by Sara B. Kajder

Why Classroom Stories?

I carry the stories of the English classrooms in which I have learned and failed and triumphed.  I have been formed by the students who taught me what it truly meant to put the right book into someone’s hands or to evoke the piece of writing that was necessary and impactful.  And, most importantly, I have been marked by the children who have struggled and who have thrived, both inside and outside of our classroom.  When I share the stories of what we have learned alongside one another, our story can start to do work.  It might evoke questions that lead to greater shared understanding.  It might persuade decision makers to band together to create a change.  It might open thinking about what is possible in high-need public schools.  It might invite someone to want to teach.

We teach in a time that…

In honor of NCTE’s celebration of Advocacy Month focusing on Literacy Education Advocacy, throughout March, Teachers, Parents, Profs: Writers Who Care is hosting a Flipgrid to showcase the many ways that writing can be used as a tool for advocacy. How do you use writing as a tool for literacy advocacy? We invite you to share your response by recording a short video to add to our grid at flipgrid.com/a4m3riw.  Just click this link and then the green “plus” button to contribute.

flipgrid.com/a4m3riw

At the end of March, we’ll share the responses we’ve received as part of a related Writers Who Care post. We look forward to hearing how you use writing as a tool for literacy advocacy.

Please join us as advocates this month!

As an educator, I’ve come to believe it’s important to know a small collection of books intimately.  Not only does this make sense financially, but having a handful of mentor texts you know well allows you to use them with students for many purposes.

When I was selecting fiction and nonfiction texts to feature in Craft Moves: Lesson Sets for Teaching Writing with Mentor Texts, I looked for exquisitely written picture books. While searching for the fiction texts, I looked for books that represented a variety of races, cultures, and sexual orientations since I believe all students deserve to read mirror books, in which they can see themselves, and window books, in which they can learn about others (Bishop, 1990). If we make conscious choices about the mentor texts we present to students – in terms of showcasing impeccable writing and a range of human experiences –…

by Patricia A. Dunn
George Harrison thought everyone should learn to play the ukulele because it was easy to learn, small enough to take everywhere, and fun to listen to. (He’s right about the second.) So I got one, took a quick lesson from a friend, and then set out on Google and YouTube to see what was what. And now, three months later, it’s all I can do to sit here typing. I really want to go downstairs, take out my shiny green ukulele, open my ever-growing pocket file of downloaded chords and lyrics, and torture the household once again with my now-accompanied caterwauling.

My adventures learning to play the ukulele have reinforced for me three principles teachers and parents should remember about how students learn to write.

1) Good Writing Involves Choice

I was playing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” after fifteen minutes, but after another fifteen I was…