A meeting place for a world of reflective writers.
Ruth was shocked when she learned that I had never heard of Scaredy Squirrel Books when we passed the Kids Can Press Booth at the NCTE Conference. Quite frankly, once … Continue Reading Scaredy Squirrel Books in the Primary Writing Classroom
The Fall of 2006 brought me the savviest class I ever taught. Nearly all 32 of them scoffed at me on Wednesday, September 6th when I pulled out Nothing Ever … Continue Reading Picture Books in Upper Elementary School
Every now and then I’d pick a dud-of-a-book to read aloud. However, more often than not, my students loved the books I read aloud and subsequently used as touchstone texts. … Continue Reading Mentor Texts That Keep Students’ Interest
When I was a middle school teacher, and now in most workshops that I lead, my favorite first read aloud is Hooray for Diffendoofer Day by Dr. Seuss (with some … Continue Reading What book will you read aloud on the first day of school?
My students know I celebrate Chanukah, not Christmas. That’s all they know. I have never gone into greater detail about the Festival of Lights since I didn’t want to seem … Continue Reading Teaching About ALL of the December Holidays
As a child, I used to avoid books with “that gold medal” like the plague. I wouldn’t pick one up – at all. In fact, I read more SVH (sad, … Continue Reading The Newbery Controversy
I just received the September 2008 Issue of The Reading Teacher. It’s already accumulating sticky notes, tabs, and dog-ears since it’s packed with a wealth of information. There’s an article … Continue Reading Article About Characters Who Write
Where were you on September 11th, 2001? It’s a question that makes my heart tighten. I was in Manhattan, at a job interview in Midtown. I heard that a plane … Continue Reading Preparing for September 11th
In the past day and a half, I have witnessed three read alouds: kindergarten; grade 3; and grade 5. There is something special about having the outsider’s perspective, while at the … Continue Reading Reading Aloud.
I decided to transfer my old, messy, and incomplete book list that I kept on my Wiki to a GooglePages Website. I think I managed to record every single book … Continue Reading My Book List Page Is FINALLY Complete!
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 