Last week, nine authors and illustrators stopped by to share their expertise with us. In case you missed it, this post includes links to each of their posts, which include giveaways of their books, virtual author visits, and more!
In today’s final Author Spotlight post of the year, Candy Fleming shares a bit about how her most recent book, The Amazing Collection of Joey Cornell, came to be.
The last time I had a story rejected, I’ll admit I was disappointed…for about two minutes. Then I rejected the negative feelings and sent the story to a different publisher…
We are both living the dream – kids, community commitments, a day-job we love, great friends – the list goes on. Although we wouldn’t change a thing, writing can take a toll and… Continue reading
Why is writing such a slippery process? A budding children’s book author and an established writer of books for teachers on writing and grammar shares his writing process. It’s simple: Write.
Author and illustrator Melissa Iwai explains how cooking provides many teachable aspects to explore, such as counting, observing, and following a series of steps.
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.
Tuesdays are Slice of Life days! Everyone is welcome in this community. Welcome to the Slice of Life Community! WRITE a slice of life story on your own blog. SHARE a link to your… Continue reading
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.
A good biography presents an interpretation of the facts. Doreen Rappaport calls that “the hook.” Join her today as we kick off our 4th Annual Author Spotlight Series with Doreen’s guest blog post.
For the next eight days, published picture book, middle-grade, and professional book authors will take over #TWTBlog to share their thoughts on writing, their writing processes, and the path to publishing with you.
Oh, and there will be giveaways!
It’s that time of year when we start to think about all the things we didn’t get to do with our students! Here are five writing exercises I am going to make sure students don’t leave without!
Sometimes our writing workshops can begin to feel a little like a house we live in– always something to improve, always something we haven’t been able to get to, etc. But I would venture to argue that, like a house, many things are working. It’s time to notice and celebrate them!
Think about the writer and making the writer better. What are the needs of a writer? What opportunities does technology offer to make the writer better?
Tuesdays are Slice of Life days! Everyone is welcome in this community. “If we are asking students to take risks, we have to model risk-taking.” Meredith Sinclair at the first… Continue reading
I found myself annotating Enticing Hard-to-Reach Writers as I read in an effort to hold on to all of Ruth’s wisdom about reaching students who are hiding – physically or emotionally – in our classrooms. As a result, I asked Ruth to answer a bunch of my burning questions about her book, which you need to put on your summer reading list!
“Suddenly, the most beautiful words filled the air. Eva was rehearsing her writing aloud, in Spanish. I quickly reached for my phone and recorded her, so she’d remember her plans. But Eva didn’t need that. The words came right back, this time, on paper.”
How do you handle these moments? What does a conference look like when you’re thinking, “Oh my goodness. Should I even be letting them write about this in school?!”
Are you the writing teacher you dream to be?
Tuesdays are Slice of Life days! Everyone is welcome in this community. Sometimes we find inspiration in the strangest places. Last week, I opened a Dove chocolate–the kind that has a message inside… Continue reading
