So many of us have had to adapt our jobs to new conditions because of COVID19, but you wouldn’t think writers would be much affected. But for award-winning author Jason Reynolds, some important things have changed. Reynolds is the 2020-21 National Ambassador for Children’s Literature for the Library of Congress. Normally, this would have meant … Continue reading
I make no claim that this is an unbiased review: One of my friends, Mylisa Larsen, just wrote a wonderful picture book: How to Put Your Parents to Bed. But you don’t have to believe me—The New York Times loved it, too. Here’s a preview, just to give you a smile. As you can tell, … Continue reading
I love the stream of imagination that comes out of Google. Recently I came across yet another great classroom resource: Google Story Builder. The original Google Story Builder allowed users to create a story as a series of Google searches. This version allows us to create a video conversation among characters as if they were … Continue reading
Where do creative kids go to publish their latest story, poem, editorial, review, or just about anything else? One possible answer is Creative Kids magazine. Creative Kids is a magazine “by kids, for kids” ages 8-16—it even has a brand new advisory board of students aged 7-15. Creative Kids aims to include prose, poetry and … Continue reading
I love making up stories. I’ve had a lot of fun inventing flying strawberries, extraordinary islands, and talking cats to amuse my young friends. I also love helping young people invent stories—either in school as a teacher or at home with friends and family. This post is about storytelling with gizmos, tools that will make … Continue reading
I really enjoy John Spencer’s blog Education Rethink. I don’t always agree with him, but he always makes me think, and his ideas consistently point both teachers and students toward critical and creative thinking. Today I thought I’d share one of my favorites: his collection of visual prompts. Unlike most such collections, this one is … Continue reading
