giveaway

Charro Claus Giveaway Announcement

I'm having technical difficulties with my Flip Camera (i.e., with uploading the video to my computer).  Therefore, I'm going to announce the name of the person whose name I picked out of the bowl.   Katy will be receiving a copy of Charro Claus and the Tejas Kid, compliments of Cinco Puntos Press. If you missed… Continue reading Charro Claus Giveaway Announcement

letter writing · mentor texts · persuasive writing

A Persuasive Touchstone Text

Karen Kaufman Orloff wrote I Wanna Iguana, which quickly became one of my favorite texts to use with my students to teach voice in persuasive letter writing.  She's out with a new book, I Wanna New Room, which can be added to my growing list of touchstone texts for a persuasive unit. If you're familiar… Continue reading A Persuasive Touchstone Text

Slice of Life Story Challenge

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giveaway

Needs vs. Wants — Winner Announcement

I finally purchased a Flip Video Camera since the video feature on my regular camera broke several months ago.  Hence, today's giveaway announcement follows on video below.  My apologies for some of the focusing issues... I'm still trying to master this piece of technology. Find out if you won a copy of Charlie and Lola:… Continue reading Needs vs. Wants — Winner Announcement

critical literacy · NCTE

Rethinking and Rewriting Princess Stories

My best friend and I are both expecting daughters in 2011.  We're been friends since my freshman and her sophomore year of college.  We've been in each other's weddings.  We simply cannot wait to watch our daughters grow up together!  Last Monday, when she called me to announce that her third child would be a… Continue reading Rethinking and Rewriting Princess Stories

bilingual story · holiday · mentor texts · Read Aloud

Bilingual Christmas Story + A Giveaway

I've been looking for a good story about Christmas to share for quite a few weeks.  Most of the books I've received were either too religious for use in public school classrooms or didn't seem like they'd inspire students.  But then, I received a review copy of Xavier Garza's Charro Claus and the Tejas Kid… Continue reading Bilingual Christmas Story + A Giveaway

blog tour · professional books

Blog Tour

Ruth and I were thrilled that four blogs decided to host stops on our blog tour last week.  A big thank you to the following bloggers who read our book and posed thoughtful questions: Franki Sibberson of A Year of Reading Julie Johnson of Raising Readers and Writers Karren Colbert of The Write Brained Teacher… Continue reading Blog Tour

Slice of Life Story Challenge

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giveaway

Giveaway Announcement

There are four book giveaways I'm announcing today.  Here are the names that were drawn for each of the following books: A copy of Sweet Moon Baby: An Adoption Tale goes to Annie Campbell. A copy of Eight Winter Nights: A Family Hanukkah Book goes to Kathie. A hard copy of Sammy and His Behavior… Continue reading Giveaway Announcement

giveaway · holiday · mentor texts · Read Aloud

Needs vs. Wants + 2 Book Giveaways

Every morning I receive an e-mail from Zulily.com, which entices me with products for my baby, who is supposed to arrive early next month.  Zulily always has fantastic merchandise (e.g., clothes, toys, accessories) at a discount price daily.  I want to buy nearly everything I see.  However, I realize that I don't need most of… Continue reading Needs vs. Wants + 2 Book Giveaways

reading · social networking · writing

Figment: Where Social Networking and Literacy Meet

Figment.com just came out of beta and launched yesterday.  This website is for teenagers to use to read other people's writing and to share their own writing.  Figment allows teenagers to read and write using their computer or using their cell phone. To learn more about Figment and the possibilities that it could have for… Continue reading Figment: Where Social Networking and Literacy Meet

college essays · elaboration · voice · word

Voice Matters

Jacques Steinberg, an education correspondent for The New York Times, appeared on "The Today Show" yesterday morning.  He talked with Natalie Morales about college essays that worked and didn't work at some of the nation's most prestigious colleges.  There were three commonalities I immediately recognized in the essays that worked.  First, the well-written essays had… Continue reading Voice Matters