Category Archive: picture book

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How to Deal with “Too Much” Energy in the Classroom + a Book Giveaway

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Every writing workshop I’ve ever taught or consulted in has had at least one child who is in perpetual motion. Many times, that child is the kid who talks their classmates during independent writing time, interrupts their teacher during a writing conference, or cannot respect their peers’ space in the meeting area. The first few weeks of school are the perfect time to begin conversations about living in a classroom community where all learners have different needs.

Susan Verde, author of Unstoppable Me, chats with Stacey about the ways we can build classroom writing communities that welcome kids with who are often seen as having “too much” energy.

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Six New Narrative Picture Books for Your Mentor Text Basket

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Just as we reflect our teaching practices in the summertime, we can rethink some of the mentor texts we use and find new ones to share with students in minilessons, writing conferences, and strategy lessons.

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The Joys of Sharing Expository Nonfiction Mentor Texts with Students + a Giveaway

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Consider sharing these six books with your fact-loving students.
Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win all six books for your classroom library.

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Writing on a Snow Day

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Matthew Cordell’s new picture book provides inspiration for kids to CHOOSE to write when they’re snowed-in during the winter. Read through my Q&A with Cordell to start thinking about how you could encourage your students to decide to write when they’re homebound this winter.
After you read the Q&A, leave a comment on this blog post for the chance to win a copy of King Alice.

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Books to Begin the School Year

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Add six new picture books to your back-to-school read alouds and to your mentor text collection this fall.
After you read through this post, be sure to leave a comment about how you’d use these books in your classroom for a chance to win all six of them.

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Teachable Concepts for Young Kids Through Cooking

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Author and illustrator Melissa Iwai explains how cooking provides many teachable aspects to explore, such as counting, observing, and following a series of steps.

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The Essence of Ada: The Story Behind a Picture Book Biography of Ada Lovelace

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Did you know that Ada Lovelace was able to imagine how a machine could not only calculate any number you gave it, but also create music and visual images–100 years before computers were invented? Read the story behind the story with author Tanya Lee Stone who steps into our Author Spotlight today.

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Building a House of Fiction on a Foundation of Nonfiction

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Meet Lester Laminack at the corner of story and information. You’ll chat a while. He’ll introduce you to a couple of characters and walk with you through the South Carolina Lowcountry. And hopefully you’ll leave filled with new information.

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A Conversation with Amy June Bates & Juniper Bates + a Book Giveaway

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  Anyone who knows me in real life knows how concerned I’ve been about the state of affairs in our country. I’ve been making phone calls, signing petitions, and showing up to my… Continue reading →

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Comforting Picture Books + Giveaways

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These books serve to comfort children during what is a serious and uncertain time. After reading this post, leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of all five books.

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An Interview with the Author of Come with Me + a Giveaway

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As educators, we are uniquely positioned to teach children to respect and love each other. We have the power to show them how to make the world a better place. We can shape the next generation of children so they will choose to be accepting of people who look different, have a different set of beliefs, or originate from a different cultural background. This is an enormous responsibility, but we are fortunate if we can do this work to bring about change in our corners of the world.

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Creating Teaching Tools for Picture Books

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Summer is the perfect time to seek out new mentor texts for your writing workshop. This post contains 20+ new picture book — fiction and nonfiction — suggestions that you can use to lift the level of your students’ writing. Plus, there are book giveaways! (Be sure to read the giveaway information carefully at the bottom of the post.)

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Tackling Difficult Subject Matter in a Picture Book

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Author and Illustrator Suzanne Del Rizzo talks about the way she tackled the Syrian Refugee Crisis in her new picture book, My Beautiful Birds.

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The Importance of Science: My 2017 #NF10for10 Selections

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These ten picture books will not only teach students about important topics in science, but they’ll also help kids become better writers.

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Picture Books in Secondary Classrooms

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Picture books are short, visual, and engaging, which makes them perfect for using as mentor texts with elementary AND secondary students.

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Remembrance Ideas for the September 11th Anniversary

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Educators from around the country share the ways in which they teach about September 11th to their students. This post includes programming and writing ideas, as well as links to videos and picture books you can read aloud.

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Because Kids Need to See Themselves in Books: My #PB10for10

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Today is Picture Book 10 for 10, which is a community of educators who share “must-have” picture books for classrooms. My list includes stories that will inspire children to write about their own experiences in new ways.

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Teaching the Four Types of Writing Through Texts

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Janiel Wagstaff’s books will help you teach primary writers about the four types of writing in an engaging way. Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win her series of Stella books.

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Nonfiction Picture Book 10 for 10

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Today is the annual Nonfiction Picture Book 10 for 10, hosted by Cathy Mere from Reflect and Refine, Mandy Robek of Enjoy and Embrace Learning, and Julie Balen of Write at the Edge. This is my fourth year participating in this event, which provides me with a chance to share ten nonfiction picture books I have been using as mentor texts with elementary school writers.

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I’m Trying to Love Spiders: A Review & Giveaway

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When my principal handed me a copy of Bethany Barton’s I’m Trying to Love Spiders, I was intrigued.  She had chosen this book as our Everybody Reads title for the month and I was… Continue reading →