I'm consulting in a local school today where I've been working with the staff since August rolling-out interactive read aloud. Every two months the interactive read aloud text set reflects a particular social issue. Today we're preparing for the voice/silence text set, which teachers will begin in April. Each teacher, in grades K -… Continue reading Reading Aloud Builds Better Writers
Category: mentor texts
Another Way to Launch a Review Unit
Yesterday in Mr. Gause's third grade class, some incredible thinking was happening. This week we launched into reviews. Earlier in the week, he asked students to test different toy cars and then select the one they thought was the best. Then they met as a group and talked about their choice. Yesterday, during the minilesson,… Continue reading Another Way to Launch a Review Unit
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A Princess Saves A Prince + A Giveaway
One of the moms I met this past year coined a phrase I love. She says, "We do pink, but we don't do princess." If you've read some of my other posts about princess culture in the United States (Click here or here to read them now.), then you'll know that this other mom and… Continue reading A Princess Saves A Prince + A Giveaway
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Review Mentor Texts
I'm excited to share this with you. It was one of those times when things just worked out in writing workshop. In one of the third grade classes studying reviews, we began talking about using details to support your opinion. I try to avoid the word details as much as possible. I think it's an… Continue reading Review Mentor Texts
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The Book Stack: A Couple of ROCKIN’ Books
I added three more YA books to my reader's notebook this week. I'll be sharing another of them later, but today I only want to focus on one. The past several YA books I've read have left me a little disappointed. They just didn't feel genuine. All in all, they left me feeling like the… Continue reading The Book Stack: A Couple of ROCKIN’ Books
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Mentor Texts with Lynne & Rose
Last week I received an e-mail from Lynne Dorfman, co-author of Mentor Texts and Nonfiction Mentor Texts (Stenhouse). She let me know she and Rose Cappelli set up a website over winter break. I was anxious to check it out since I talked with the two of them about it when I saw them at… Continue reading Mentor Texts with Lynne & Rose
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The Book Stack…
Or maybe this post should be called: "The Book Stack?" with a big bold question mark. Seriously, I have stacks and stacks and stacks of books we've read, books we want to read, and books we are reading again and again. The problem is getting them from the stack to the blog. (Which is a… Continue reading The Book Stack…
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I’ve been studying sentence structure…
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:… Continue reading I’ve been studying sentence structure…
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The Carpenter’s Gift + A Giveaway
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… Continue reading The Carpenter’s Gift + A Giveaway
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Every-Day Dress-Up + A Giveaway
Last year I wrote a blog post entitled "Rethinking and Rewriting Princess Stories" which included some of my thoughts about princess culture. I was pregnant with my daughter when I wrote it. Nearly one year has passed since I wrote that blog post and I've done lots of thinking about princesses and what it means… Continue reading Every-Day Dress-Up + A Giveaway
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Thoughts About The Blood Lie + A Giveaway
The Blood Lie, by Shirley Reva Vernick, is a novel that begs to be read. It's the story of what can happen when people of different religions don't understand each other's differences. The Blood Lie is historical fiction. It's based on true events that happened in Massena, NY, which is located in Upstate NY near Canada,… Continue reading Thoughts About The Blood Lie + A Giveaway
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New Thinking About Mentor Texts + a Giveaway
I was recently offered a position as an adjunct professor starting in 2012. I will be teaching a graduate course about using children's literature to teach writing. As I prepare to teach this course, one of the things I have to think about are the professional texts I will require my students to read, as… Continue reading New Thinking About Mentor Texts + a Giveaway
