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Essential Listening: “Middle School” as featured on THIS AMERICAN LIFE
It’s been a busy month, with many school visits and almost no real writing. On Sunday, tomorrow, I’m heading to South Carolina, a trip that begins with three presentations in a middle school. So I...
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For Teachers: 13 Ways of Raising Your Hand in the Classroom
Teachers will like this. All teachers, every one. There will be universal “like” on this little clip. You can find more of her charming, off-beat clips, here.
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I May Have Just Met the Best 6th-Grade Poet in America
When I speak at schools, a teacher will often come up to ask if I wouldn’t mind wearing some kind of amplifier/microphone thingy around my neck for a student who is hearing impaired. And of course I...
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The Perils of Skype: There’s the Giant “Oz Head,” for Starters
Let’s start with the horror: Run for the hills, people. On a Thursday morning in late November, I Skyped with students in Pine View Middle School, somewhere in Florida. The basic setup was that a small...
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OVERHEARD: “I guess science is my favorite class — I just wish it wasn’t so...
Lisa had asked Maggie, grade 6, about her classes and received the above reply. Which at first struck me as a hilarious thing to say about science. It was like saying, I don’t know, math should be...
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Nice Article Based on My Recent School Visit to Fair Lawn, NY
A local reporter, Tracey Putrino, sat in for one of my presentations during a recent school visit to Fair Lawn, New Jersey. The school itself was spectacular, warm and clean and bursting with pride,...
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KINDNESS: My Trip to the 2013 Youth Writing Festival at Calvin College
I just returned from a wonderful, two-night trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where I was invited (by Gary Schmidt!) to participate in the 2013 Youth Writing Festival at Calvin College. At one point it...
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The Problem with Math Problems, Common Core, Standard Tests, etc.
I’ve been meaning to write an epic post recounting my visits to schools this past year. The things I’ve seen, the things I’ve learned, but gosh, I keep watching it slide down my list of things to do....
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Donalyn Miller’s “The Book Whisperer” Reaches Cultural Icon Status
I met Donalyn Miller at a Literacy Conference in Ohio. She was the keynote speaker and I came away impressed, inspired, and determined to read her book, THE BOOK WHISPERER: Awakening the Inner Reader...
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Give Student Writers the Freedom to Embrace Their Inner Zombies
Note: A variation of this essay first appeared a while back over at the fabulous Nerdy Book Club, founded by Donalyn “The Book Whisperer” Miller, Colby Sharp (the man, not the cheese), and possibly...
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“Teaching Is Believing”— My Short Essay over at THE NERDY BOOK CLUB
– I’m a big fan of Donalyn Miller. Do you know her? As a classroom teacher, Donalyn made a splash with her book, The Book Whisperer. I met Donalyn during a trip to a reading conference in Dublin, Ohio,...
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Free Teacher’s Guide for THE COURAGE TEST — Only a Click Away!
– The good folks at Macmillan Publishers have created a free, downloadable Teacher’s Guide for The Courage Test (just published today!). That’s right, sing it with me: “Happy birthday to you! Happy...
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QUOTE FOR THANKSGIVING: For Teachers & Everyone Else
– We’ve all heard a lot about the “echo chamber,” the perils of hearing only a narrow field of opinions, calcifying our unchallenged opinions into dogma. On the other hand, there’s Thanksgiving dinner...
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The Perfect Friend
– My friend, writer Kate Klise, took this photo of a poster she saw during a recent school visit. It’s pretty perfect, a great message to throw up on a wall.
View ArticleFree “Jigsaw Jones” Teaching Guide: Just Click the Link!
Copy-and-paste the link below for a free CCSS Teacher’s Guide for my new Jigsaw Jones chapter book, The Case from Outer Space. Thanks to the good people at Macmillan for making it happen. Sorry about...
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Click Here for Free Teaching Guides: Jigsaw Jones, Better Off Undead, and The...
– The good folks at Macmillan have worked hard to support teachers as they seek to effectively use books in the classroom. To that end, I’m grateful that they’ve produced a number of free teaching...
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A School with an Idea Worth Stealing
– – I had a happy experience on a recent evening at Ichabod Crane Primary School in Valatie, NY. I was one of two authors invited to an annual event at the school: Young Authors Night. The other...
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New Series Coming in January, 2019
– – This year I’ve written three chapter books about these characters and look forward to the launch of the series in January, 2018. Essentially: four friends use their powers of persuasion to drive...
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Thought for Teachers (and Parents!) on a Friday
– – This meme speaks to a feeling that I experience on school visits every time I make a presentation, or even speak one-on-one with a child. And with that feeling comes an immediate identification...
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Here are 6 Videos I Made for Teachers and Homeschoolers to Share with Young...
– I posted a week ago about our collective struggle to find ways to do something meaningful, helpful, positive during this challenging time. As a children’s book author, my immediate goal has been to...
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