A few months ago I ran into Cindy Minnich who was attending a professional development seminar I lead. We chatted for awhile after the workshop. She encouraged me to write something for the Nerdy Book Club, which is an incredible blog she facilitates with Donalyn Miller and Colby Sharp. I took a look at the… Continue reading Ten Best @ Nerdy Book Club
Category: reading
Summer Reading Plans
Do you have summer reading plans? Like most things in life, it's important to make a plan in order to meet your goals. In my little corner of the world summer is almost a synonym for reading. Before I had kids, I used to send my books with Andy when he left for work in order to… Continue reading Summer Reading Plans
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Hugo Cabret
For Christmas we gave Sam The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Sam and I have been reading it ever since. I like to move through books quickly, often staying up into the wee hours of the morning to finish the story. I can't wait to finish stories, wanting the character world to be restored… Continue reading Hugo Cabret
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Growing Readers Initiative
I worked at The Learning Community: a public charter school in Central Falls, RI from August 2007 - June 2009, which is when I lived in Rhode Island with my husband. I had the privilege of watching The Growing Readers get its start under the direction of Christine Wiltshire Alves, who is one of the… Continue reading Growing Readers Initiative
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Reading Aloud Builds Better Writers
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
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A Strong Parntership
My father reads The New York Times every morning. By the time he gets to work, I often have the link to an article in my e-mail inbox, which he thinks will pique my interest. This morning was no different. He sent me the link to an op-ed entitled "The Central Falls Success." I liked… Continue reading A Strong Parntership
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A Wintertime Read Aloud + A Giveaway
One of the little words I've been thinking about adopting as my One Little Word for 2012 is wonder. Wonder, as defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary, means: 1won·der noun \ˈwən-dər\ Definition of WONDER 1 a : a cause of astonishment or admiration : marvel <it's a wonder you weren't killed> <the pyramid is a… Continue reading A Wintertime Read Aloud + A Giveaway
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Happy Chanukah + a Book Giveaway
There are no shortage of books on Chanukah. Despite the fact that Chanukah is not one of the major Jewish holidays, there are lots of books, some of which aren't so good, written about the holiday. I suppose it's because Chanukah almost always begins in December and sometimes overlaps with Christmas (like it does this… Continue reading Happy Chanukah + a Book Giveaway
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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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Beyond Classroom Walls
One of the fantastic sessions I attended at NCTE was called "Beyond Classroom Walls: Honoring Voices of Young Readers." It was led by Julie Johnson of Raising Readers and Writers, Katie Keier of Catching Readers, and Cathy Mere of Reflect and Refine. Let me start by saying that all three of these women are the… Continue reading Beyond Classroom Walls
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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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Stories are essential to our lives.
Yesterday afternoon I attended the Elementary Section Get-Together at the Chicago Hilton. The get-togethers are always fun to attend since they provide me with the opportunity to catch up with people like Karen Caine, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, and Franki Sibberson who I only get to see in-person at NCTE. In addition, attending the get-together gives… Continue reading Stories are essential to our lives.
