# data[].attributes.body
Read Aloud August 2019

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
FREE Shipping

Free 5-8 business-day shipping within the U.S. when you order $25 of eligible items sold or fulfilled by Amazon.

Or get 4-5 business-day shipping on this item for $5.99. (Prices may vary for AK and HI.)

Learn more about free shipping

on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon or get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile fiction / people & places / middle east

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile fiction / social themes / emigration & immigration

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile fiction / social themes / friendship

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile fiction/people & places - middle east

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile fiction/social themes - friendship

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
diversity books for kids;diverse childrens books;immigration;immigrant kids;refugee;refugees;friends;friendship books for kids;kindness books for children;multicultural children's books;books for 4 year olds;books for 5 year olds;childrens books by age 3-5;childrens books by age 5-8;books for kids 5-7;kids books ages 6-8;picture books;friendship;kindness;books for 7 year old girls;making friends;books for 5 year old boys;books for 5 year old girls;books for 4 year old girls

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
diversity books for kids; diverse childrens books; immigration; immigrant kids; refugee; refugees; friends; friendship books for kids; kindness books for children; multicultural children's books; books for 4 year olds; books for 5 year olds; childrens books by age 3-5; childrens books by age 5-8; books for kids 5-7; kids books ages 6-8; picture books; friendship; kindness; books for 7 year old girls; books for 5 year old boys; books for 4 year old girls; books for 6 year old girls; books for 4 year old boys

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In an unforgettable story that subtly addresses the refugee crisis, a young girl must decide if friendship means giving up the one item that gives her comfort during a time of utter uncertainty.Lubna's best friend is a pebble. Pebble always listens to her stories. Pebble always smiles when she fe...

# data[].attributes.headline
A TEACHER'S GUIDE TO WRITING CONFERENCES by Carl Anderson

# data[].attributes.subject
A TEACHER'S GUIDE TO WRITING CONFERENCES by Carl Anderson

# data[].attributes.body
We watched 2 conferences from this (Arianna and Sam) in August 2019.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Classroom Essentials Series

Writing conferences are a way to help both you and your students find joy in the writing process. And too, conferences can help you provide one-on-one instruction that covers a wide range of writing skills and strategies.

How can I get started with conferring or improve my conferences?
How can I fit conferences into my busy writing workshop schedule?
How can conferences help me meet the diverse needs of student writers?

Helping students become better writers is what writing conferences are all about.In A Teacher's Guide to Writing Conferences, Carl Anderson explains the underlying principles and reasons for conferring with students, and how to make writing conferences a part of your daily routine. With clear and accessible language, Carl guides you through the three main parts of a writing conference, and shows you the teaching moves and intentional language that can be used in each one. He helps you understand:
* how to get started with conferring, or improve your existing conferences
* how to use conferences to meet the diverse needs of your student writers
* how to fit conferences into your busy writing workshop schedule.
More than 25 videos bring the content to life, while Teacher Tips, Q&A's, and Recommended Reading lists provide everything you need to help you become a better writing teacher.

(click any section below to continue reading)

Contents

Part One: What Is a Writing Conference?
My First Writing Conference Was a Disaster
Writing Conferences Happen in Writing Workshop
What Is a Writing Conference?
Why Confer?
Part Two: Start by Discovering What the Student is Doing as a Writer
Invite Students to Talk About Their Writing
What Will Students Talk About?
Five Scenarios That Happen After You Ask, "How's It Going?"
Try It Yourself: Studying Your Conferring
Part Three: Assess and Decide What to Teach
Recognizing Patterns Is the Key to Good Decision-Making
Writing Patterns and Teaching Points
Try It Yourself: Building Your Knowledge of Writing Patterns and Teaching Points
Part Four: Then Teach Powerfully
Move One: Give Feedback
Move Two: Deliver a Teaching Point
Move Three: Coach
Move Four: Link to Independent Work
Studying the Four Teaching Moves in a Transcript of a Conference
Try It Yourself: Improving Your Conference Teaching

Companion Resources

Reviews

"With the videos included in this book, learning does not stop on the last page of the book. The art of teaching is taking something and creating a wonderful lesson that brings the learning to life. This is what the videos do for the book."-Lesley Miller, Director of Title I and Literacy, Frankfort, IN

"Carl does an excellent job of showing all the possibilities when conferring with writers. His teaching point library is probably the highlight of this book for veteran teachers. Excellent!"-Jill Hatcher, Literacy Coach

"This would have been invaluable to me in my first years of teaching. Not just the text, but as a way that teachers can talk to students, in ways that move the learning forward."-Tia Frahm, Assistant Professor

"I struggle with writing conferences, and this book was filled with helpful problem solvers. The many strategies offered quick and useful tools to support my teaching and the young writers in my classroom."-- Tiffany Jewell, Montessori Teacher

Related PD Services

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Teacher's Guide to Writing Conferences

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Writing conferences are a way to help both you and your students find joy in the writing process. And too, conferences can help you provide one-on-one

# data[].attributes.headline
WHEN SOPHIE THINKS SHE CAN'T by Molly Bang

# data[].attributes.subject
WHEN SOPHIE THINKS SHE CAN'T by Molly Bang

# data[].attributes.body
Read Aloud August 2019

# data[].attributes.body
Read Aloud August 2019

# data[].attributes.body
Read Aloud August 2019

# data[].attributes.headline
HOW TO WASH A WOOLLY MAMMOTH by Michelle Robinson

# data[].attributes.subject
HOW TO WASH A WOOLLY MAMMOTH by Michelle Robinson

# data[].attributes.body
Read Aloud August 2019

# data[].attributes.body
Read Aloud August 2019

# data[].attributes.body
Read Aloud August 2019

# data[].attributes.headline
THE WRITING STRATEGIES BOOK companion resources

# data[].attributes.subject
THE WRITING STRATEGIES BOOK companion resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Introduction
A Very Brief Introduction to Principles, Research, and Theory, and How to Use This Book
The idea for a book of writing strategies exists many times over. This one is possible only because of the great books that have come before it. There are books suggesting writing strategies meant for professional writers and college students, such as those by Noah Lukeman, Roy Peter Clark, and Janet Burroway, among others. There are countless examples of excellent compilations of writing strategies in books written for teachers of writing, such as Fletcher and Portalupi's Craft Lessons Series, Barry Lane's After "The End" (1993), Carl Anderson's Strategic Writing Conferences series (2008-2009), Donald Graves' many books, Katie Wood Ray's Wondrous Words (1999) and other titles, Katherine Bomer's books, Georgia Heard's books, Nancie Atwell's In the Middle (2014) and other resources, Lucy Calkins' Units of Study series, and many more. My aim in this book is to offer my favorite, most useful collection of strategies that span all aspects of the writing process, all genres and modes of writing, and that will work well with students in grades K-8. I want to offer you a little bit of everything. I streamlined the language and examples, and I present the strategies in a format that is organized so that the busy teacher can find just the right strategy at just the right moment. Of course, you'll elaborate on the streamlined language and make it your own.

But wait-before you dive in, I'm so glad you're taking the time to spend a few moments with this "Getting Started" introduction. In this introduction, you'll gain a helpful overview of the thinking that undergirds this book's ideas as well as an overview of its organization. You'll learn about strategies and all the aspects that I chose to include to elaborate on them-mentor texts, prompts, lesson language, teaching tips, and more. You'll learn how to navigate the pages of the book so you can find what you're looking for quickly and easily, for this is not a read-every-single-page kind of book (unless you want it to be). You'll get a quick crash course on some important terminology and concepts that will help you use this book to its fullest- thoughts about writing as a process, and modes and genres of writing, for example. And finally, you'll learn how to adapt what's in the book to fit your students' writing time in the classroom, no matter what form that time takes.
Click here to download more of the introduction of this book.
Goal 1: Composing with Pictures

Strategy Go back to your picture(s). Point to the part or picture that teaches something important about your topic. Touch or turn to the next part. Tell what new fact about your topic this part of the picture or this page teaches.

Lesson Language If I wrote or drew to teach, then when I read my writing back I'm going to make it sound like a teaching book. I'm going to tell my reader the facts I wrote about. Let me show you. I drew a picture of a big T. rex. I know a lot about them so I added a lot of details in my picture. I'm going to touch one part and teach what that part says. "The T. rex had very large jaws with big sharp teeth." Now I'm going to touch a new part and teach what that part says. "The T. rex had very short arms. It would only run using its hind legs."

Goal 2: Engagement - Independence, Increasing Volume, and Developing a Writing Identity

Strategy First, identify the problem you're having. Then, check the spot in the room, a resource, or a friend that might help you solve the problem. Try a solution. If it doesn't work, try something else.

Teaching Tip This strategy, like "Use the Room" that appears earlier in this chapter, assumes that there are things in the room that can be helpful, and that you've taught children how to use them. For example, in a primary classroom a word wall may help a writer to spell high-frequency words. If you've introduced and used mentor texts, then having these available for children to reference on their own could help them. Sometimes the problem might be that they need to work in a new spot in the room because of the amount of distractions at their current spot. Brainstorm possible problems with your students, and come up with a list of resources and solutions. Or, this strategy can be like a culmination of past teaching from this and other chapters.

Goal 3: Generating and Collecting Ideas

Strategy Decide on a new place to visit. Go there with no more than a notebook and a set of listening ears and observing eyes. Let yourself pick up on conversation and details of the person. Jot down what you observe, and also what you imagine, about the people you see.

Teaching Tip This strategy will take you outside of the classroom, so it would work well as a whole-class lesson followed by a field trip, or as a suggestion to a student, group, or class for independent writing outside of the school day.

Goal 4: Focus/Meaning

Strategy Think about a memory and all the events that are part of that memory. Think about what's important about that memory, or the big idea the memory leaves you with. Identify the one part of the memory that feels the most important. Write some ideas about what's important about it, and why it's important. Try to write just that one smaller part of the larger moment. Tell it bit by bit.

Teaching Tip The amount a writer will be able to reflect on the overall significance of a small moment will depend on her maturity level and experience with writing. For younger children, you may want to suggest choosing a small moment that will make a good story, rather than one imbued with a deep or heavy significance, or simply encourage them to narrow down the window of time

Goal 5: Organization and Structure

Strategy Before beginning to draft, visualize the shape of what you're going to make. Create some sort of quick visual, in pictures or in words, to represent the overarching structure. As you write, check back to see where you are in your plan.

Teaching Tip This is going to be most helpful after students have learned a variety of ways to structure their pieces and have been introduced to a variety of graphic organizers that would help them to organize, or shape, the information into a structure.

Goal 6: Elaboration

Strategy Think about the subtopics for which you'll want to collect information. Write each of your subtopics as a heading on a notebook or booklet page. As you find new information for your topic, think, "What page in my notebook should this go on? Which subtopic does it provide details for?"

Lesson Language I just found this interesting fact: Ballerinas really wear out their shoes. Many go through as many as 2-3 pairs per week! I'm going to look across the pages of my booklet to see where this would best fit. Would it belong in the section called "Types of Ballet Positions?" No, that's not about the positions. Would it go in the section called "Famous Ballets?" No. "What Ballerinas Wear?" Well, I do talk about pointe shoes in this section, so it might be cool to add this fact about how many pairs of pointe shoes the average ballerina needs. I'll keep the fact here.

Goal 7: Word Choice

Strategy Find all the action verbs in your piece. Focus on any that you think aren't as clear, precise, or exact as they could be. List several options for what might replace that word (use a thesaurus if you need it!). Choose the word that best matches your meaning.

Teaching Tip For this strategy to work, children will need to understand what an action verb is, so identification of verbs is a first step in this strategy. Many teachers weave in some instruction during other balanced literacy components such as word study, read-aloud, and/or shared reading. You could also plan to teach direct minilessons to the class or small groups for those who do not understand parts of speech.

Goal 8: Conventions - Spelling and Letter Formation

Strategy When trying to spell a word, try to visualize where you've seen it written and how you've seen it written before. It may help to close your eyes. Then, in a margin or on a piece of scrap paper, write how you think it's spelled. Try it a second or maybe even third way. Look back at what you've written and ask yourself, "Which of these tries looks right to me?"

Prompts

Check off the parts that look right to you.

Write the word as you think you've seen it before.

Which parts look right? Which part looks off?

Do you think there are some letters missing?

What part of that word is tricky for you?

The part you're trying to spell is also in the word _______. Does that help?

Goal 9: Conventions - Grammar and Punctuation

Strategy Find two sentences that talk about the same topic. Think about the relationship between those sentences. Choose a connector word and try combining the sentences into one. Reread and decide if you like the combined way or original way better.

Lesson Language Here's one spot in my draft where I have two sentences that I
think go well together. I wrote: "A dog is something that can keep you company. A dog
can cheer you up." What's the relationship between those two sentences? They both have
to do with something that is positive about owning a dog, so I think they are related. I'm
adding more information on. I'll try using and to combine those sentences: "A dog can
keep you company and cheer you up." Here's another spot: "I would love to have a dog.
My mom won't let me have a dog." What's the relationship between those two sentences?
The second sentence gives more information that feels in contrast to the first. I'll combine
them with however: "I would like to have a dog, however my mom won't let me." The
new sentence I made seems clearer and more to the point.

Goal 10: Collaborating with Writing Partners and Clubs

Strategy Talk with your partner about your goals (for the writing period, for the week, and/or for writing work to take place at home, and so on). Discuss together how you might get that work done. Write the goal, and make the promise...then check in with your partner soon.

Teaching Tip Reflect on your own life and goals you've set out to accomplish. Now think about how successful you've been and whether or not you made your goals public ahead of time. I know that when I share my goals with my partner, my friends, my colleagues, my editor, I am more likely to get things done. The built-in accountability, the opportunity to celebrate together, the lifeline of support in case something does not go according to plan-these are invaluable.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Writing Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Collection of strategies that span all aspects of the writing process, all genres and modes of writing, and that will work well with students in grades K-8. Organized so the busy teacher can find just the right strategy at just the right moment.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Author: Fran Nuño Illustrator: Zuzanna Celej ISBN: 978-84-16147-82-3 Pages: 36 Paper: Stone Paper Cover: Hard cover Dimensions: 21 x 26 cm Language: English There are places that remind us of h...

# data[].attributes.body
Read Aloud November 2018

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
* "National Book Award winner and national treasure Jacqueline Woodson teams up with two-time Pura Belpré Award recipient Rafael López to deliver an empowering message to any child who has ever felt too different. . . . Woodson and López offer a needed message of comfort to preschool and early elementary students. Woodson's lulling free verse reassures the reader that the world will 'make some space,' while López's dreamy, near-translucent mixed-media illustrations thrum with playful joy. This gentle, powerful ode to diversity and acceptance belongs with all children."-Shelf Awareness, starred review

* "A beautiful and inclusive story that encourages children to find the beauty in their own lives and share it with the world. . . . Each child feels very alone until they begin to share their stories and discover that it is nearly always possible to find someone a little like you. López's vibrant illustrations bring the characters' hidden and unspoken thoughts to light with fantastic, swirling color. Shifting hues and textures across the page convey their deep loneliness and then slowly transition into bright hopeful possibilities. Full-bleed illustrations on every page are thick with collaged patterns and textures that pair perfectly with melodic prose that begs to be read aloud. . . . There's an essential acknowledgment that everyone will experience a time when no one is quite like them, when they can't find their voice, or when they feel very alone. Woodson's superlative text sees each character turn that moment of desolation into an opportunity to be brave and find hope in what they have in common. This masterful story deserves a place in every library."- "A bright jewel-toned palette and clever details, including a literal reflection of a better future, reveal hope and pride. . . . This reassuring, lyrical book feels like a big hug from a wise aunt as she imparts the wisdom of the world in order to calm trepidatious young children: One of these things is not like the other, and that is actually what makes all the difference. A must-have book about the power of one's voice and the friendships that emerge when you are yourself." "Woodson's poetic lines give power to each child's experience. . . . López paints the book's array of children as students in the same classroom; patterns and colors on the children's clothing and the growing things around them fill the spreads with life. Woodson's gentle, lilting story and López's artistry create a stirring portrait of the courage it takes to be oneself." -Publishers Weekly, starred review

* "Woodson's lyrical text is gently reassuring as it moves between broad discussion and specific examples of difference and discomfort, which emphasize children moving across cultures but will speak to children from all backgrounds and experiences. Mixed-media illustrations . . . combine bold with soft colors and textures in a slightly shaded tropical palette; compositions employ creative and insightful perspectives to suit the characters' feelings. . . . The artist frequently incorporates a ruler into the illustrations, which perhaps speaks to the children's perceptions of how they measure up to others. This lovely and sensitive treatment of adjustment deserves a spot in any collection for youngsters."-The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

"Woodson catches the uncertainty, even fear, that comes with new situations. But her lyrical language also captures the moment when confidence sparks and friendships are born. . . . The bold, bright artwork features a diverse cast of kids. . . . The important message plays out in a striking design that mixes the everyday with flights of fancy. Woodson, a recent National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, is one of kidlit's brightest stars, and this should find lots of eager hands."-Booklist

"What will it take for a child who feels different to share her stories? . . . Like Woodson's memoir Brown Girl Dreaming, this story places great value on literacy, reading, and imagination. The matte-finished pages feature illustrations in vivid, brilliant colors, with repeated appearances of flying birds and lush, twining vines and flowers."-Horn Book

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson | PenguinRandomHouse.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"National Book Award winner and national treasure Jacqueline Woodson teams up with two-time Pura Belpré Award recipient Rafael López to deliver an empowering message to any child who has ever felt too different. . . . Woodson and López offer a needed message of comfort to preschool and early elementary students.

# data[].attributes.headline
UNITS OF STUDY - What's in the Box & Planning

# data[].attributes.subject
UNITS OF STUDY - What's in the Box & Planning

# data[].attributes.body
This document both lists what is in the UNITS OF STUDY box and also lays out a possible plan for grade level planning.

# data[].attributes.body
This is a list of the unit books for the TC Units Grade-8...both spiral books and IF/THEN books.

# data[].attributes.body
Great blog about writing workshop - tons of ideas, resources, book suggestions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A meeting place for a world of reflective writers.

# data[].attributes.headline
SOPHIE'S SQUASH, SWIRL BY SWIRL, BAT LOVES THE NIGHT, THIS I BELIEVE Failure Piece, THE THING LOU COULDN'T DO, WHEN I WAS FIVE, SOPHIE'S SQUASH, E

# data[].attributes.subject
SOPHIE'S SQUASH, SWIRL BY SWIRL, BAT LOVES THE NIGHT, THIS I BELIEVE Failure Piece, THE THING LOU COULDN'T DO, WHEN I WAS FIVE, SOPHIE'S SQUASH, E

# data[].attributes.headline
Singing: A Joyful and Meaningful Bridge to Literacy by Renee Dinnerstein

# data[].attributes.subject
Singing: A Joyful and Meaningful Bridge to Literacy by Renee Dinnerstein

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Lesley University Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
by Renee Dinnerstein, 2017 Literacy for All Conference Featured Speaker
"Look Renée, it stopped raining!" Akhira pointed to the window and twenty-four pairs of eyes followed her finger. Sure enough, the incessant rain had stopped and we could, at last, have outdoor play. But for my kindergarten children the ceasing of the rain also meant that at our morning meeting we would all happily sing Blue Skies.

Singing together infused my classroom with good feelings. When Vicky had a problem separating from her father one morning, we all solemnly sang our Comfort Song - "What should I do if my best friend is crying? What should I do? I don't know what to say. I take my friend in my arms and I hold her." Of course the children then wanted to continue singing verses for their daddies, mommies, uncles, aunts, sisters, cats and puppies. Eventually Vicky too forgot her separation anxieties and joined in the singing.

I believe that singing is a powerful tool for building community, and not only in classrooms. During the civil rights movement, in the 1950's and 1960's, group singing helped freedom fighters hold onto their courage in the most difficult of circumstances. "The freedom songs are playing a strong and vital role in our struggle," said the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., "they give the people new courage and a sense of unity. I think they keep alive a faith, a radiant hope in the future, particularly in our most trying hours."

Community building in the classroom is probably our first goal as teachers. When we form a cohesive, caring community, class rules seem to easily fall into place. Children help and support each other, bullying becomes practically a non-issue and maintaining discipline is not the teacher's priority.

Before I continue writing about the importance and joy of singing with children, I must address the issue of voice. Many teachers have told me that they really cannot sing in school because they don't have good singing voices. Truth be told, my voice is somewhat flat and I have difficulty carrying a tune. However, that never seemed to bother the children in any of my classes.

We sang every day and for many different purposes. As we studied bridges, we sang Love Can Build a Bridge, which led to an interesting discussion of metaphors. Maggie described a kiss as the bridge of lips between two people and Nils noticed that a rainbow could be a bridge from our earth to the sky. During the years that I co-taught with Connie Norgren, combining her first grade class and my kindergarten class each day for Choice Time, Inquiry Studies and group sings, Connie, a wonderful guitarist and folk singer, taught us many ecology songs ( Think About the Earth; The Garden Song), freedom songs (Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around; Rosa Parks; This Little Light of Mine) and songs from different cultures, (Des Colores; Que Bonita Bandera; Santa Lucia)

Many literacy skills can grow out of the joyful experiences of singing together. Here are but a few of them.
Phonemic Awareness
When children sing and clap out songs, they are also playing around with sounds. They segment them and then put them back together again. They tap and clap out rhythms. Consider the song Baby Beluga where the rhythm spaces the song into syllables, "Ba-by Be-lu-ga, in the deep blue sea" or the chant Miss Mary Mack: "Miss Mar-y Mack, Mack Mack. All dressed in black, black, black. With sil-ver buc-kles all down her back, back, back."

Because there are so many rhyming songs it's almost difficult to know which ones to highlight. For starters there's Down By the Bay, Jenny Jenkins, and This Old Man (which is also a counting song). Singing songs that mix up initial consonants such as in Willoughby, Wallaby Woo bring out lots of giggles but also involve children in thinking about the sounds of the consonants in addition to the rhymes.
Alphabetic Awareness
Besides the old standby of the ABC song, don't forget about A You're Adorable. My class loved to sit in a circle and write the letters on each other's back as they sang. Then they rubbed their hands across the back that they wrote on to erase the letters, turned around and re-sang the song as they wrote in upper case! It was a non-threatening way for children to practice writing the alphabet and it gave me the opportunity to casually walk around the circle, singing and noticing who was still having difficulty with letter formation.
Phonemic Awareness and Spelling Patterns
A song that opens up opportunities for the engaging activity of going on hunts for spelling patterns is I Can't Spell Hippopotamus. After we've had many opportunities to sing that funny song and come up with some simple spelling patterns (can, man, pan or bet, let, set) children set themselves up in partnerships, get sticky-notes and pencils, and peruse the classroom looking for spelling patterns on charts and in books around the room. Then we get back together and sing again, incorporating their notes into the song. It's a game, it's a song, it's a spelling lesson, and it's fun!
One to One Word Recognition
After children know a song really well ("by heart"), put the lyrics on a chart and the children will begin making connections between the words that they have been singing and the words that are written on the paper. Children can then take turns being the teacher and, with a wooden stick (I've used a chopstick), point to the words as the class reads and sings along. Children might take turns looking for sight words on the song chart and underlining them. Then they might put circles or boxes around words in the song that keep repeating. The key importance here is to wait until the children have internalized the words of the song aurally before making them visual. When you do that, the print is meaningful to the reader.

In June, I often celebrated our year of singing by recording the children singing together, making copies of the tape (would it be a CD today?) for each child and adding a sing-along songbook. I recently met a former student, now a college graduate, who told me that for years after kindergarten she listened to the tape and that the family played it when they went on long trips so that they could all sing along together, karaoke style!

I like to keep in mind the words from an African spiritual that encourages us to "sing when the spirit says sing," and to bring spirit and joy into each school day. Joyful singing can become a bridge to many joyful literacy learning experiences!
Renee Dinnerstein is a featured speaker at our 2017 Literacy for All Conference, October 22-24th. She will be presenting on Monday and Tuesday of the Conference.Click here for detailed information on all of our workshops.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Singing: A Joyful and Meaningful Bridge to Literacy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
by Renee Dinnerstein, 2017 Literacy for All Conference Featured Speaker "Look Renée, it stopped raining!" Akhira pointed to the window and twenty-four pairs of eyes followed her finger. Sure enough, the incessant rain had stopped and we could, at last, have outdoor play. But for my kindergarten children the ceasing of the rain also meant...

# data[].attributes.body
Renee Dinnerstein's blog celebrating primary choice time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
There will be two days of wonderful professional development workshops and keynote talks at the JCC in Manhattan on August 29 and 30. I'll be facilitating an all day workshop on August 30. Here's the information:

A SUMMER LEARNING SERIES
FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS

Join us for the third annual Come Learn with Us conference. This two-day event will feature full- and half-day learning opportunities for early childhood educators. The conference is timed to reinvigorate, inspire, and challenge educators just before they go back for the start of the school year. Each workshop will include hands-on interactive components and highlight clear, actionable takeaways. New this year, participants will have an opportunity for ongoing learning or midyear check-in to extend their learning well past the conference is over. Click the link under each session title below to register for individual workshops or use the group form to register multiple teachers together.

DETAILS

Registration and workshop details will be available on this page in the spring

Participants can register for full- or half-day workshops on either or both days

Several workshops will be offered each day

Full-day workshops are $100, half-day workshops $50

Registration includes a kosher lunch from 1-2 pm both days

Group registration will be available

Discounts are available for schools sending their whole teaching staff, as well as for members of JECA

New this year, we are committed to providing a limited amount of scholarships for teachers who do not receive registration reimbursement from their schools

Please direct all questions to Aida Mehmeti at [email protected]

WED, AUG 29 + THU, AUG 30, 10 AM-5 PM Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Avenue @76th Street
HERE'S A DESCRIPTION OF MY WORKSHOP

Come Learn With: Renée Dinnerstein (10 am-5 pm)
The Classroom Speaks: Transforming the Early Childhood Classroom into an Exciting Laboratory for Learning
REGISTER HERE

In this workshop, we will discuss how to transform a classroom into a place where children build things, conduct experiments, create innovative projects, read fascinating books, write original stories, use technology and texts to research for information, and feel free to try out possibilities. We will think carefully about how to create a space where children grow big ideas, make new friends, and dig deeply into exciting investigations. The workshop will address:

Arranging the furniture and materials to make the best use of classroom space

Considering the different centers that children will use at the beginning of the school year and creating dedicated areas that will be permanent throughout the year, as well as how to make trade-offs when space is limited

Looking at what materials will be necessary at the start of the school year and how this will change over the course of the school year

Creating a daily schedule that satisfies the demands of the administration yet doesn't rush children through the day like a train keeping to a timetable

How kindergarten and first-grade children can use their Choice Time journals to reflect on what they did at Choice Time and what might have challenged them

We will have opportunities to work on Choice Time planning templates and also work together on interpreting choice time observations and using these interpretations to plan next steps. There will be time for questions and answers.

Renée Dinnerstein has over 50 years' experience as an early childhood educator. She has taught both in Italy and the US and has spent 18 years as an early childhood teacher at PS 321, one of New York City's leading elementary schools. She was the teacher-director of the Children's School early childhood inclusion annex and worked also as an early childhood staff developer in the New York City Department of Education, Division of Instructional Support, where she wrote curriculum, led study groups and summer institutes, and helped write the New York City Prekindergarten Standards. Renée, a past member of the Teachers' College Reading and Writing Project Early Childhood Reading "think tank," taught in the project's summer institutes and presented calendar days for kindergarten and first-grade teachers. She received the Bank Street Early Childhood Educator of the Year Award in 1999. Her book, Choice Time, How to Deepen Learning Through Inquiry and Play (Prekindergarten-Second Grade) was published by Heinemann in August, 2016.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Investigating Choice Time: Inquiry, Exploration, and Play

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There will be two days of wonderful professional development workshops and keynote talks at the JCC in Manhattan on August 29 and 30. I'll be facilitating an all day workshop on August 30. Here's the information: A SUMMER LEARNING SERIES FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS Join us for the third annual Come Learn with Us conference.

# data[].attributes.body
Receive a poem in your inbox each day!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A walk down the aisle

There is a long aisle at our grocery store with soda pop at one end and tea and coffee at the other, which my love and I get to after the butter and eggs and 2% milk. We come to the beverage aisle and she selects the coffee, dark ground, with names like Swan Lake and Machiavelli. I notice the can of Maxwell House percolator grind and think of Mother and Dad. And there between the coffee and the soda pop is an extensive collection of waters.

In St. Paul, where we live, water comes out of the tap. You pay for it, of course, but the price per serving is miniscule compared to the serious money you shell out for fruit-flavored water, sparkling, caffeinated, antioxidant, and even hydrogenated. One water, enhanced with green tea and ginger, promises to create thermogenesis to increase metabolism and burn body fat.

It's interesting to walk through an enormous grocery store on the evening of a day when I've been reading about the end of World War II, when most of the world except for America was badly damaged and people in Europe and Asia were hungry, many on the verge of starvation. People were eating rodents, crows, dogs, scavenging in the ruins for edible garbage. If you wanted good food, you had to pawn the silverware and go to a black market. This happened within the lifetime of some of us.

No wonder my parents in 1947 bought themselves an acre of land and built a house on it, keeping half an acre for garden, and every summer, we went through a frenzy of canning to fill the basement shelves with jars of corn, peas, beans, tomatoes, squash, and jams and jellies. Six children under their roof and we never went hungry.

My generation, which came of age in the 1950s, was the beginning of teenagerness: we adopted our own mode of dress, our own music, our standard of coolness, which was based on alienation from the previous generation. Adolescence, as we defined it, would not have been tolerated in a time of hardship and scarcity, but we reveled in self-consciousness. Some of us maintained immaturity right up to retirement. We called it The Arts but really it was adolescence.

And now we discover that old age is utterly anonymous. Past 70, we're all marching into the swamp and it's the same swamp for everyone. Bombs are falling around us, friends are struck down, eventually we will be, too. We live day to day, the huddled masses of the aged and infirm, watching our successors march on ahead.

What bothers me is that we're cutting music and drama in the public schools to pay for Gramma to get an MRI if she has a headache and pay for Viagra at $10 per pill to give men in nursing homes to keep them from rolling out of bed at night. Why? Because we old-timers vote and children don't.

The old need to look after the young and honor the future. I run into people who retired on lovely pensions at 62 and now enjoy making bad art and writing stuff nobody wants to read, an enormous bulge of aging boomers squeezing through the pension pipeline, their expensive health care paid for by semi-literate 30-year-olds penalized by lousy schools where languages were dropped and tests dumbed down and class size rose past 30 and 35, who are now forced to support a growing population of seashell collectors and bad poets and people making videos of the Grand Canyon. After 27 years as Assistant Vice President for Institutional Advancement at the Associated Federation of Organizations, you now get to be a teenager again.

That is what I think of as I look at the $6 can of hydrogenated citrus-flavored organic zero-calorie caffeinated water guaranteed to whip up your metabolism and make you skinny and youthful again. And so I don't buy it. I go home and, out of solidarity with my ancestors who endured hardship of many kinds, I put a glass under the tap and fill it with water. No ice, no lemon, no sparkle. When you can appreciate a glass of pure water, you've touched base with reality. You are back in 1950, on Grandma's back step, pushing the pump handle down, holding your tin cup under the spout. The chickens cluster around for their share and the barn cats. Some places in the world know terrible drought, but not us. Praise God for His grace and goodness.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There is a long aisle at our grocery store with soda pop at one end and tea and coffee at the other, which my love and I get to after the butter and eggs and 2% milk. We come to the beverage aisle and she selects the coffee, dark ground, with names like Swan Lake and Machiavelli.

# data[].attributes.body
Good mindset clip - opens up conversation about mindset, revision, peer revising

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
16 Austin's Butterfly Building Excellence in Student Work - Models, Critique, and Student Feedback-HD 1080p

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Core Practices in Action", an EL Education film produced and directed by David Grant

# data[].attributes.headline
Popcorn & Poetry Movie from Emily Callahan's Grade 4 Class

# data[].attributes.subject
Popcorn & Poetry Movie from Emily Callahan's Grade 4 Class

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It is my great pleasure to host fourth grade teacher Emily Callahan and her poets from the North Kansas City School District at The Poem Farm today. Please enjoy this beautiful post about the exciting and varied ways that these young poets read, write, and celebrate poetry together. In honor of this class, I am holding a book giveaway open to all who comment on today's post. I will draw a winning name at month's end, April 30.

Thank you, Emily and thank you, Writers!

I asked my poets to write a little blurb about Popcorn & Poetry.

I think this captures it perfectly.

I hope that we forever "live an endless poetry life."

Excitement fills the air. It's Friday. It's time to share, to think, to get smarter. It's time for.... Popcorn & Poetry.
"OK, Poets! Grab your popcorn and come on down to our circle and find a spot," I say with eagerness in my voice. You can feel the energy of the poets as they rush down to get started. They sit down, open their poetry notebooks, review the tracks of their thinking and of course, they start munching on their popcorn. They know they don't want to waste a single second of this precious time together.
This is at typical scene in our classroom when it's time for our favorite classroom ritual... Popcorn & Poetry.
This ritual started in August when I read this post by Tara Smith from Two Writing Teachers. I'd always wanted to devote more time to poetry throughout the school year and not just leave it for April. When I came across their post in August I thought, we could do this! We could, as Georgia Heard says, "live with a poem" for a week - we could unpack as readers and writers and jot about our thinking. My mom, a retired teacher, threw in the popcorn part (I mean, who doesn't love alliteration and snacks?).

Alex Captures Deep Thinking.

Robbie and Isaiah Share Different Interpretations.

Mercy & Makenzie Exchange Insights.

We Build Thinking & Jot Others' Ideas in Share Circle.

We each devoted a special notebook dedicated to poetry. We decorated it with our favorite poetry quotes, books, and titles. We use this notebook to talk back to the poems and jot each other's thinking since we know we gain new understandings through talking about different poems. As the teacher, I always do the work right along with my readers and writers. Many of us become inspired to write our own poems because of our Popcorn & Poetry sessions.

We Love Our Mentor Ralph Fletcher's Words, "Poetry Matters."

I, Mrs. Callahan, Go Through the Writing Process Too.

Mercy Color Codes Her Thinking.

During the World Series, We Read Poems by Local Poets

About Our Team, the Kansas City Royals.

Jessenya Thinks About this "Pig poem!"

Poet, David Arnold Hughes, a local Kansas City Poet,

Visited Our Class. His Grandaughter, Mya, is a Poet in our Class!

We Keep Track of Different Stances in Our Color-Coded Notes:

What We Think, What the Author Might Think, Friends' Ideas.

Last fall we Skyped with author Dean Pitchford and he shared a story to an elephant orphanage on a recent trip to Africa. This inspired me to use Georgia Heard's poem, "Elephant Warning" from CREATURES OF EARTH, SEA, AND SKY. This then inspired two boys, Aiden & Robbie (two boys in a self-formed Poetry Club), to write a poem entitled "Elephant Orphanage."

We Learn from Skype, Articles, Other Poets.

Poetry Perfectly Captures Thinking.

Inspiration Comes from Many Places.

Here Are Some Notes about Georgia Heard's Poem.

Our Amazing and Creative Interpreter, Mrs. Watt,

We Use Them to Display Our Poems.

After one Popcorn & Poetry session, Leia was inspired to write a poem from a memory after reading several poems where it was obvious the poet had done this as well.

Memory Poems Reminded Leia of Florida.

We Reflect on Our Process.

Leia Needed to Display This, and a Conch Shell was Perfect.

Recently, a 5th grade teacher inquired about Popcorn & Poetry so we invited her class to come and watch a Friday session. We decided to give our visitors some background information, we would make a movie sharing what this was all about. Initially the audience was just them but now, we have the urge to share this with the world to not only share what it is, but more importantly, to inspire others.
Check out our movie!

We also like to "change up" Popcorn & Poetry from time to time but something that stays the same no matter what- we experience poems, share ideas, and think deeply.
Here are some different ways we celebrate Popcorn & Poetry:

Mrs. Callahan picks a poem or gives us some options. Sometimes we read a poem that connects to something we are learning in science or social studies or that connects to a read aloud.

We host guest poets from around our community and from our classroom!

Visiting Poet David Arnold Hughes Taught Us,

The Pauses and the White Space are just as Important as the Words.

Author and Teacher Penny Kittle Answered Our Questions.

We collaborate with younger grade levels and teach them about poetry. We love conferring with first graders.

We've invite parents to join us.

We look at images to inspire poems.

Isaiah Writes from an Image With a Poet's Heart.

Tanny McGregor Inspired My Teammate and Me

to Try Writing from Images with Our Poets.

And we don't always stick to just popcorn! While popcorn is our favorite, we've also had Pretzels & Poetry, Popsicles & Poetry, Peanuts & Poetry... You get the idea!
We hope we've inspired you to create your own time devoted to the amazing world of poetry!

Emily Callahan has been teaching second through fourth grades in the North Kansas City School District for the past thirteen years. She is a literacy demonstration teacher and welcomes visitors from in and around the district to come into her classroom to get smarter with her and her kids. Over the past five years, she's had numerous opportunities to work closely with different literacy consultants so she's constantly learning from several of her teaching mentors. She considers herself first and foremost a learner and loves digging in and doing the work with her readers and writers.

Emily became a teacher because of her mother Nancy, a primary teacher in their small town for twenty-five years. Emily knew from a very young age that she would be a teacher too and even has the clawfoot bathtub from her mother's classroom in her own classroom now...along with hundreds of inherited books.

Emily lives in Liberty, MO with her husband Jeremy, their two little boys, Fletcher and Theodore and two dogs, Moose and Milo. She loves reading poetry with her young readers at home. You can find Emily on Twitter here - @emilyscallahan and visit some of her favorite blogs and sites here - Two Writing Teachers, To Make a Prairie, The Poem Farm, Sharing Our Notebooks, Indent, Watch. Connect. Read., Ralph Fletcher.

In honor of these poets and their teacher, Mrs. Callahan, The Poem Farm will mail a copy of one of this class's favorite books, A WRITING KIND OF DAY by Ralph Fletcher, to a commenter on this post. Please leave your comment by midnight on Saturday, April 30, to be entered to win.

In other wonderful classroom news, I am happy to host teacher and librarian Stefanie Cole and her students from Ontario, Canada at Sharing Our Notebooks this month. This is a fantastic post full of notebook inspiration, a video clip, and a great book giveaway from Stefanie. Please check it out, and leave a comment over there to be entered into the giveaway.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Welcome to Mrs. Callahan & Her Poets from Kansas City!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It is my great pleasure to host fourth grade teacher Emily Callahan and her poets from the North Kansas City School District at The Poem Farm today. Please enjoy this beautiful post about the exciting and varied ways that these young poets read, write, and celebrate poetry together.

# data[].attributes.body
Amy LV's blog of hundreds of children's poems, poetry mini lessons and ideas as well as student poetry highlights.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Poetry and lessons for children of all ages by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater for classrooms or homeschools to teach literacy and writing workshop instruction

# data[].attributes.body
Amy LV's blog for notebook keepers - highlighting all kinds of notebooks by writers and artists and collectors of all ages.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Hi Friends, I have been away from this space for some time, but I will be back beginning September 2021. While I adored being a classroom teacher, I also missed writing and teaching from here. I am no longer in the classroom, but instead you will find me here and at The Poem Farm. If you are interested in sharing your notebook, please just let me know. See you soon! xo, Amy

I know that some of you are home from school these days, and I hope you will find some new notebooking ideas here. I love keeping a notebook for writing, for drawing, for making a place for ideas and dreams and wishes and facts and feelings. This blog is home to many peeks into others' notebooks, and in each post you will find photos, notebooking-thoughts, and an idea to try. Feel free to poke around, notebook by your side, and explore your own brain and heart. Sometimes we don't know what we really think until we write. If you like writing poetry, feel free to visit my other site, full of poem writing ideas - www.poemfarm.amylv.com xxxx, Amy

Readers - if you or one of your students or friends keeps a notebook and would like to share in this space, please send an e-mail to amy at amylv dot com. I welcome your contributions and will send you the post specs for this blog.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hi Friends, I have been away from this space for some time, but I will be back beginning September 2021. While I adored being a classroom teacher, I also missed writing and teaching from here. I am no longer in the classroom, but instead you will find me here and at The Poem Farm.

# data[].attributes.headline
Teachers College Reading & Writing Project Videos - VIMEO

# data[].attributes.subject
Teachers College Reading & Writing Project Videos - VIMEO

# data[].attributes.body
Short video clips to support reading and writing workshop in the primary and upper grades.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
TC Reading and Writing Project’s Showcases on Vimeo

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Join the web’s most supportive community of creators and get high-quality tools for hosting, sharing, and streaming videos in gorgeous HD with no ads.

# data[].attributes.headline
Teachers College Reading & Writing Project

# data[].attributes.subject
Teachers College Reading & Writing Project

# data[].attributes.body
Resources, Student Writing (not grades 3-5), videos, conference information, and more...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Home | Teachers College Reading and Writing Project

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
TCRWP offers a variety of professional development opportunities for teachers and school leaders. Learn from our staff developers in a variety of formats, virtually and in-person, addressing a range of topics. We offer single and multiple day events, as well as study groups that meet across the year…

# data[].attributes.body
Seven-year-old Tarek lists 30 things he believes...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I believe life is good.

I believe God is in everything.

I believe we're all equal.

I believe we can help people.

I believe everyone is weird in their own way.

I believe hate is a cause for love.

I believe that when I meditate I feel peaceful.

I believe we should be generous.

I believe brothers and sisters should be kind to each other.

I believe kids should respect their parents.

I believe I should not whine.

I believe people should wake up early.

I believe people should go outside more.

I believe in nature.

I believe people should use less trees.

I believe we should help the Arctic and rainforest animals.

I believe people shouldn't throw litter on the ground.

I believe people should not smoke.

I believe God is in good and bad.

I believe in magic.

I believe people should not give up.

I believe love is everywhere.

I believe that God helps us to have a good time.

I believe we live best in a community.

I believe we can protect people in danger.

I believe we should help the poor.

I believe it's OK to die but not to kill.

I believe war should not have started.

I believe war should stop.

I believe we can make peace.

Independently produced for Weekend Edition Sunday by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman with John Gregory and Viki Merrick.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When Tarak McLain's kindergarten group celebrated their 100th day of class, some kids brought 100 nuts or cotton balls. Tarak brought a list of 100 things he believes. Now a first-grader, Tarak shares his top beliefs about God, life, nature and war.

# data[].attributes.body
Archive of many many personal essays from all ages and walks of life.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The celebration of quinceañera is a tradition among people of Latin American heritage that marks a 15-year-old girl's transition from childhood to womanhood. The festivities can include a religious ceremony, elaborate gowns and tuxedoes, a lavish party, and a special dance of the quinceañera and her court. Such a major turning-point in a young girl's life can evoke a range of emotions and inspire a number of beliefs. Click here to read what these essayists feel about this important rite of passage.

It's amazing the effect that one simple act of kindness can have both on the giver and the receiver. Greeting a stranger with "hello" or letting a fellow driver merge ahead of you may not change the world, but it can make living in that particular moment more pleasant. Click here to read some meditations on kindness.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A public dialogue about belief - one essay at a time

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The celebration of quinceañera is a tradition among people of Latin American heritage that marks a 15-year-old girl's transition from childhood to womanhood. The festivities can include a religious ceremony, elaborate gowns and tuxedoes, a lavish party, and a special dance of the quinceañera and her court.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"In the second collection derived from the extraordinarily popular and influential National Public Radio program This I Believe, pithy, personal, and stealthily affecting essays grapple with life's big questions from myriad perspectives and with refreshingly positive energy....Infused with gratitude and hope, these declarations are at once grounding and uplifting." — Booklist

"By turns moving, thoughtful, cheering and heartbreaking, in an age of irony these essays offer a little something to believe in." — St. Petersburg Times

"This book opens with a formidable challenge: 'What would you say in five hundred words to capture a core principle that guides your life?' Before you try to answer that question, you might want to read some of the 75 essays collected in This I Believe II: More Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women. Many will leave you breathless. And those that don't astonish may simply humble you . . . Many of these speakers articulate beliefs 'forged in hardship'-sometimes horrific experiences of tragedy, illness, or loss. Yet over and again they affirm the good to be gleaned-by those willing to recognize it-from the largest and the smallest lessons of human experience . . . The book's purpose, says Allison, is to 'counter . . . divisiveness' and 'raise a flag for thoughtfulness.' These essays do that but they also do something more: They speak to the best in all of us and leave us in awe of the unheralded virtue that surrounds us every day." —Marjorie Kehe, The Christian Science Monitor

" This I Believe II features 75 pithy essays by authors young and old, famous and unknown, and engaged in every walk of life. In 'The Right to Be Fully American,' Pakistani-American Muslim attorney Yasir Billoo describes the anguish of being made to feel like a foreigner in your homeland, while virtuoso cellist Yo-Yo Ma expounds the benefits of cross-fertilizing cultures, both in life and in music. In 'The Faith That Brings Me Peace,' Betsy Chalmers describes how the implicit belief in marital faithfulness has enabled her to remain committed to her 30-year marriage to a convicted criminal; in 'God is God Because He Remembers,' Elie Wiesel puts the value of shared history into stark perspective. In the foreword, co-producer Jay Allison describes This I Believe as 'a snapshot of the convictions of our age.' Even a preliminary reading of the book will reveal that these varied convictions arise from a diverse range and depth of experiences." —Aisha Motlani, Shepherd Express (Milwaukee)

Allison and Gediman's newest omnibus highlights 75 more essays from the archives of the successful NPR program, a contemporary version of Edward Murrow's classic radio show. Culled from writers both legendary and previously unfamiliar, each essayist presents what he or she believes in 500 words. From Robin Baudier's tract on "Strange Blessings," detailing her experience living in her parents' FEMA trailer after the devastation of Katrina, to Michelle Gardner-Quinn's credo for "upholding reverence for all life" (Quinn was tragically murdered after completing this essay) to Kim Phuc's essay on "Forgiveness," borne of her experience as that "girl in the picture" running naked, napalm-burnt on a road near Saigon, each micro-essay stuns with its singular beauty, lucidity and humility. Icons like Helen Prejean, Studs Terkel and Elie Wiesel find estimable company in heretofore unknown writers who distill their individual truths with affecting sincerity and admirable aptitude. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Read an Excerpt

Finding the Strength to Fight Our Fears

Terry Ahwal

I believe in fighting fear.

When I was eleven years old and living under the Israeli occupation, I took a chance and after curfew I ran to visit my grandmother who lived two blocks away from us. On the road I had to hide under a truck to avoid soldiers who were coming my way. For twenty minutes I lay there in utter fear watching their boots walk back and forth in front of the truck. My heart was pounding so fast and loud that I was afraid one of the soldiers would hear it and I would be killed instantly.

To calm myself, I started begging God to take mercyon me and save me from these men and their guns. I remembered the words of my mother after Israeli soldiers beat my father. She told us to put our fear and anger aside and pray for the poor soldiers, who were also afraid because they were away from their homes in Israel.

I began to feel bad for the soldiers. I wondered: Where do they sleep and are they afraid of little children like me? What kind of food do they eat? Do they have big or small families? Their voices began to remind me of my neighbors. My fear dissipated a bit as I pictured the soldiers as people I knew. Although my twenty minutes under the truck seemed like an eternity, I believe that shedding my fear literally saved my life.

Thirty- six years later I look around and see another kind of devastation created by fear. I saw the collapse of my city, Detroit, when so many white people fied the city out of fear. After 9/11, the Arab and Muslim communities segregated themselves because of the level of suspicion directed at them from others. Fear of association because of ethnicity led many to retreat within themselves and their community. They stopped socializing with non- Arab/ Muslim colleagues and neighbors. Once again, we allow differences to separate us because of fear.

When I was hiding under that truck, if my terror had made me lose control and I had started to cry, the jittery soldiers might have pulled the trigger because of their own fears. Thank God I lived to wonder about this. I understood as a child that fear can be deadly.

I believe it is fear we should be fighting, not the "other." We all belong to the same human tribe; that kinship supersedes our differences. We are all soldiers patrolling the road, and we're all little children hiding under the truck.

Terry Ahwal was born in the West Bank city of Ramallah, and now lives with her family near Detroit. She is development director for the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, and teaches classes in nonviolent communication at Madonna University. Ahwal said her husband's family is Jewish and that Thanksgiving in their house hold is a mix of Jews and Arabs coming together with no uneasiness.

Excerpted from This I Believe II by Jay Allison.

Copyright © 2009 by by Jay Allison.

Published in July 2009 by Henry Holt and Company.

All rights reserved. This work is protected under copyright laws and reproduction is strictly prohibited. Permission to reproduce the material in any manner or medium must be secured from the Publisher.

Jay Allison is one of public radio's most honored producers. He has produced hundreds of nationally broadcast documentaries and features for radio and television. His work has earned him the duPont-Columbia and five Peabody Awards, and he was the 1996 recipient of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's Edward R. Murrow Award for outstanding contributions to public radio, the industry's highest honor. He was the curator and producer of This I Believe on NPR and he produces The Moth Radio Hour. Before his career in broadcasting, Jay was a theater director in Washington, D.C. He is also the founder of the public radio stations for Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Cape Cod where he lives.

Dan Gediman is the executive producer of This I Believe. His work has been heard on All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Fresh Air, Marketplace, Jazz Profiles, and This American Life. He has won many of public broadcasting's most prestigious awards, including the duPont-Columbia Award.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
This I Believe II: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"In the second collection derived from the extraordinarily popular and influential National Public Radio program This I Believe, pithy, personal, and stealthily affecting essays grapple with life's big questions from myriad perspectives and with refreshingly positive energy....Infused with gratitude and hope, these declarations are at once grounding and uplifting."

# data[].attributes.body
Includes "Statue."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Marshfield Dreams

Marshfield

THERE'S A TOWN called Marshfield in the state of Vermont. You can also find a Marshfield in Maine, one in Missouri,and one in Wisconsin. I grew up in Marshfield,Massachusetts. The curly part of Massachusetts that sticks out into the ocean is Cape Cod. Marshfield sits on the ocean,just above that curl.

I lived on Acorn Street in a regular house bordered by forest on two sides. Dad owned seven acres of woods in back. Across a dirt driveway we had Ale's Woods,a forest of pine trees. The pines dropped millions of needles,which gave the forest floor a nice,springy feel. Those trees were great for climbing. If I crawled out too far on a limb and fell,the soft needles cushioned my fall,so I never got hurt.

The woods held magical things. We found snake skins,real Indian arrowheads,box turtles, beehives,snake spit on tall grass. We dug up the buried trash from people who lived there many years before. We saw gravestones so old we could no longer read the names carved in them. We found all kinds of mushrooms. Some were edible, and others were poisonous toadstools. Mom said to think of them as strangers-some are good, some are bad,and since you couldn't tell the difference it was best to leave them alone. One morning in the woods I stepped into a fairy ring of mushrooms,a big circle ten feet across.

There was a tiny stream in our backyard small enough so you could step from one bank to theother. This stream flowed under the dirt driveway and formed a swamp at the edge of Ale's Woods. I loved the dank smell of that swamp and all the things that lived there: mossy logs and goggle-eyed frogs,bloodsuckers and eels and foul-smelling skunk cabbage. Half the swamp was underwater,and the other half contained thick, dense mud. It was impossible to walk through that muck without getting stuck. More than once I tried and left behind one of my sneakers,a lost sole sunk forever at the bottom of the swamp. I got in trouble for that. But today I'm glad to know that something of mine was left behind in Marsh-field.

Here is my story.

Junior

AS THE OLDEST of nine,I was named after my father and my grandfather. Some kids on Acorn Street teased me,calling: "Hey,Juuuu-nioooor!" not that I minded. I liked having the same name as my father,but it did cause confusion in the house.

Whenever Mom called out,"Ralph!" Dad and I would both answer,"Yeah?"

"No,Big Ralph!" or, "Little Ralph!" she yelled back,to clarify things. I guess that would have annoyed some people,but it didn't really bother me. Dad was tall and handsome. I bragged to my friends that my father was so cool he had three jobs: teacher,milkman,bartender. I was proud of him. I loved knowing that Ralph could fit us both in one snug syllable.

Statue

BY THE TIME I was three I already had a brother, Jimmy,who was a year younger than me. My sister Elaine was a year younger than Jim. Dad worked as a traveling book salesman,and Mom took care of us when Dad was away. Dad came home on Friday nights. On Saturdays,after breakfast,the whole family would play outside.

As soon as I saw Mom and Dad coming out the door,I'd get excited and run to the big boulder in the front yard. We were about to play my favorite game,Statue. I arranged my body in a certain pose and froze. Then I closed my eyes,waiting. My heart beat faster as they came closer.

"What's this?" Dad asked.

"It looks like a statue!" Mom said. She had Jimmy and Lainie in the stroller and pushed them closer.

"A statue of a little boy!" Dad exclaimed. "It's beautiful! It's absolutely perfect! Amazing!"

Mom knelt to touch my nose. I could feel the eyes of my whole family studying me closely. Jimmy laughed. The baby just stared.

"A little boy carved in stone!" Mom exclaimed. "You think we could buy it?"

"Hey look!" Dad said. "There's a price tag right here on the sleeve!"

I remained absolutely still,barely breathing, while Dad examined the invisible tag.

"How much?" Mom asked impatiently. "How much is it?"

"It's a lot-one hundred dollars!" Dad told her. "But who cares? It's worth every penny! I'd pay five hundred dollars for a statue like this! I'd pay a thousand!"

I tried hard not to smile.

"Excuse me,madam," Dad said to baby Lainie. "Is this your store? My wife and I would like to buy this statue here. A hundred dollars? Certainly. Here you go. Ten,twenty thirty forty fifty sixty seventy eighty ninety one hundred. What? Ship it? No,no thank you. We'll just put it in our car and drive it home."

He handed Lainie to Mom and picked me up. With me in his lap,stiff as a board,he sat on the boulder. Mom sat beside him. Dad pretended to turn on the car ignition.

"Drive carefully," Mom said. "We don't want the statue to get damaged."

"Don't worry," Dad replied, while turning the steering wheel. He pretended to park the car. "Here we are."

"Where should we put the statue?" Mom asked.

"I've got the perfect place for it," he said. "Right here in our front yard."

"How wonderful," Mom exclaimed. "We've got two boys,but I've always wanted another."

"Look at the detail on the face." Dad bent down to examine me closely. "It almost looks alive!"

That was my cue. Slowly,I lifted my chin and looked up,first at my father,then at my mother.

"My goodness!" they shouted. "He's alive!"

Hugs! Kisses!

"It's a real boy!" Dad exclaimed. "Would you like to live with us?"

Shyly,I nodded. With more hugs and kisses, they welcomed me into the family.

"It's a miracle," Dad kept saying. "An absolute miracle."

Excerpted from Marshfield dreams by Ralph Fletcher.
Copyright © 2005 by Ralph Fletcher.
Published in First edition-2005 by Henry Holt and Company.
All rights reserved. This work is protected under copyright laws and reproduction is strictly prohibited. Permission to reproduce the material in any manner or medium must be secured from the Publisher.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Marshfield Dreams Marshfield THERE'S A TOWN called Marshfield in the state of Vermont. You can also find a Marshfield in Maine, one in Missouri,and one in Wisconsin. I grew up in Marshfield,Massachusetts. The curly part of Massachusetts that sticks out into the ocean is Cape Cod. Marshfield sits on the ocean,just above that curl.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What good can a splash of color do in a community of gray? As Mira and her neighbors discover, more than you might ever imagine! Based on the true story of the...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Could anything possibly be more fun than a pig parade!? You wouldn't think so. But you'd be wrong. A pig parade is a terrible idea. Pigs hate to march, refuse to...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
each kindness (jane addams award book (awards))

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
children's / teenage fiction & true stories

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
children's / teenage fiction: general fiction

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
children's / teenage fiction: romance & relationships stories

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
children's / teenage personal & social issues: emotions

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
children's / teenage personal & social issues: friends & friendship issues

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile fiction / social themes / emotions & feelings

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile fiction / social themes / friendship

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile fiction / social themes / values & virtues

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile fiction/social themes - friendship

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile fiction/social themes - values & virtues

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
personal & social issues: self-awareness & self-esteem (children's / teenage)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
personal & social issues: sexuality & relationships (children's / teenage)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Each Kindness (Jane Addams Award Book (Awards))

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
WINNER OF A CORETTA SCOTT KING HONOR AND THE JANE ADDAMS PEACE AWARD! Each kindness makes the world a little better This unforgettable book is written and illustrated by the award-winning team that created The Other Side and the Caldecott Honor winner Coming On Home Soon. With its powerful anti-b...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile fiction / social themes / friendship

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile fiction/social themes - friendship

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
personal & social issues: sexuality & relationships (children's / teenage)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Want to encourage a child to write creatively? Introduce him to Rufus! The joy of writing (and reading) fills every page of this charming picture book. Why have a lemonade stand when you can have a story stand? That's what Rufus, a boy with a big imagination, decides. And once he&rsq...

# data[].attributes.body
"How the Stars Came Down" by Pat Schneider
"Imagine This" by Freya Manfred

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
g.p. putnam's sons books for young readers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
children's / teenage fiction & true stories

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile fiction / historical / united states / 20th century

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile fiction / people & places / united states / african american

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile fiction / social themes / friendship

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile fiction / social themes / prejudice & racism

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile fiction/social themes - prejudice & racism

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Clover's mom says it isn't safe to cross the fence that segregates their African-American side of town from the white side where Anna lives. But the two girls strike up a friendship, and get around the grown-ups' rules by sitting on top of the fence together. With the addition of a brand-new auth...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Daniel Finds a Poem [Archer, Micha, Archer, Micha] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Daniel Finds a Poem

# data[].attributes.body
This is a crowd sourced list of places to find mentor texts for writing workshop. Feel free to add to it!

# data[].attributes.headline
Opinion and Argument Writing in Intermediate Grades

# data[].attributes.subject
Opinion and Argument Writing in Intermediate Grades

# data[].attributes.body
This is a padlet I made for some intermediate teachers as they planned their opinion and argument units.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
children's interactive & activity books & packs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Inside This Book is a tribute to self-publishing in its most pure and endearing form. Three siblings create three books of their own using blank paper that they bind together (in descending sizes to match birth order). One sibling's work inspires the next, and so on, with each book's ...