Mary Quattlebaum's Blog, page 34

Author and Illustrator for the Day, Part Two

by Joan Waites
In a previous blog post (January 2, 2012), I wrote about an upcoming "artist in residence" program I would be participating in at an elementary school. I'm happy to say I've just completed that residency with approximately 120 fourth graders.  It was wonderful getting a chance to know so many students by name, and by all accounts they really enjoyed creating their own books.  Prior to my arrival, I outlined a program and submitted it to the fourth grade teachers so they had a clear idea of what we would be doing.  The days broke down as follows:
Day 1: Introduction to the Art of Picture Book Illustration
What does an illustrator do?How does an illustrator work?How are illustrations for a book created?How does the illustrator work with an author…or do they?
*manuscript acquisition*thumbnail sketches*final sketches and dummy book*final art*description of the printing and binding process*printed book*Q&A
Hands on:-Explanation of the project student groups will create in the four days of workshops.-Groups formed and "story prompt" cards will be created by students.-Story cards mixed and randomly redistributed to groups.-Students begin to brainstorm story ideas.
Day 2: The Writing Process
What makes a good story?What elements should be included in a story?
*Memorable charactersHands on:-Groups work on stories based on the story prompt cards they received.-Text divided to fit on eight pages
Day 3: The Illustration Process
*different styles used in illustration*different mediums used in illustration*different color palates used in illustration*giving the reader more than just depicting the written word
Hands on:-distribution of thumbnail sketch sheets-distribution of blank books (created using heavy weight construction paper folded and stapled )-final sketches worked on if time permits or will be worked on at home that night. (Each student will be illustrating their own version of another group's story).
Day 4: Presentation of Eight Page Books
Hands on:*Students will be given a little time to complete illustrations for their stories and ask questions.*One student from each group will read the story to the class and other students will present the art they created for the story.
Some questions to ask:
Are the illustrations successful for this manuscript? Do they add something new and exciting to the story?Do the characters come to life in the illustrations?Do we get a good sense of place and time when looking at the illustrations?Is the author (group) happy with the way their story has been illustrated? Is there a way the story could be edited to allow for more exciting illustration opportunities?Was it fun to illustrate another group's story?
For the most part we stuck to this schedule, but after the first day the teachers and I made one change.  The students were so excited about the stories they were working on and were already doing sketches of characters. I was told it was all they talked about for the rest of the day! Since they were already so invested in their work, we decided to forgo the idea of reassigning the stories to different groups to illustrate. I think this idea would work better if this was explained at the beginning of the project, or if the exercise was used in an older age group.
Next week all 120 books will be on display at the school so the entire student body can view the finished books. I was so proud of the work the children did, and so were they. If you think a book featuring a Nike sneaker, the zoo, and getting lost would be difficult to write, you just have to read Detective Nike and the Missing Panda !
http://www.joanwaites.com/ 

THE READING/WRITING CONNECTION

by Alison Hart
Dear Ms. Hart,
    My class of seventy sixth graders recently finished reading your book, Gabriel's Horses, during literature circles.  They all simply loved the book.  As we would finish up one chapter they couldn't wait to read the next one.  For some of my students it was actually the first book they have loved to read on their own.  . . .
          As an author, receiving e-mails such as the above gives me a huge boost. I loved that my novel was suspenseful, interesting and engaging to this group of students. As a teacher at a community college, however, the statement "For some of my students it was actually the first book they have loved to read on their own" saddened me. I teach reluctant readers who are working on pre-college skills. When asked the question "who has read or is reading a good book?" only one or two raise their hands. There is a serious detachment from reading, which is one reason many of my students have difficulty writing. This post will be more about reading than writing, because although I have never researched statistics and studies on the reading/writing connection, instinctively, I know it is crucial.           As I discussed in my last blog, storytelling and vocabulary are key to good writing.  Reading is key to developing both. When kids don't read, their writing skills suffer, no matter how well and often we teach point of view and description. How then can we get more kids interested in reading, which will consequently improve writing? The answer to that question has been discussed and dissected for decades and still educators and parents are baffled.  Many kids devour books. But more today are considered aliterate, which is defined as when someone has the ability to read but has total disinterest in reading.  Some facts:                     1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.          80% of US families did not buy a book last year.          27% of adults in America did not read a single book in 2007 (USA Today)
          In his book Readicide, author Kelly Gallagher gives further statistics and does not hesitate in declaring that too often aliteracy is "exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools." I would love to blame it all on the teachers, but I cannot. Every day when I enter my own classroom, I celebrate the power and joy of reading, yet too often I do not make a difference.  This semester I introduced literature circles to my students. The books were hand-picked for a variety of topics and genres as well as high-interest and readability. The students got to choose which book they wanted to read. In groups, they did pre-reading activities designed to improve their background information. For example, the group that read I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced, the true story of a young girl from Yemen who is married at age ten to a thirty-year-old man, researched the country and its customs to help them understand the setting and context.          How successful were the literature groups? It's hard to tell. Nothing was graded and I had no firm criteria for success. Groups met and set the number of pages to read and discuss each week. If a student chose not to read, there were no consequences--I didn't want reading to be equated with punishment.  There will be a final group presentation, which requires minimal writing; however, the project is intended to share the book and I will not penalize someone who did not read it.           Success? Failure? I can only judge based on comments from the students.  Most enjoyed the books, some obviously more than others based on listening in on their discussions. Two students asked to read books from another group. One student asked for a recommendation for something similar. One asked if she could give it to a friend to read. A handful said it was the first book they had ever read.  More shrugged their shoulders and said "it was all right." Did any students suddenly become enraptured with books?  No.  Did "they all simply love the book" as the teacher expressed in her e-mail? No again. Did I suddenly see a surge in writing skills.  Um, no.          Still I am forging ahead, fine-tuning the groups and process. As an author and teacher, I understand the importance of reading and its connection to writing and future success.  It is a message I will continue to convey to my students every day and as best as I can!
The books my students in the lowest reading section chose this semester which they seemed to enjoy:I am Nujood, Age 10 and DivorcedOf Mice and MenA Child Called "It"The First Part LastLockdown
What books have motivated your students and/or children? I'd love to hear from you. http://www.alisonhartbooks.com/

PENCIL TIPS: THE WRITING GARDEN

by Mary Quattlebaum
As the weather warms and eyes turn from page or screen to the greening world, a field trip can help enhance students' writing skills and pleasure.
And you need not travel far.  Many schools today have created small gardens or grounds that can be used as outdoor classrooms.  Alive with plants, pollinators, and regional wildlife, these green spots offer hands-on and real-life lessons in math, science, natural history, geography, literature, and the arts.  You can also take a beyond-school writing trip to a public garden.
1.  In the classroom, prepare students by sharing poems or descriptions of plants, insects, and birds.  What details make the writing vivid?  Did the writer like or dislike this thing?  (See below for some of my favorite poems/descriptions.) 
2.  As a class, have them list things they think they will find in the garden.
3.  Have them bring their writer's journals and pencils outdoors and challenge them to (1) look for the things they thought they would find, (2) add details (such as color, name, smell, texture, sound, and so on to "flower," "butterfly," or "bird," for example), and (3) write down things/details they hadn't expected.
4.  In the classroom, discuss their findings.  What were some surprises?  What one natural thing did they find most interesting?  Why?
5.  Ask them to write a short description or poem that includes specific details and three of the five senses.  For younger kids, you might also have them draw/color a picture and post their writings/drawings in the classroom for an "indoor garden."
For more information on creating or teaching with a school garden, check online resources offered by the National Wildlife Federation www.nwf.org/schoolyard and National Gardening Association www.kidsgardening.org .
Some favorite garden poems/descriptions:
"Orchids," "Weed Puller," "Old Florist," and "Moss-Gathering," by Theodore Roethke in The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke.
"Petaling" and "Me Boy. You Plant." by Heidi Mordhorst in Pumpkin Butterfly.
 "You Never Hear the Garden Grow," "The Nest," "Cricket" in The 20th Century Children's Poetry Treasury, edited by Jack Prelutsky.
http://www.maryquattlebaum.com/

THE KEY TO GOOD WRITING

by Jacqueline Jules
Inspired by Mary Amato's post on Sharing Mistakes, http://penciltipswritingworkshop.blogspot.com/2012/02/sharing-mistakes.html, I told students the story of a recent poem acceptance. In addition to a few stylistic changes, the editor asked if I would consider chopping off the last two lines. I was hesitant. The poem felt unfinished without the ending. Then, as I usually do, when an editor makes a suggestion, I examined those lines again. Did I really need them? Were they redundant? Could I rework the beginning so the new ending felt more resonant? I gave it a whirl and revised the poem, creating a version I liked better. In the end, I was grateful to the editor for pushing me to write a stronger poem. 

Art by Maggie D.This is not the first time an editor has asked me to remove an ending, change a title, or even switch the point of view. Revisions at the request of an editor are part of any published author's life.  Books rarely spring perfectly formed from the writer's brain. They benefit from the suggestions of others. When someone gives me a good idea for fixing one of my stories or poems, they give me a present—an opportunity to write something better. In the long run, I am happier.  Of course, it can be hard to hear that writing you think is finished needs further work, but good writing requires hard work. At author visits, I often tell students how I expanded my original idea for Zapato Power from a 1,0000 word easy reader to a 5,000 word chapter book. Likewise, my Constitution book, Unite or Die: How Thirteen States Became a Nation began as a four page skit of 800 some words that I expanded to over 3000 words. Students are accustomed to hearing their teachers tell them they should add details or change things in their writing. It can be comforting (and empowering) for students to hear that all writers are asked to expand their stories. A frequent question at author visits is: "How many times do you revise?" The truth is I revise so many times, I lose track. Thirty times may be an average number but I sold a book last year that I've been re-writing in different formats for over twenty years. That book must have gone through at least one hundred revisions.
Teachers are often frustrated by a student's unwillingness to go back and revise. Kids often feel they are finished the second they put the period on the last sentence. So it bears repeating as often as possible that revision is the key to good writing.  While not all students will be motivated to rework their pieces, some will be inspired with amazing results. A student recently came to me with a brief third person story about a father/son ski trip that ended in the boy's death. I suggested that she fill out the story to make the reader feel more connected to the characters. I also commented on how the death of a child is very sad. The student said she wanted to write a sad story. I said, "That's fine. Just make the reader feel the experience." To be honest, I didn't expect the student to pursue the project. About a week later, the student came back to me with a story written from the viewpoint of a daughter who lost her father during a skiing accident. I was blown away by the immediacy of the voice. A couple of ho-hum paragraphs about a nameless boy who died in a hole had been transformed into a riveting first person story. I felt the panic and pain of this new character as she realized her father was fatally injured. The young writer had added strong dialogue and vivid details one would never have imagined from her first draft. She proved to herself and her readers how much a new approach can enhance a story.  
Another example comes from a student who wanted to write a story about the day she overcame her fear of riding roller coasters. However, she got bogged down in the beginning and somehow ended up spending more time describing the breakfast she ate and the drive to the amusement park than the roller coaster ride. I suggested that she trim the beginning and add more details about her fear of riding coasters and how she overcame it. At first, she balked (as I did when the editor asked me to rewrite my poem). Then, she sat down to try again. The end result was a piece so focused the reader felt the queasiness in the girl's stomach as she considered overcoming her fears.
As teachers, sometimes we are afraid to push our students to do better work. We don't want to discourage them. But the delighted face of a student who realizes he/she has transformed a weak work into a strong one is an empowering gift for all involved.
www.jacquelinejules.com

TELLING WHO'S TELLING: POINT OF VIEW

by Laura Krauss Melmed
By the time we reach adulthood, most of us know (although it's not always easy to keep it in mind) that the way in which one interprets the world depends on one's point of view.  In teaching young students about point of view as a literary device, the goal is to help them understand the various perspectives from which a story can be conveyed by the author to the reader.  
There are three main categories of point of view:
The objective point of view presents the action and the characters' speech without comment or emotion.  Fairy tales and most picture books for young children are told in this straightforward manner, as if reporting a news story. As Sgt. Joe Friday used to say, for those of us old enough to remember, "Just the facts, Ma'am."
First person narration tells the story from a character's own vantage point including his or her thoughts and emotions.  This point of view appeals to children once they have reached the age of introspection, so we find it quite often in middle grade fiction.  A few examples are Island of the Blue Dolphins, Jacob Have I Loved, So B. It, and When You Reach Me. 
The omniscient narrator knows about and shares with us the thoughts, motivations, and feelings of all the characters.  It's not used very often in middle grade fiction, but is employed skillfully by Jean Birdsall in The Penderwicks series, in which the story is told variously from the points of view of each of the four sisters, though in the third person. 
For teaching first person point of view, see Mary Quattlebaum's recent Pencil Tips post on writing a two-person poem.  Use her suggestions for crafting a lesson based on her own beautiful poem told from the perspective of both a child and a firefly. Or, following the format of The Popularity Papers series for middle graders, ask the children to keep an illustrated journal of happenings in the classroom for one week, then compare the journals to get their different points of view.
A lesson on the omniscient narrator could begin with giving students a passage from a well-known folk or fairy tale.  Have them read it, and then ask them to pretend to be mind readers, rewriting the passage to let the reader in on the thoughts and feelings of the various characters in the passage.
I've used a scene from "The Gingerbread Man" as an example.  Here is the traditional telling, done from an objective point of view:
An old woman was baking one day, and she made some gingerbread. She had some dough left over and so she made the shape of a little man. She made eyes for him, a nose and a smiling mouth all of currants, and placed more currants down his front to look like buttons. Then she laid him on a baking tray and put him into the oven to bake.
After a little while, she heard something rattling at the oven door. She opened it and to her surprise out jumped the little gingerbread man she had made. She tried to catch him as he ran across the kitchen, but he slipped past her, calling as he ran:
"Run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
And my retelling with an omniscient narrator:
An old woman was baking gingerbread one day and had some dough left over.  My husband is working hard in the garden, she thought.  I will make him his favorite special treat, a gingerbread man.  She made the shape of a little man.  She made eyes for him, a nose and a smiling mouth of currants.  Deciding to dress him as her husband was dressed, she made a row of currant buttons down the the gingerbread man's chest.
After a while she heard something rattling the oven door, and a little concerned, opened it up, then jumped back, startled, as out leaped the gingerbread man.  He immediately took off across the kitchen floor.  Resolving not to let her husband's treat get away, the woman trotted after it in hot pursuit.  But the gingerbread man, bent on freedom, felt sure he could easily give the old woman the slip: 
"Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!" he sang out over his shoulder, his currant mouth wearing a confident smirk.
To continue the story, the narrator could give us the thoughts of the various animals that take up the chase.  And though we all know what befell the gingerbread man, here is a chance to describe his final thoughts, as well as those of the wily fox happily licking his chops after swallowing that tasty morsel.
http://www.laurakraussmelmed.com/

CHALLENGE YOURSELF

by Joan Waites
It happens to the best of us. We sit and stare at the blank page, wondering if we will ever come up with another great story idea or artistic masterpiece.
As easy as it would be to give up when we hit a wall like this, sometimes taking small baby steps towards the bigger picture helps to get the wheels turning.
For example, last November I participated in "PiBoIdMo" or "Picture Book Idea Month" an on-line challenge started by children's author Tara Lazar. The premise of the challenge is to motivate both published and unpublished writers to come up with one picture book "idea" a day for one month. Not a whole manuscript, but a title, unique character, or a rough outline…just a little something written down that might jump start a future story idea. It seems like a daunting task, but just taking minutes a day, I was surprised at how much you can accomplish. Of course not all these ideas will be worth pursuing, but the hope is that one or two, or a combination of several of these ideas will eventually become a polished manuscript ready for submission.http://taralazar.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/piboidmo-official-sign-up-starts-today-right-here-right-now/
Another challenge (going on right now), is the 12 x 12 in 2012: Picture Book Writing Challenge. Participants are challenged to write one picture book manuscript for each month of the year in 2012. http://writeupmylife.com/2011/11/30/12-x-12-in-2012-picture-book-writing-challenge/If Novel writing is more of what you are interested in, consider participating in National Novel writing month, another thirty day challenge:  http://www.nanowrimo.org/

For those wanting an artistic challenge, you can participate in "Illustration Friday."  A weekly word prompt is given out and participants may then post their work each Friday in an on-line gallery. This is a wonderful way Many of my colleagues have also given themselves a self-imposed challenge of a small illustration or sketch a day (based on a particular theme) for one month. Each illustration is then posted on Facebook, sometimes with a contest at the end of the month to win a piece of original art. It's a great way to build a following while giving you the push to create new work. Some themes I've seen featured are monsters, fairies, and Christmas doodles during the month of December.
Participating in a challenge like one of the above could also be adapted for use in the classroom.  Both writing and artistic challenges could be conducted for a week instead of a month. At the end of the week, have students choose one story idea or one illustration to develop further for the final project.
The next time you are faced with that blank page, challenge yourself one step at a time. Those baby steps just might lead you to the right destination!
http://www.joanwaites.com/

SHARING MISTAKES

by Mary Amato
Illustration by Max Amato
One of the greatest teaching tools and gifts that you can give a student is to share mistakes that you have made. Did you fail to proofread a memo to your boss and discover later that you made a grammatical error? Show it to your students. Did that fancy dessert you made for a potluck turn out horribly because you did the math wrong when you doubled the recipe? Laugh about it with your students. Did you get sudden stage fright on karaoke night and forget the melody? Replay it for your students. Did you have to revise your latest poem twenty-five times to get it right? Dig those 25 crumbled sheets out of the trash can and display them.
Whenever we are learning something new—whether we're a kindergartner learning how to write the alphabet or a 50-year-old newbie taking beginner piano lessons—we assume we're the only ones making mistakes. Sometimes new learners will give up rather than face the multitude of mistakes that are required to learn a new skill. Help your students to embrace their mistakes by sharing yours. Remember, the only real mistake is not trying.www.maryamato.com

THE IMPORTANCE OF VOCABULARY

by Alison Hart
The last blog I wrote on the difficulties of writing discussed how incredibly complicated writing is for my pre-college students. During one semester, they must write six essays, including a literary essay on a novel. Most of them arrive with below average skills, yet in sixteen weeks, they need to understand and craft essays using correct spelling, grammar, sentence construction, punctuation, different writing purposes and modes, paraphrasing, thesis statements, topic sentences, engaging description, supporting details, and essay format. Since texting and commenting on Facebook are about the only writing they do, they are surprised that "c u latr lol" is not acceptable. Many do not make it through the semester.


The number of skills needed to write is mind-boggling, and what I have discovered is that even at the college level the biggest obstacle is language.  Students with a limited vocabulary can master skills, but rarely do their essays rise above an elementary level.  Writing requires words—descriptive, specific, fanciful, precise--to convey meaning to a reader. Without the right 'words', writing is simply black print on paper.  Yet teaching vocabulary without context is useless, and since most students who struggle with writing don't read widely, it is difficult for their vocabulary to grow.
Along with not reading, the second problem at all levels is: how often do students get to tell stories and use words in school?  With twenty students and more in a class, teachers don't have time to listen to every kid's (big or small) tale of what happened on the way to school. My students have incredible stories of divorce, DUIs, foster care, immigration, jail time and death.  Sometimes I read about their hardships in disjointed essays. Rarely do I listen. 
 When I first taught in the 80s, the LEA (Language Experience Approach) was big. Students recited stories to volunteers and aides who wrote them down. The kids saw their words and thoughts on paper, and when they reread them, the stories had correct spelling and punctuation. At the college level, I have used a type of LEA for not only my EL students, but for those who find that getting ideas from their heads onto paper is a daunting task.  During the edit stage, I can ask questions to help each writer draw out or add details.  It then gives the student a model and shows the connection between thoughts and words.          In my lowest writing class, I do an exercise on sensory description. I bring in spices to smell and food to taste. Students work in groups using an online thesaurus and dictionary to find words to describe their sensations. They love the exercise, but it is not enough.  It is never enough.
In all my classes, my students brainstorm why vocabulary is important. When they are done writing their ideas on the board, I hit them with this fact: the one proven indicator of success in a career is a rich and useful vocabulary. As employers and employees we need to be able to successfully communicate, direct and inspire with words.           I would love to hear ideas on building vocabulary at all levels, and would like to share them in the next post. In the meantime, when a student wants to tell you a story, I hope you will take the time to listen.  It is an important link to writing. www.alisonhartbooks.com

DIALOGUES AND TWO PERSON POEMS

by Mary Quattlebaum

Have you ever read dialogue that feels rambling and flat?  (Ha, sometimes I've written such dialogue and then, of course, had to revise.)  To help students think more carefully about the point of and voices in a piece of dialogue, try this:
*Have students make up one big and one very small character (for example, seagull and tiny crab, child and ant, cat and mouse).  One wants something that the other has (for example, the gull might want to eat the crab; or the ant might want child's cupcake crumb).  What do they say to one another?  How are their voices different?  (For example, the gull might be rude and the crab very polite.  Or the ant, though tiny, might be very bossy and the child apologetic.)  What happens and how does the dialogue end? 
*Once students have written and revised their dialogues or two-speaker poems, have them pair up with someone in class and speak/perform the part of their two characters.  Have fun!
Below is an example of a two-speaker or dialogue poem. In "Encounter," a girl and firefly have an imaginary conversation about their different experiences of firefly being caught by girl and then released.
                                Encounter
     Girl                                       Firefly                                                                                                    Quick leap,turned wrist.Bright dotin my fist.
                                                  Night wide—                                                  sharp snap!                                                  I flicker                                                  in a trap.
Gliding spark,quiet flash:go forth,go fast.
                                                  Sudden window                                                  opens high;                                                  warm wind                                                  whispers "fly."
                    --by Mary Quattlebaum, Cricket magazinewww.maryquattlebaum.com

TIPS FOR USING TECHNOLOGY

by Jacqueline Jules
          Recently, I visited a third grade classroom, at the request of his teacher, for an individualized writing conference. Cameron (fictitious name) and I sat down in a quiet corner of the room with a laptop.           "Can you log in to the computer for me?" I asked him.           Cameron's face went blank.          "Do you know your login?"          "I think so."          My school, like many, gives each child his or her own login, so everything created is stored on personal server space. This works fine as long as the child remembers how to access his or her information or there is a teacher available who does. Unfortunately for us, there was a substitute in the classroom that day. Without his login, Cameron couldn't even open up a word processing system. We ended up logging in under my name and starting a new story that day, which I stored on his grade level server space. I showed him where it was on the S drive.          "Do you think you can find this tomorrow to continue your story?"          "I think so," Cameron answered tentatively.          On several occasions, I have seen students spend more time unloading and loading the laptops from a mobile cart than actually writing. Not only does it take time to remove the computers from the cart, it takes time to get the computers functioning. Elementary students make typing mistakes, creating a need to attempt login more than once. And a networked computer can take several minutes to boot, not to mention shut down. Precious little time is already allotted to writing workshop. Should it be spent logging on and booting up? And what about the need to share the mobile cart between classrooms? The demand is high and teachers must adhere to a rigid schedule so everyone gets a turn. Just when your students are settled in and feeling their words flow may be the moment when computers must be shutdown and put back in the cart for the next class to use.           Writing time should be devoted to trying to make a story work, not a computer. Efficient use of technology is essential. Here are a few suggestions:·       Teachers lucky enough to have classroom workstations should assign a classroom helper to boot up and log in the computers first thing every morning. Classroom computers should always be ready to go when a student has a piece ready to type. ·       Teach students to save their work on a shared drive. This means that students don't have to log in individually to access their work. This also allows teachers to review work in progress and write conference notes to students. It is often difficult to reach all students in person who want to conference each week. Give yourself another option for the student you didn't have time to meet with in class. ·       Backup work on individual flash drives. If students can't purchase their own flash drives, petition the PTA to purchase them. When each student has a flashdrive, work cannot only be backed up, it can be taken home to finish.·       Allow students to finish typing pieces at home. Thirty minute writing workshops do not provide adequate time for a mini-lesson, composing time, and typing time. Students need to learn how to compose a story on a computer. This requires the ability to type. Typing is a skill that takes hours of practice. We don't have hours at school, particularly on the elementary level, for any activity. Allowing students to type at home gives them the practice they desperately need in an unrushed environment without the distraction of friends.  Many teachers are reluctant to allow students to work at home because they are afraid the product will have too much parental involvement. While I will accept that this is a real concern in some households, it is not the case in most. Schools do not have to be like the airports which require us all to suffer through security hassles for a terrorist minority. Just because a few parents will take over student writing projects doesn't mean that all children should be robbed of the opportunity to practice writing at home. Besides, parental help can be helpful. My mother taught me to punctuate. She insisted I correct my papers before I turned them in. After seeing numerous students in grades 3-5 pass in stories absent of any punctuation at all, I sometimes wish more parents were like my mother. Teachers don't have time to do everything. And we must acknowledge, as Alison Hart so aptly discussed in her introductory Pencil Tips blog, writing is complicated. It takes the acquisition of many skills. We need to give our students the opportunity to practice writing skills at school and at home.  http://www.jacquelinejules.com/