Journal BIG Ideas Inspired by Books
Taking notes is a foundational skill that will accompany your student through their entire educational journey and beyond. Even though there is no right way of taking notes, it is important to learn how to extract relevant and pertinent information from…
Haiku for the First Day of Spring
On this first day of spring step outside, celebrate the blossoming and craft a haiku greeting. How to craft haiku: five syllables s e v e n s y l l a b l e s five syllables …
after Robert McCloskey
During the fifth week of Discovery, Section 5 encourages each reader to develop a creative culminating project with options that provide a variety of ways to demonstrate deep understanding of the book. Your students will not only have a chance…
Worth 5-minutes of Your Time
Do you want your hands to learn to see? Not possible you say? Read on… Wherever you are this very moment, look around, hone in on a cluster of objects. First, look. Trace the edges with your eyes. Next ,…
Flying Fish
In her book Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech repeatedly uses the phrase “trying to catch fish in the air” to mean trying to achieve the impossible, when disillusionment is a much more likely situation. And as a writer with…
Lovely Lines
Did you know that, when it comes to art, every line has a personality? That the lifework of the master artist has a particular voice? When it comes to the lines of Matisse, spare, weightless, whimsical, and articulate come to mind.…
Added Value
“Drawing is based upon perspective, which is nothing else than a thorough knowledge of the function of the eye.” -Leonardo DaVinci We are designed to see and understand an object based on the relationship between the play of light…
Breaking the Rules in Good Company
I have been discouraged when people don’t like my writing—when people don’t like my voice. I’m sure this is true for all writers. The truth is, it’s hard to be yourself when people disagree with what you personally find interesting…
I’m Thankful for Sandra. What about You?
This is not a typical high school project. This is a watercolor composition, a gift from a friend. This is the prized possession that hangs in my kitchen with Mona Lisa’s ubiquitous gaze following my paces patiently, “Kim, you can.” Lore has…
A Telephone of Cardboard.
Thanksgiving is a terrific time to connect with friends and family across the miles. But it’s also a perfect time to help young writers creatively communicate thankfullness. Visit our Pinterest page and let the writing begin: Telephones come in all…