pays authors royalty based on retail price. Pays illustrators royalty or flat fee depending on project. Sends galleys to authors; dummies to illustrators, if requested.
Tips "You should find a reputable agent and have him/her submit your work."

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cuz here's the whole darn Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards for your viewing enjoyment.

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