Hey! Where’s the staple regrabber!?
Archive | Writing and Composition
“Dear Santa” Letters Help Develop Literacy and More
If the only letter we encourage our children to write is that yearly one to Santa, we’re doing literacy wrong.
Yup…uh, No Way!
There are dozens of ways to say “yes” or “no,” but they aren’t just different looking, actually they are all subtly different in meaning.
Signs Mean More Than They Say
“Sign language” can be a tool to help children learn to read.
Hallowe’en is Already a Weird Memory
2020’s holidays and events are fodder for writers–the recorders of history.
Giving Voice
Authors’ voices are heard and emotions are felt when we read with expression.
Books Provide Powerful Learning, Heartfelt Conversation
I’ve just finished reading one of 10 essays from the 2012 book When I Was a Child I Read Books, by Marilynne Robinson. It was a no brainer for a literacy teacher, teacher educator and a contributor to a children’s library like myself to be drawn to a book with this title. However, I received this […]
Learning Self-Expression is a Life Skill
Learning self-expression is, for many, a lifelong process of growing to be a presence for others. It can be an elusive goal, even for adults, but when nurtured early on in life, a foundation for sincere sharing of oneself in writing can become a magical ingredient to powerful interactions. I was reminded of this when I […]
The Author in the Mirror
Reading is akin to gathering our thoughts with the help of authors. Books and other forms of written communication can help us speak our minds as well as the minds of the people who authored them. I recall my young children’s response to books that I brought them from a National Council of Teachers of English conference I attended years […]
“Be Kind” and Other Words That Matter
One recent morning my wife and I drove to an appointment in Eminence, Ky., just outside of Louisville. It was a gorgeous start to a new day with the east ablaze with “sky blue pink” (as my wife calls it) behind a single bank of fluffy clouds. As we wound through the countryside we passed a […]