Archive for Educators

In Touch

May 23, 2012 Educators, Writers No comments

It’s not always easy staying in touch with your audience. It used to be, when I was teaching in the classroom everyday. Even when I worked as a language arts specialist I’d spend time in classrooms, doing model lessons and working with kids. Now I’m retired. Luckily, I volunteer. It’s a win-win the way I see it. The class wins because I help encourage and support their writing efforts. I win because I am able to stay in touch with my audience.

Today during my visit to the fourth grade classroom where I volunteer, I’ll be surveying the class. Ill be asking the kids what they worry about, at school, at home, and out in the world. This will be the latest version of the survey that I’ve done over the years. It’ll be fun to see if there are trends. Do kids tend to be concerned about the same types of things over time? How do worries change?

The results will be of interest to me, however they come out. I may use insights for writing. I’m thinking of a not-so-super hero story or series that would address some of the common problems kids have and worry about. Why not-so-super? I think it would add a bit more realism and humor, and I think kids could better relate to a more vulnerable character. Still not sure; lots of thoughts twirling and tumbling. And that’s half the fun!

Saving / Throwing

May 3, 2012 Educators, Writers 2 comments

Getting ready to move. I’ve lived in this home for twenty-seven years and have twenty-seven years worth of stuff to go through. Or, I guess I could just take it all and make it easier. No, this is the perfect time to edit and revise my life.

Furniture, clothes, books, files. I’m looking over them all, making decisions to carry or cut. None of it is easy, but the hardest is deciding which files to take.

I’ve got thirty years worth of work here (yes, I brought some with me from the last place I lived). I have copies of all my works, and although I have been lucky to have had more than twenty books published, I have many more that are not published. Do I keep them and keep trying? Or, dump them and move on?

In 1986 I wrote a picture book called Who Stinks? It’s about a bear who wakes up in the spring and smells something bad. Very bad. Readers follow the bear as he moves out of his cave and into the forest, blaming every creature he comes across for emitting that noxious smell. In the end, the bear discovers who it is, much to his chagrin.

I sent that story to about fifty publishers, and all rejected it. My agent sent it out to numerous others, and the result was the same. I left the manuscript alone for several years, and then started sending it out again. Last year, I finally found a home for the book: Bushbaby Press.

Along the road to publication, I kept all the rejection letters and postcards as well as the few personal responses I received. I wanted to rejoice in them when (not if!) the book got published. Well, I’ve done that now so I guess I can recycle that file.

But it’s not quite so easy. And neither is dumping so much of the other files I’ve built over the years. Here’s the way I’m looking at it, though. I can either hang onto all the stuff from the past, or I can make space – in my head as well as the file drawers – for future projects.

Now, it’s not going to be so hard after all…

Southwest Charter School

April 18, 2012 Educators No comments

An awesome day working with the enthusiastic teachers of Southwest Charter School in Portland. They’re excellent models for authentic learning and engagement. I’m honored to have had the opportunity of spending time with them.

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April 5, 2012 Educators No comments

A great day, today. I’ll be working with a class and focusing on my very favorite topic: curiosity! What are you curious about? What do you wonder? What do you want to know? How will you find out?

Kids will have a chance to frame their own questions. Hopefully, they will be questions that are burning in their minds. Hopefully, the kids will not be so “schoolwise” that they’ll choose questions with answers they already know, or questions that will be simple to answer. We want questions that are meaningful and that may take some real effort to answer. We want questions that reflect wonder rather than good grades.

Finding answers to questions that matter is a journey – a quest – that involves thinking and rethinking, sorting through mounds of information, analyzing, and making conclusions. The process can be both exhilarating and frustrating. I love it!

Looking Ahead

March 23, 2012 Educators, Kids, Writers No comments

With spring comes sunshine and…snow! At least here, in Eugene, it does. One day after the Vernal Equinox, as we ready to start mowing the grass again and look forward to another warm, wonderful summer, we get a reminder. Looking ahead is fine, but don’t take your eyes off the present, or you may be surprised. And what a wet, white surprise it was!

Fortunately my son Tyler was visiting from his home in San Diego and we could relive his younger years when a snowy day really meant something. Well guess what – it still does!

The Writers of Camas Ridge

March 5, 2012 Educators, Kids No comments

Spent some time with 4/5 grade writers of Susan Gusinow’s class this morning. What an interesting and inquisitive group! I enjoyed every question, especially the hard ones like “What do you do when you can’t think of anything to write?” As I mentioned, my answer to this, as well as to other “blockage” types of challenges is the “lower your standards and move on.”

I wish you all the best of luck as you proceed in writing your stories. Remember to think in terms of audience (who is the story for) and try to include elements to engage your readers such as alliteration, onomatopoeia, repetition, 3s, etc.

Have fun!

Enter Lewis and Clark

February 28, 2012 Educators, Kids No comments

Taking a break from developing a new class today to meet with Ms. Kemp’s 4/5 class and speak about one of my favorite topics: the journey of Lewis & Clark. The class will be doing my L & C simulation, in which each student becomes a member of the Corps of Discovery and learns about the greatest adventure in American history. Along the way they will use questions they have to conduct research and share their findings.

Lewis, Clark, and Seaman

More A.C.

February 21, 2012 Educators No comments

Gearing up to visit Mr. Wade’s fourth grade classroom today. The focus will be on A.C. Gilbert, whose birthday is this month. We’ll do a riveting activity to get going, the read-aloud by the author (me), followed by a kinesthetic comprehension check. All systems are go.

For those of you who don’t have a copy of the The Magic of A.C. Gilbert you’re welcome to download the Readers’ Theater script I wrote, based on the book. It is located under the Workshops tab on the home page of this website. I’ll be taking it down soon, so don’t wait if you’d like it. Of course, books are still available, too. Print copies can be purchased on this site (see Books tab) and e-copes can be purchased online at Amazon or Barnes and Noble sites.

So Much Nonfiction*, So Little Time

February 13, 2012 Educators 2 comments

Had a great time at the ORA Winter Institute in Portland this weekend. I was expecting around 50 people for my session, but wound up with 127! SRO!! It was great, and even though we could have used more space for our activities. I might have cut the movement activities because of the numbers, but I believe movement is so important to learning that I wanted to show, rather than just tell about it. I appreciate the participants’ cooperation, patience, and eager participation. The Frozen Moments were awesome. I got several questions after the session, and I thought I’d post the answers for all:

What approach do you like for primary grades? I love the Kid Writing concept for kindergarten (see Kid Writing by Felgus and Cardonick) and Interactive Writing for first grade (see Interactive Writing by McCarrier, Pinnell, and Fountas; and Interactive Writing Strategies by Calabrese). I also like the Great Source materials (traits related), and Vicki Spandel’s book: Creating Young Writers.

Where can I get copies of The Magic of A.C. Gilbert? Print copies are available on this website under the Books tab. An electronic version is available at Amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com.

Will you come to our school to work with our staff? Absolutely! I do professional development presentations for staff and author visits (free class set of A.C. included) for students. See the Real Writing flyer in the handouts for more information.

If you have comments and/or questions, please use the comment tab here, or e-mail me directly at realwriting@comcast.net.

More Poems

January 30, 2012 Educators 14 comments

Okay, back to work. Well, actually fun, to be more accurate. I’m headed back into the classroom today and will be adding more poems from 4th graders at Willagillespie School here in Eugene. Watch them as they grow right here.

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