Mary Quattlebaum's Blog, page 21
October 6, 2014
A Dozen Reasons: Writing about The Day of the Girl
by Karen Leggett Abouraya
October 11 is the International Day of the Girl Child, a day officially designated by the United Nations in 2011 to recognize the unique challenges girls face around the world.
On this day groups all over the world highlight, discuss and take action to advance rights and opportunities for girls everywhere. Many are groups organized by young people themselves, including School Girls Unite, the group that started in Kensington, Maryland, and lobbied hard for the Day of the Girl designation. These are some of the reasons:· By 2015, females will make up 64% of the world’s illiterate (adult) population. (PDF)· One in seven girls in developing countries is married off before age 15.· 1 in 5 high school girls has been physically or sexually abused by a dating partner.
A more complete list, visit the Day of the Girl website.
The Day of the Girl is a perfect opportunity to get students thinking – and writing about – the need for such a day. Students can choose a question to answer:1. Why do you think it’s a good idea to have a Day of the Girl?2. How do you see girls treated differently or unfairly in your own life?3. What action could you take as an individual, class or group to help improve the lives of girls?
You may also have students who would prefer to write about why there should be a Day of the Boy or a Day of the ???
This writing project can be expanded or adapted in many ways. · Have students write their reasons for the Day of the Girl as a phrase or a 140-character tweet. · Post the students' tweets or phrases on a bulletin board, as in the photos here and more on the Day of the Girl website. · Make this a social studies project and encourage students to act on some of their suggestions. School Girls Unite has an online action guide called Girls Gone Activist! How to Change the World through Education.
Other websites with information about challenges faced by girls and the Day of the Girl include the Malala Fund, The Day of the Girl Summit and the United Nations International Day of the Girl Child(with videos and web-stories).
http://childrensbookguild.org/karen-leggett-abouraya
October 11 is the International Day of the Girl Child, a day officially designated by the United Nations in 2011 to recognize the unique challenges girls face around the world.
On this day groups all over the world highlight, discuss and take action to advance rights and opportunities for girls everywhere. Many are groups organized by young people themselves, including School Girls Unite, the group that started in Kensington, Maryland, and lobbied hard for the Day of the Girl designation. These are some of the reasons:· By 2015, females will make up 64% of the world’s illiterate (adult) population. (PDF)· One in seven girls in developing countries is married off before age 15.· 1 in 5 high school girls has been physically or sexually abused by a dating partner.
A more complete list, visit the Day of the Girl website.
The Day of the Girl is a perfect opportunity to get students thinking – and writing about – the need for such a day. Students can choose a question to answer:1. Why do you think it’s a good idea to have a Day of the Girl?2. How do you see girls treated differently or unfairly in your own life?3. What action could you take as an individual, class or group to help improve the lives of girls?You may also have students who would prefer to write about why there should be a Day of the Boy or a Day of the ???
This writing project can be expanded or adapted in many ways. · Have students write their reasons for the Day of the Girl as a phrase or a 140-character tweet. · Post the students' tweets or phrases on a bulletin board, as in the photos here and more on the Day of the Girl website. · Make this a social studies project and encourage students to act on some of their suggestions. School Girls Unite has an online action guide called Girls Gone Activist! How to Change the World through Education.
Other websites with information about challenges faced by girls and the Day of the Girl include the Malala Fund, The Day of the Girl Summit and the United Nations International Day of the Girl Child(with videos and web-stories). http://childrensbookguild.org/karen-leggett-abouraya
September 29, 2014
Brothers and Sisters With a Point of View
Guest Post by Madelyn Rosenberg
This month, I published two books that I refer to as “brother-sister” books, Nanny X and How To Behave at a Tea Party. In both of these books, siblings have different ideas of the way things should be. Knowing that many students have siblings with whom they might sometimes disagree, these books can provide the perfect time to talk about point of view. You don’t always need a disagreement to show point of view, of course, but it’s an easy way to show characters with different views of the world.
Writing prompt:
This is a relatively simple point-of-view exercise that will get kids thinking about how different people might tell a story.
First, pair up students and pair up characters. You can give your students free rein or provide the characters for them.
Some examples might be:A brother and a sister (humans, monsters, bears…)A child and a parent (humans, monsters, bears…)A student and a teacher (humans, monsters, bears…)A super hero and a super villain A human and a dogA human and an alien
Next, have your students choose a situation where your characters would be in the same place, but might have a different view of their situation. You can give them free rein or provide some examples, where they can mix and match:
It’s time for dinner and one of your characters is serving a mysterious stew to the other. Your characters are at the ballet and one wants to danceYour characters are climbing a mountain but one is afraid of heightsOne character is taking another character for a walkA spaceship lands in the middle of the city/woods/playground.One of your characters wants to take over the world.
Now have each of your students write a paragraph describing the situation as their character would see it. Have your students use persuasive, descriptive language and tell them to tap into their acting skills, too.
When I write different points of view, I try to always ask myself: what does this character want in the moment? What does this character want, ultimately? Tell your students to tap into their character’s feelings, to make things up, and above all, to have fun.
BIO: Madelyn Rosenberg is a journalist and the author of six books for children, including the recent Nanny X and How to Behave at a Tea Party. She writes everything from picture books to young adult. Visit her at www.madelynrosenberg.com
This month, I published two books that I refer to as “brother-sister” books, Nanny X and How To Behave at a Tea Party. In both of these books, siblings have different ideas of the way things should be. Knowing that many students have siblings with whom they might sometimes disagree, these books can provide the perfect time to talk about point of view. You don’t always need a disagreement to show point of view, of course, but it’s an easy way to show characters with different views of the world.Writing prompt:
This is a relatively simple point-of-view exercise that will get kids thinking about how different people might tell a story.
First, pair up students and pair up characters. You can give your students free rein or provide the characters for them.
Some examples might be:A brother and a sister (humans, monsters, bears…)A child and a parent (humans, monsters, bears…)A student and a teacher (humans, monsters, bears…)A super hero and a super villain A human and a dogA human and an alien
Next, have your students choose a situation where your characters would be in the same place, but might have a different view of their situation. You can give them free rein or provide some examples, where they can mix and match:
It’s time for dinner and one of your characters is serving a mysterious stew to the other. Your characters are at the ballet and one wants to danceYour characters are climbing a mountain but one is afraid of heightsOne character is taking another character for a walkA spaceship lands in the middle of the city/woods/playground.One of your characters wants to take over the world.
Now have each of your students write a paragraph describing the situation as their character would see it. Have your students use persuasive, descriptive language and tell them to tap into their acting skills, too.
When I write different points of view, I try to always ask myself: what does this character want in the moment? What does this character want, ultimately? Tell your students to tap into their character’s feelings, to make things up, and above all, to have fun.
BIO: Madelyn Rosenberg is a journalist and the author of six books for children, including the recent Nanny X and How to Behave at a Tea Party. She writes everything from picture books to young adult. Visit her at www.madelynrosenberg.com
September 22, 2014
A FIZZLE BOX OF WRITING IDEAS
by Jacqueline Jules
The beginning of the year is all about establishing routines. Writing workshop is no exception. Very young students will need to know where to find lined paper in your classroom. Older students may decorate a particulate notebook for writing. As you create a writing friendly environment, consider reading Helen Lester’s autobiography Author: A True Story to your students and adding a “Fizzle Box” to your collection of writing supplies.
In Author: A True Story, Helen Lester, the popular children’s author of Tacky the Penguin and Me First, talks about her career as a writer. Her declaration that she began at age three with scribbled grocery lists that looked the same right-side up and upside down validates the early writing efforts of all young children. She also shares the challenges of overcoming a learning disability called “mirror writing.” Lester’s humorous account of her perseverance to become a published writer will delight young writers. She is honest about the effort it takes to write a good story, providing inspiration to students who also struggle. Her description of a “Fizzle Box” where she deposits ideas for future use can became a great resource in your own classroom.
After reading Lester’s autobiography, introduce a “Fizzle Box” of your own. You can use a plain recipe box or a pretty container for boxed greeting cards. Any box with a flip out lid will do. Show it to the class and then distribute index cards to your students. Spend time as a class brainstorming future writing ideas. In the primary classroom, emphasize that everyday experiences can make great writing topics: soccer games, vacations, field trips, picnics, playdates, etc. With older elementary students, encourage the students to go a step further with humorous experiences, lessons learned, firsts, favorites, siblings, embarrassing moments, etc.
Ask each student to write down one idea on the index card for the classroom “Fizzle Box.” Keep your box in an easily accessible place. The next time you have a student who “can’t think of anything to write about” during writing workshop, ask him or her to flip through the index cards in the classroom “Fizzle Box.” Since many of the ideas inside were generated during classroom discussion, students may find their creative juices flowing the minute they pick up a card.
www.jacquelinejules.com
The beginning of the year is all about establishing routines. Writing workshop is no exception. Very young students will need to know where to find lined paper in your classroom. Older students may decorate a particulate notebook for writing. As you create a writing friendly environment, consider reading Helen Lester’s autobiography Author: A True Story to your students and adding a “Fizzle Box” to your collection of writing supplies.
In Author: A True Story, Helen Lester, the popular children’s author of Tacky the Penguin and Me First, talks about her career as a writer. Her declaration that she began at age three with scribbled grocery lists that looked the same right-side up and upside down validates the early writing efforts of all young children. She also shares the challenges of overcoming a learning disability called “mirror writing.” Lester’s humorous account of her perseverance to become a published writer will delight young writers. She is honest about the effort it takes to write a good story, providing inspiration to students who also struggle. Her description of a “Fizzle Box” where she deposits ideas for future use can became a great resource in your own classroom. After reading Lester’s autobiography, introduce a “Fizzle Box” of your own. You can use a plain recipe box or a pretty container for boxed greeting cards. Any box with a flip out lid will do. Show it to the class and then distribute index cards to your students. Spend time as a class brainstorming future writing ideas. In the primary classroom, emphasize that everyday experiences can make great writing topics: soccer games, vacations, field trips, picnics, playdates, etc. With older elementary students, encourage the students to go a step further with humorous experiences, lessons learned, firsts, favorites, siblings, embarrassing moments, etc.
Ask each student to write down one idea on the index card for the classroom “Fizzle Box.” Keep your box in an easily accessible place. The next time you have a student who “can’t think of anything to write about” during writing workshop, ask him or her to flip through the index cards in the classroom “Fizzle Box.” Since many of the ideas inside were generated during classroom discussion, students may find their creative juices flowing the minute they pick up a card.
www.jacquelinejules.com
September 15, 2014
The Power of Writing from Your Own Life
Guest Post by Meg Medina
When I’m working with high school students, I like to help them experience the power of their own lives and memory as a source of inspiration for their work. Juniors and seniors are about to leave childhood behind – the joys of it as well as the hurtful parts. What’s ahead is unknown. They often feel ambivalent about what’s ahead, and they are almost always exhausted by the tasks of junior and senior year. It’s the perfect time to have them take a look back.
Depending on my time constraints, I ask students to bring a sample of a favorite toy/game from childhood. (Sometimes, we just make a quick list.) Basically, we spend some time in a free write, allowing our toys to unlock a memory. There is no stopping or crossing out. Just a stream of consciousness about this toy and a memory of how they played with it and with whom. I ask them to consider why they think they remember this event or person. I let them write for about 8 minutes, and then we share (on a volunteer basis, of course).
It’s always amazing to see what young people remember about the people and events that have shaped them. For me, the gold is always when they begin to name what it was like for them to grow up.
BIO: Meg Medina is an award-winning Latino author of picture books, middle grade, and young adult fiction whose work examines how cultures intersect through the eyes of young people. Her novel, Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass earned the 2014 Pura Belpré medal, the 2013 CYBILS fiction award, and the International Latino Book Award 2014. Meg is also the 2012 Ezra Jack Keats New Writers medal winner for her picture book Tia Isa Wants A Car. Visit Meg at http://megmedina.com/about/
When I’m working with high school students, I like to help them experience the power of their own lives and memory as a source of inspiration for their work. Juniors and seniors are about to leave childhood behind – the joys of it as well as the hurtful parts. What’s ahead is unknown. They often feel ambivalent about what’s ahead, and they are almost always exhausted by the tasks of junior and senior year. It’s the perfect time to have them take a look back.
Depending on my time constraints, I ask students to bring a sample of a favorite toy/game from childhood. (Sometimes, we just make a quick list.) Basically, we spend some time in a free write, allowing our toys to unlock a memory. There is no stopping or crossing out. Just a stream of consciousness about this toy and a memory of how they played with it and with whom. I ask them to consider why they think they remember this event or person. I let them write for about 8 minutes, and then we share (on a volunteer basis, of course).It’s always amazing to see what young people remember about the people and events that have shaped them. For me, the gold is always when they begin to name what it was like for them to grow up.
BIO: Meg Medina is an award-winning Latino author of picture books, middle grade, and young adult fiction whose work examines how cultures intersect through the eyes of young people. Her novel, Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass earned the 2014 Pura Belpré medal, the 2013 CYBILS fiction award, and the International Latino Book Award 2014. Meg is also the 2012 Ezra Jack Keats New Writers medal winner for her picture book Tia Isa Wants A Car. Visit Meg at http://megmedina.com/about/September 8, 2014
Teaching Art History with Picture Books
by Joan Waites
When teaching a lesson revolving around a famous artist in history, I begin by showing examples of the artist’s work, talk about their choice of media and subject matter, then read a short biography. In addition (and what really seems to capture the attention of the students) is reading a picture book that captures the art and personality of the artist in story.
Some wonderful books I’ve used and recommend are:
When Pigasso Met Mootisse by Nina LadenA fictionalized story about the friendship between Picasso and Matisse.
Look! Look! Look! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
Three mice learn to look at art using shapes, colors, composition and more--a great introduction for students on what to look for in any painting.
Linnea In Monet's Garden by Cristina BjorkA young girl visits Monet's Garden.
Seurat and La Grande Jatte: Connecting the Dot by Robert Burleigh Focuses on a single painting introducing the artist's life and work.
As a writing exercise, have children study one work of art by the artist featured in your lesson. Have children imagine themselves inside the painting, living in that world and write a short story about it. What do they see, smell and hear? Who or what is in the painting with them? What is happening around them or what is about to happen? Wishing everyone a wonderful start to the new school year!
www.joanwaites.com
When teaching a lesson revolving around a famous artist in history, I begin by showing examples of the artist’s work, talk about their choice of media and subject matter, then read a short biography. In addition (and what really seems to capture the attention of the students) is reading a picture book that captures the art and personality of the artist in story.
Some wonderful books I’ve used and recommend are:
When Pigasso Met Mootisse by Nina LadenA fictionalized story about the friendship between Picasso and Matisse.Look! Look! Look! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
Three mice learn to look at art using shapes, colors, composition and more--a great introduction for students on what to look for in any painting.
Linnea In Monet's Garden by Cristina BjorkA young girl visits Monet's Garden.Seurat and La Grande Jatte: Connecting the Dot by Robert Burleigh Focuses on a single painting introducing the artist's life and work.
As a writing exercise, have children study one work of art by the artist featured in your lesson. Have children imagine themselves inside the painting, living in that world and write a short story about it. What do they see, smell and hear? Who or what is in the painting with them? What is happening around them or what is about to happen? Wishing everyone a wonderful start to the new school year!
www.joanwaites.com
September 1, 2014
Fables Teach Writing Lessons in Purpose, Clarity
by Mary Quattlebaum
Aesop’s Fables is a classic that should be part of every home and school library, not only for itscenturies-long influence upon literature but for its ever-timely, pithy points about life. When used as writing models, these stories can inspire new versions of old favorites, help writers learn to revise for purpose and clarity, and connect with Common Core standards.
* Have available in classroom or share one or more collections of Aesop’s fables. What do students notice about the writing and illustrating style of each? Depending on publication date, some collections will be more overtly didactic than others. For an especially fine version that eschews the tacked-on “message,” you might share the picture book Aesop’s Fables(minedition, 2013), which includes 13 favorites and quirky, intriguing illustrations by Ayano Imai.
* Share several tales with students and talk about their history, as being credited to an ancient Greek storyteller named Aesop. Discuss the nature of fables as being stories, often with animal characters, designed to teach a life lesson. Have students figure out the purpose or point of each tale. What is the “life lesson” being taught? How does the author convey that without tacking on the moral or telling the reader what it is? What do the animals do?
* Ask students to find examples of these tales, either as book re-tellings or as used in popular culture (advertisements, decorations on clothing, etc.). Ask students why they think these tales continue to be re-told or referenced. Why do they still speak to us?
* Have students write their own short fables, following this process: (1) write down the life lesson you are trying to teach; (2) choose one or two animals that might help you to show this and jot down their personalities; (3) write a fable in which animals “act out” this life lesson, with action and dialogue; (4) revise, asking yourself if you showed how the animal learned the lesson; (5) share with a peer writer for feedback on word choice, clarity, etc.; (6) revise again; and (7) draw a picture, which can be as funny, surreal, or straightforward as you like.
* Compile the individual fables/pictures into a class booklet or display on bulletin board.
* Teens and adultsmight enjoy take-offs on the animal-fable form, especially David Sedaris’s hilarious Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary (2010).
www.maryquattlebaum.com
Aesop’s Fables is a classic that should be part of every home and school library, not only for itscenturies-long influence upon literature but for its ever-timely, pithy points about life. When used as writing models, these stories can inspire new versions of old favorites, help writers learn to revise for purpose and clarity, and connect with Common Core standards.
* Have available in classroom or share one or more collections of Aesop’s fables. What do students notice about the writing and illustrating style of each? Depending on publication date, some collections will be more overtly didactic than others. For an especially fine version that eschews the tacked-on “message,” you might share the picture book Aesop’s Fables(minedition, 2013), which includes 13 favorites and quirky, intriguing illustrations by Ayano Imai. * Share several tales with students and talk about their history, as being credited to an ancient Greek storyteller named Aesop. Discuss the nature of fables as being stories, often with animal characters, designed to teach a life lesson. Have students figure out the purpose or point of each tale. What is the “life lesson” being taught? How does the author convey that without tacking on the moral or telling the reader what it is? What do the animals do?
* Ask students to find examples of these tales, either as book re-tellings or as used in popular culture (advertisements, decorations on clothing, etc.). Ask students why they think these tales continue to be re-told or referenced. Why do they still speak to us?
* Have students write their own short fables, following this process: (1) write down the life lesson you are trying to teach; (2) choose one or two animals that might help you to show this and jot down their personalities; (3) write a fable in which animals “act out” this life lesson, with action and dialogue; (4) revise, asking yourself if you showed how the animal learned the lesson; (5) share with a peer writer for feedback on word choice, clarity, etc.; (6) revise again; and (7) draw a picture, which can be as funny, surreal, or straightforward as you like.
* Compile the individual fables/pictures into a class booklet or display on bulletin board.
* Teens and adultsmight enjoy take-offs on the animal-fable form, especially David Sedaris’s hilarious Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary (2010).
www.maryquattlebaum.com
August 25, 2014
#StrongerThan: Writing About Personal Challenges
by Karen Leggett Abouraya
“Let us pick up our books and pens. One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world.”
They are words made famous by Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai, who spoke at the United Nations on her sixteenth birthday – just nine months after she was shot by the Taliban near her home in Pakistan’s Swat Valley for speaking up for the right of girls to attend school. She has called on young people the world over to stand up for the right of every child in every country to go to school – and to stand up with their words and pens and pencils. After 200 young girls were kidnapped from a school in Nigeria, Malala spoke out again to show the world “we are #StrongerThan those who deny school girls an education.” (Video)
What are your students “StrongerThan?” Here is a perfect opportunity to encourage young people in and out of the classroom to learn Malala’s story, feel her courage and resolve and then think about what they are #StrongerThan. What do they have the courage to write about and conquer or achieve? Children of any age can be asked to write a sentence, a paragraph, an essay or a 140-character Tweet about what they are stronger than -
#StrongerThan bullying?
#StrongerThan my math or reading homework?
#StrongerThan my ADD or cerebral palsy or other disability?
#StrongerThan unfairness?
Students may choose to focus on personal challenges or issues that trouble them in their community or the world – including the education concerns that so motivate Malala. This initial writing project can grow as much as a child or class wishes by writing group or individual letters to a principal, school superintendent, local newspaper or elected official. My picture book biography of Malala – Malala Yousafzai: Warrior with Words includes several organizations children can join or replicate: School Girls Unite (started by middle school girls right in Kensington, Maryland), Girl Up, GirlRising and Global Campaign for Education, and of course, the Malala Fund itself.
http://www.handsaroundthelibrary.com/
“Let us pick up our books and pens. One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world.”
They are words made famous by Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai, who spoke at the United Nations on her sixteenth birthday – just nine months after she was shot by the Taliban near her home in Pakistan’s Swat Valley for speaking up for the right of girls to attend school. She has called on young people the world over to stand up for the right of every child in every country to go to school – and to stand up with their words and pens and pencils. After 200 young girls were kidnapped from a school in Nigeria, Malala spoke out again to show the world “we are #StrongerThan those who deny school girls an education.” (Video)What are your students “StrongerThan?” Here is a perfect opportunity to encourage young people in and out of the classroom to learn Malala’s story, feel her courage and resolve and then think about what they are #StrongerThan. What do they have the courage to write about and conquer or achieve? Children of any age can be asked to write a sentence, a paragraph, an essay or a 140-character Tweet about what they are stronger than -
#StrongerThan bullying?
#StrongerThan my math or reading homework?
#StrongerThan my ADD or cerebral palsy or other disability?
#StrongerThan unfairness?
Students may choose to focus on personal challenges or issues that trouble them in their community or the world – including the education concerns that so motivate Malala. This initial writing project can grow as much as a child or class wishes by writing group or individual letters to a principal, school superintendent, local newspaper or elected official. My picture book biography of Malala – Malala Yousafzai: Warrior with Words includes several organizations children can join or replicate: School Girls Unite (started by middle school girls right in Kensington, Maryland), Girl Up, GirlRising and Global Campaign for Education, and of course, the Malala Fund itself.http://www.handsaroundthelibrary.com/
August 18, 2014
SUMMER OR AUTUMN
by Alison Ashley Formento
School may have started where you live, or it will start soon, but you can keep summer memories strong and celebrate the season to come, too. This easy and fun writing exercise encourages students to use personal experiences to compare and contrast the seasons of summer and autumn.
Write your favorite summer activity. Example: Swimming at the local pool
Write five personal facts about that activity. Example: Swimming helps me keep cool on a hot day. It’s fun splashing with my friends.I like to dive off the side of the pool.I came in third in the backstroke race in my age group.My arms are strong from swimming.
Write your favorite summer food.Example: Watermelon
Write five personal facts about that food.It tastes sweet.It’s cool in my mouth on a hot day.I like to collect watermelon seeds.I planted a whole cup of seeds in my yard.It’s fun to eat watermelon with my hands.
Write your favorite autumn activity.Making a leaf pile in my back yard.
Write five facts about that activity.I help my family rake leaves in our yard.I like to pile the leaves next to an old tree stump in our backyard.Jumping into a giant pile of leaves is fun.One leaf pile I made was taller than my dad.My dog likes to hide in a leaf pile.
Write your favorite autumn food.Apple pie
Write five facts about that food.My family goes to a farm to pick apples for pies.Fresh apples off a tree are fun to pick and crunchy to eat.I help my mom make crusts for pies.Apple pie makes our house smell like cinnamon when it’s baking in the oven.Warm apple pie makes vanilla ice cream melt, but it tastes great together.
Use the personal experience facts you’ve listed to write a convincing explanation for readers why you believe one of these seasons is more enjoyable than the other.
www.alisonashleyformento.com
School may have started where you live, or it will start soon, but you can keep summer memories strong and celebrate the season to come, too. This easy and fun writing exercise encourages students to use personal experiences to compare and contrast the seasons of summer and autumn.
Write your favorite summer activity. Example: Swimming at the local pool
Write five personal facts about that activity. Example: Swimming helps me keep cool on a hot day. It’s fun splashing with my friends.I like to dive off the side of the pool.I came in third in the backstroke race in my age group.My arms are strong from swimming.
Write your favorite summer food.Example: Watermelon
Write five personal facts about that food.It tastes sweet.It’s cool in my mouth on a hot day.I like to collect watermelon seeds.I planted a whole cup of seeds in my yard.It’s fun to eat watermelon with my hands.
Write your favorite autumn activity.Making a leaf pile in my back yard.
Write five facts about that activity.I help my family rake leaves in our yard.I like to pile the leaves next to an old tree stump in our backyard.Jumping into a giant pile of leaves is fun.One leaf pile I made was taller than my dad.My dog likes to hide in a leaf pile.
Write your favorite autumn food.Apple pie
Write five facts about that food.My family goes to a farm to pick apples for pies.Fresh apples off a tree are fun to pick and crunchy to eat.I help my mom make crusts for pies.Apple pie makes our house smell like cinnamon when it’s baking in the oven.Warm apple pie makes vanilla ice cream melt, but it tastes great together.
Use the personal experience facts you’ve listed to write a convincing explanation for readers why you believe one of these seasons is more enjoyable than the other.
www.alisonashleyformento.com
August 11, 2014
CROSS-COUNTRY TRAVEL IN POSTCARDS
by Jacqueline Jules
Throughout the summer, Pencil Tips bloggers have been suggesting ways to inspire young writers to document their travels. Joan Waites suggested a map collage. Alison Formento provided ideas for listing facts and sharing the information in different ways. I’d like to suggest postcards enhanced by research.
Vera B. William’s classic picture book, Stringbean’s Trip to the Shining Sea, is an illustrated group of postcards written by a boy named Stringbean Coe on a trip from Kansas to California. In each postcard, Stringbean describes his travel experiences in vivid words and pictures. Share this delightful book with your students and ask them to write their own cross-country adventure in postcards. This is a great opportunity to combine description with geographical research. Students will need to look up important facts about National Parks and other major tourist attractions so they can be accurately portrayed in their writing. Words and pictures can be created on large blank index cards (8 inches by 5 inches) and fastened together with string or a brad on the left hand side. The end result is a postcard book, just like Stringbean’s Trip to the Shining Sea.
Another fun travel book to use for inspiration is Darcy Pattison’s The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman. In this picture book, a life-sized wooden toy hitchhikes across country while his progress is reported back to his owner through letters and postcards.
Both books depict strong characters and are great models of how a story can be interwoven in a travel narrative. Better yet, they are so much fun to read, your students may suggest writing their own travel letters before you give the class assignment.
www.jacquelinejules.com
Throughout the summer, Pencil Tips bloggers have been suggesting ways to inspire young writers to document their travels. Joan Waites suggested a map collage. Alison Formento provided ideas for listing facts and sharing the information in different ways. I’d like to suggest postcards enhanced by research.
Vera B. William’s classic picture book, Stringbean’s Trip to the Shining Sea, is an illustrated group of postcards written by a boy named Stringbean Coe on a trip from Kansas to California. In each postcard, Stringbean describes his travel experiences in vivid words and pictures. Share this delightful book with your students and ask them to write their own cross-country adventure in postcards. This is a great opportunity to combine description with geographical research. Students will need to look up important facts about National Parks and other major tourist attractions so they can be accurately portrayed in their writing. Words and pictures can be created on large blank index cards (8 inches by 5 inches) and fastened together with string or a brad on the left hand side. The end result is a postcard book, just like Stringbean’s Trip to the Shining Sea. 
Another fun travel book to use for inspiration is Darcy Pattison’s The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman. In this picture book, a life-sized wooden toy hitchhikes across country while his progress is reported back to his owner through letters and postcards.
Both books depict strong characters and are great models of how a story can be interwoven in a travel narrative. Better yet, they are so much fun to read, your students may suggest writing their own travel letters before you give the class assignment.
www.jacquelinejules.com
August 4, 2014
Got Secrets?: Publishing Opportunity for Students
by Jane Harrington
I have had the distinct pleasure this summer of seeing a short story of mine in the literary journal Chautauqua, an anthology that is launched each summer at about this time up at the Chautauqua Institution in New York. (For the scoop on the Chautauqua Institution, visit their website: http://www.ciweb.org/about-us) As literary journals go, this is probably my favorite. Main reason: they publish youth writing as well as adult writing.
The submissions period for the next journal will open August 15 and close November 15. This is perfect for (a) the summer listless who are looking for something to fill the dog days, and (b) teachers and parents planning fall writing projects in classrooms and living rooms. The theme is “Privacy and Secrets.” The guidelines surrounding their “Young Voices” category are as follows:
Chautauqua has added a new section, which celebrates young writers, aged 12 to 18. Work should be submitted by a teacher, mentor, or parent. Please confirm on the entry that the piece can be classified as a Young Voices entry. We ask that young writers consider the theme. Essays and stories should remain under 1,500 words. For poetry, please submit no more than three poems and/or no more than six pages.
Whether you are planning a youth or adult entry, you will find more complete guidelines here, and information for ordering current or back issues: http://www.ciweb.org/literary-journal
www.janeharrington.com
I have had the distinct pleasure this summer of seeing a short story of mine in the literary journal Chautauqua, an anthology that is launched each summer at about this time up at the Chautauqua Institution in New York. (For the scoop on the Chautauqua Institution, visit their website: http://www.ciweb.org/about-us) As literary journals go, this is probably my favorite. Main reason: they publish youth writing as well as adult writing.
The submissions period for the next journal will open August 15 and close November 15. This is perfect for (a) the summer listless who are looking for something to fill the dog days, and (b) teachers and parents planning fall writing projects in classrooms and living rooms. The theme is “Privacy and Secrets.” The guidelines surrounding their “Young Voices” category are as follows:
Chautauqua has added a new section, which celebrates young writers, aged 12 to 18. Work should be submitted by a teacher, mentor, or parent. Please confirm on the entry that the piece can be classified as a Young Voices entry. We ask that young writers consider the theme. Essays and stories should remain under 1,500 words. For poetry, please submit no more than three poems and/or no more than six pages.
Whether you are planning a youth or adult entry, you will find more complete guidelines here, and information for ordering current or back issues: http://www.ciweb.org/literary-journal
www.janeharrington.com
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