In the pursuit of knowledge, I am working diligently and daily to craft my writing teacher’s “toolbox”.  This semester, I have fashioned lists and notes, and more lists and more notes, of writing teacher mantras and strategies, carefully archived and ready for referencing and/or sharing when and if I get another go at it.  The... Continue Reading →

My humble attempt to expand my flash draft with rich description and some thoughtshots (Dorfman, Cappelli, & Hoyt, 2017, p. 79).  See my original entry here, I tried to expand on the highlighted words. Not sure why, but adding description came easy.  My guess is that is I added fancy vocabulary rather than sensory details... Continue Reading →

If I had 6 years (plus 8 more) of teaching writing in primary grades to do over again, I would take these lessons and tidbits of reflection with me: *Use the first 4 weeks to only share stories and make lists and lists upon lists of possible stories rather that insist on a first published... Continue Reading →

After many years of teaching in an elementary classroom, I was still worried when I pulled my first groups for reading support as the so called "reading specialist". I was worried for the kids. Would they hate to miss out in class? Would they feel insecure about reading help or needing extra support? I decided... Continue Reading →

  Let us not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless when facing them. -Rabindranath Tagore Pressure me that I may grow more human not through the lessening of my struggles but through an expansion of them that will undamn me and unbury my gifts. Pry Me Off Dead Center Guerrillas of... Continue Reading →

“Here’s the truth about people: We make a lot of assumptions about each other.  People don’t think you’re colored because of your skin.  They think you’re colored because your grandmother is dark skinned, and you attend a Negro school and a Negro church, and because you’re poor.” Adam Douglas (Johnson, 2018, p. 226) About 18... Continue Reading →

  The pairing of Crenshaw (Applegate, 2015) and Last Stop on Market Street (De La Pena, 2015) seems a natural fit because of the authors’ graceful ability to tackle tough realities in a relatable way that also does not startle or horrify.  The colorful images of Christian Robinson’s beautiful spreads in Last Stop on Market... Continue Reading →

I thoroughly enjoyed reading A Crack in the Sea, especially the rich characters and the experience of "reading between the lines".  However, the overall plot was a bit messy to be a favorite of mine.  Despite absolutely adoring children’s picture books, I am not a particularly well read person for many reasons and I believe I... Continue Reading →

Perhaps because I am not particularly well read, the dense connections packed into the book A Crack in the Sea (Bouwman, 2017) were about noticing the relationships of characters and how they relate to my own life experiences, rather than the topic or themes directly from other stories.  It is possible that I have not... Continue Reading →

The theme of hope and inclusion in a world of racism and oppression should be easily identified by those young and old, naïve and wise, when reading this set of texts in succession.  When charged with the task of sharing such complex topics with the very young, and in order to set a positive tone,... Continue Reading →