MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD: AN ELA RESOURCE, AUTHOR INTERVIEW and A GIVEAWAY!

 In the "it's a small world department," my sister Barbara (who lives in Milwaukee) met Rochelle Melander at a July 4th picnic this past summer. After hearing Rochelle speak about her book, Mightier than The Sword (Beaming Books, 2021). Barbara told her that she should contact me because I love encouraging kids to write. (In case you didn't know, my second book was Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8.)  After the picnic, Rochelle looked me up and realized that I was on her list of people to contact to be part of her blog tour!

I am proud to introduce you to Rochelle's inspirational and educational new book.  Rochelle has so much to say about teaching writing to kids, that today I'm reviewing her book and interviewing her. Next week she will guest blog about, "Playing With Writing Types."

REVIEW

From Murasaki Shikibu, a Japanese novelist and poet who lived from 978-1016 to Malala Yousafzai, a contemporary Pakastani activist, writer, and the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Mightier Than the Sword highlights men and women throughout history and from diverse cultures who changed the world through their writing.

Rochelle's list includes well-known figures who you may or may not think of as writers: Charles Darwin, Frederick Douglass, Zora Neale Hurston, Nellie Bly, Ida B. Wells, and Rachel Carson. But there are also many lesser-known individuals such as Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta, Wang Zhenyi, Ada Lovelace, Mary Garber, and Sequoyah and many more. 

 

In addition to the short easy-to-read essays about each writer and the ways in which the individual's writing affected the world, there are suggested writing activities and a pithy quote from the writer.

"If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write." - Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a German theologian who wrote in the early16th century. After his biography and work as a writer, his entry includes the development of Gutenberg's printing press which enabled more people to read the Bible. Luther's Ninety Five Thesis against the Catholic Church invited debate and promoted change. The author uses that point in history to challenge readers to find ways to invite debate.

This is the "Write to Create" activity for Luther: 

Martin Luther used repetition and rhythm so people would enjoy reading his words aloud. He used relatable images to explain complex topics: “A lie is like a snowball: the further you roll it, the bigger it becomes.” Keep a notebook to record juicy words, favorite phrases, and interesting snippets of conversation. p. 17

Mightier Than the Sword is a rich curriculum resource for grades 4-8. Besides the writing activities associated with each writer, the book ends with ten more pages of activities! There are ideas to get the reluctant writer going, revision ideas, advice from the featured writers, and of course, a list of books about writing.

                                                *****

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

CAROL: Did you write the book or the pitch first?

ROCHELLE: I wrote the pitch first. When an agent expressed interest, I wrote the proposal. (I did that quickly, in about 6 weeks.) When the publisher accepted it, I wrote the book.

CAROL: How did persistence help you sell your book?

 

ROCHELLE:  As an artist educator, I’ve longed for a book like Mightier Than the Sword. I believed the book would help me introduce young people to writing mentors from a variety of disciplines and support students in writing their stories. When I hit obstacles, connecting to this purpose kept me going. 

 

Researchers call this grit. According to psychologist Angela Duckworth, “Grit is passion and perseverance for long-term goals. … Grit is about having what some researchers call an 'ultimate concern'—a goal you care about so much that it organizes and gives meaning to almost everything you do.” 

When I first pitched the book in early 2018, an agent loved the idea and requested the proposal. But she rejected it—because she wanted more of a deep dive into history. I revised and submitted it to more agents—only to get a slew of rejections. Many of them said the book was too educational—and not right for the trade market! Then an agent requested a revise and resubmit—which I did. As I waited for their response, I sent it out to just a few more agents. When an agent I met at a conference offered representation, I sent a note to the agents who’d been sitting on the proposal for months. They all rejected it. I wasn’t keen on the representing agent, so I tried #PitMad. Surprise! I had four hearts from four different editors. One of those, Beaming Books, offered a contract. Woot!

For me, grit meant repeatedly reminding myself of my purpose—to help young people fall in love with writing. Once I got the contract, I still had hours of research and writing ahead of me—and that purpose helped me shape every single essay in the collection. If you’re stuck or struggling, consider your ultimate concern: why is this project important? Who will it serve?

Rochelle teaching
young writers.

CAROL: How did you come up with these particular writers? You had centuries and the whole world to choose from!

ROCHELLE: The writers! I first came up with the idea for the book in 2009 and started collecting names. When I decided to get serious about the book, I searched online, read anthologies and talked to professors to find names. Once the publisher accepted the book, we worked together on finalizing the list. I wanted to make sure the list was diverse in multiple ways: disciplines, gender, race, culture, writing genres, and more. The book includes 40 writers, 5 interludes, and many short profiles!

CAROL: What were the lessons about writing that you learned while researching and writing this book?

 

ROCHELLE: I learn from every book I write, but Mightier Than the Sword brought so many more lessons—probably because I was researching and writing about people who used their writing to make a difference in their worlds. Here are three of them:

 

• It’s okay if you weren’t a successful student. Follow your passion. Many of the writers I featured did poorly in school. Charles Darwin skipped out on grade school lessons and dropped out of medical school. But when he discovered his passion for nature, he succeeded.

• Write about what matters to you. Passion drives persistence. When congresswoman Patsy Mink was in college, she started a letter campaign to protest segregated student housing. She succeeded—and the college changed their policy.

• Writing is difficult. Do it anyway. Because of social media, we see writers celebrating their wins, but we don’t see the sweat equity that went into their work. It took James Baldwin ten years to write his autobiographical novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain. During that time, he struggled to earn money and deal with self-doubt. 

GIVEAWAY

Leave a comment to enter the giveaway. You'll have a second chance to enter after  Rochelle's next post. A winner will be drawn after 6 PM on October 27. If you are a media specialist, home school educator, or ELA teacher let me know--I'll give you another chance to win this book. AND if you compare Mightier than the Sword to What's in Your Pocket? from last week's blog, you get an additional chance!

PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IF YOU ARE NEW TO MY BLOG.

Congratulations to a new subscriber, Suzy Leopold, who won WHAT'S IN YOUR POCKET? from last week's blog. 

SmartARTS: Art Integration at Work

I last blogged about my training to be a SmartARTS teaching artist last summer when I attended their training institute. Here's a column I wrote for The Greenville Journal about my first assignment.

*********

Five minutes after I started talking to Gayla Day, the Administrator of the SmartARTS program at the Metropolitan Arts Council, I knew I’d found a place to share my writing skills. This organization believed in integrating arts education into school curriculum—on a scale I had never imagined. SmartARTS uses artists like myself—writers, painters, dancers, fiber artists, musicians, poets, actors and actresses—to enhance math, social studies, science, and language arts instruction.

In order to receive my first teaching assignment, I was required to attend the Arts Integration Training Institute. Last summer I spent four days of immersive training in the SmartARTS vision and methodology. This included talks by Greenville County teachers who successfully enhanced their classroom instruction by teaming with artists. Along with sixty teachers who wanted an artist in their classroom, I participated in acting exercises, a poetry workshop, a painting activity, and a dance lesson. I learned how the students’ needs would determine how my writing skills would be used in the classroom. 

This past March I met Melody Powell, the third-grade teacher at Stone Academy who I was paired with. As we planned the unit, she said she wanted to prepare her students for the state writing assessment by focusing on narrative writing. Here was an opportunity to use my book, Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8 precisely how I envisioned it. My excitement as an author and writing instructor soared!

Ms. Powell hoped I would reinforce concepts that she had previously taught including the parts of speech, theme, and adding sensory details. Since the classes are teacher-driven, our planning didn’t stop at that initial meeting. She gave me feedback throughout the unit so that I continued to tweak upcoming lessons. 

Students critiquing each other's work.

This type of collaboration is at the heart of SmartARTS. The-give-and take in the classroom between Ms. Powell and myself was like a dance that may have looked choreographed, but in fact, was a perfect example of collaborative work. As I taught the unit, “What Is A Story?” we amplified one another’s skills and knowledge base. 

I used a simple picture book, "Emma's Pet" to demonstrate
how what the character wants drives the story. (Thanks Harold Underdown!)

The SmartARTS Training Institute reinforced the idea that linking a physical activity to content area helps students retain material. Each day I opened the class with “Exercising Muscle Words.” Parts of speech and figurative language were combined with movements. Quickly students learned to pair vivid verbs with jumping jacks; specific nouns with deep knee bends; image-driven adjectives with arm circles; similes, metaphors, personification with arm punches and leg kicks; and onomatopoeia and alliteration with finger dancing. 

Another day I used tableaux, an activity that I had learned at the Institute. This dramatic exercise helps students use their bodies and facial expressions to connect to a concept. In small groups, the students created tableaux that showed an emotion such as anger or sadness. It was exciting to see their enthusiastic efforts and the connections they made to portraying a character’s emotions. 

Two third-graders collaborating on their tableau.

Teachers enjoy seeing light bulb moments—times when students link ideas to new concepts. I was privileged to experience several. A student recalled a passage in our mentor novel, Because of Winn Dixie, specifically because the author used the same figurative language the student was “exercising.” Others proudly incorporated muscle words into their work. After showing them several drafts of my work-in-progress Half-Truths, students realized how “real writers” revise. Several experienced the benefit of reading their work out loud to catch mistakes. One student recognized that although he didn’t want to hurt his friend’s feelings while critiquing his work, feedback made the piece stronger. 

Giving and receiving feedback. All writers revise!

I am thrilled that my book, Teaching the Story, was an asset in the SmartARTS program.  It was a privilege and pleasure to watch children shape their ideas and transform them into a story of their own. 

Creative Writing at Explore the Arts

Some of you may remember that last summer I volunteered at the Explore the Arts camp in Greenville, SC. I was thrilled when the camp's director, Donna Shanks-Major, asked me to teach the creative writing class this year. 

I had two classes: the first one consisted of eleven 6th-8th graders who wrote and published a camp blog. After receiving instruction about Muscle Words and the Who? What? Where? and Why? of reporting, they practiced observing and taking notes in a "Paint on Canvas" class. They wrote it up, received my edits and feedback from their peers, revised, and then moved on to observing other classes running concurrently in the Fine Arts Center. I hope you take a few minutes to read our blog; I'm proud of the way in which they learned how to incorporate figurative language and specific details into their work.

Photo courtesy Joanna Henn

The second class included seven eager 4th and 5th graders who came ready to write a story. (When they introduced themselves quite a few said they'd been "writing their whole life.")  Using lesson plans from my book, Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8,  I taught them how to Create a Character, Set the Scene, and Plan a Problem. They were each anxious to start their stories--many had constructed intricate plots in their imaginations before coming to class. 

We used some of the artwork displayed on the Fine Arts Center's walls to prompt their imaginations. In this exercise, they were looking at these pictures and imagining what the story was behind each character. I asked, "Who is this person?" and "What is she feeling or thinking?"

Photo courtesy Claire Natiez

When we studied setting, I asked the students, "What could happen here? What is the mood of this picture?"

This painting

inspired this descriptive paragraph:

The tornado rushes by as howling winds blows dust into the air, and tress bend against the wind. Gritty sand rushed into his mouth every time he took a breath. There was suddenly a chill in the air as hail pounded upon him. Suddenly all he could see was darkness. When he woke up it seemed that all of his bones were aching. Jeffrey L., rising fifth grader. 

I taught them these young writers the basics of writing fiction and they taught me how to dab. 

Photo courtesy Lydia Hammond

I'm not sure who was enriched more this week!

This & That

• Congratulations to Linda Andersen for winning a copy of Stake Out by Bonnie Doerr. 

• This week I am honored to be a guest blogger on Kathleen Fox's Funbrarian blog. Please mosey on over to her blog, read how librarians can encourage students' writing, and download some free handouts from my book, Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8. While you're there, check out Kathleen's workshops, books and games for librarians.

• In February I'll be teaching Writing for Children at Central Piedmont Community College. If you live in the Charlotte area and are looking to learn more about writing picture books, novels, or short stories for children--then I'd love to have you join us!

Navigating My Blog

If you are new to this blog, you might not notice the tabs on top of the blog posts. If you click on "Half-Truths" you'll find past posts which document my progress in writing my historical novel. 


Click on "Writing Workshops" for a list of my writing workshops. I can tailor workshops to meet your students' needs.


Click on "Teaching the Story" to find out more information about my book and for some free reproducibles.


Click on "Talking Story" and you'll find a brief description of the newsletter which I publish bimonthly with Joyce Hostetter and directions on how to subscribe. 


I appreciate all of you who receive my blog notifications via e-mail and who follow this blog. Every once in awhile I sponsor giveaways for followers only. Follow now, and look for another giveaway soon!

Write2Ignite Teens Ignite Me and Inspire a Giveaway!

It never fails. When I teach teens I feel as if I receive as much as I give. That was my experience teaching twelve teens at the recent Write2Ignite conference.

Picture courtesy Sean Earnhardt

We came together as a group of strangers- some more tentative than others- but we all had the same passion: a love for writing.




Picture courtesy Sean Earnhardt





Using activities from my book, Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8, students learned how to exercise muscle words, welcome revision, and jazz up their writing. Here is a sample of what they came up with:

The sentence, "I walked through a cemetery and heard eerie sounds."

Became, "I stalked through a graveyard and I heard bat wings flapping at the beat of my heart."

Pretty spooky, huh? I guess they had cemeteries on their brains because I said I was stuck on trying to create a simile for one of my scenes in Half-Truths. The setting is a graveyard that is being bulldozed to make room for houses. To a student they all said "eeew!"  and then proceeded to give me ideas on what they thought that toppled gravestones would look like. One student thought they might look like fallen dominoes, but nixed that idea because it wouldn't create the right mood. (right on!) Another said the graves would look like faces looking out on the cemetery. As we talked about the effort that goes into a writer finding just the right simile to convey an image, they got the point. Writing takes time, work, and revision.

Interspersed between learning how to create original characters, settings, and plots, the teens also did a variety of dramatic activites. When we discussed character they mingled like old people, kindergartners, and their parents; when we talked about settings they pretended to walk through a swamp, a busy street, and on a mountain. 

                                   They collaborated,

opined, 

Photograph courtesy Sean Earnhardt

                                                                       and wrote.

By the end of the day, we left as friends and co-writers who had a day of fun together.


Photograph courtesy Sean Earnhardt


That weekend I realized something profound. I am writing a book for teen readers but I don't have many teen followers on this blog. To rectify that situation, I am going to start giveaways that are geared directly to my intended audience. If you are between the ages of 12-16, start following my blog and send me an email at cbaldwin6@carolina.rr.com. On March 15 (the ides of March) I will pick a winner. That person will receive an autographed copy of Blue by Joyce Hostetter. 

Parents, please note that you can't enter...but your children can!

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And the winner is....

Maria with husband Toby, and children
Leif (2) and Kaia (7)

Maria Muscarella is a Nurse-Herbalist, homeschool mom, and a children's story writer. She is also the winner of my giveaway contest and will receive a signed copy of Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8.  

She told me that she lives just outside of Asheville, NC in a 16-sided cordwood house on a small homestead. She says, "For my daughter's 7th birthday I wanted to write her a short story. Somehow this little story has spiraled into a completed chapter book that I am totally in love with. (I know, it's my work, but it's nice to be proud of what you've created, right?)"

I agree. As writers it's nice to be proud of the work which we create!

I hope that Teaching the Story will help Maria craft her own stories as well as those her children write too.

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Writing for Children



My granddaughter, Ebby Clark, reading before bedtime.

 Have you always wanted to write a book for children but didn't know where to begin? If you live in the Charlotte, NC area than you can take a class that covers the basics of writing and publishing for young readers. Starting January 22, I'll be teaching at Central Piedmont Community College for six weeks. Find out more information by clicking here. The entire course outline is on-line too.


From my 15+ years of experience as the critique coordinator of the local SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators) group, I have found that most people first think about writing a picture book for or about their children (or grandchildren). Picture books are only a small part of the entire children's market. Writing for children includes everything from writing ABC or number books, magazine articles (both fiction and non-fiction), poems, puzzles, and early chapter books; as well as middle grade and young adult novels. Within these broad categories there are also genres such as science fiction, mystery, fantasy, sports, or historical fiction.


We will be using my book, Teaching the Story, as a text. If you aren't already following my blog, click on "follow," (in the left hand column) than send me an email at cbaldwin6@carolina.rr.com. For the month of December I am collecting names of new followers. At the end of the month I'll draw a name and that person will receive a free, autographed copy of my book. Sign up for the class, and you'll already have the text!


Please pass this information along to a friend who dreams of writing for children. What better holiday present to yourself, or to a friend, than signing up and taking the first step towards making that dream come true.

And maybe one day Ebby will be reading a book that you wrote!

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The Red Pencil is Your Students' Best Friend

image from http://www.uber-kitty.com/

If you have taken a writing workshop with me or who are familiar with Teaching the Story, you know that I always stress a positive approach to revision. DevoKids, a Christian website dedicated to providing spiritual inspiration, fun activities, and writing instruction for young people, is now featuring my article on this topic.


A funny thing happened as I worked with Terri Kelly, the editor of the website. Neither she nor I gave the article a final proof before it went live. As a result, we had three more rounds of revision before we finally got it right. That goes to show you that even professional writers and editors have to run through several cycles of write-read-revise before they're ready to hit "publish!"

The article is written for young writers; I hope you will share it in your classroom or with your home school students.

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Who are You?

Lately my blog has averaged about 150-200 hits a week. That's great news, but with only 7 "registered" followers, I wonder who my readers are. When I look at my blog statistics I find readers as close as Matthews, NC and as far away as Mountain View, California and Alberta, Canada. I also gather hits from Kingston, Jamaica; Sydney, Australia; Manama, Bahrain; and Spanish Lookout, Belize-- to name just a few of the more exotic places.


I'd love to know who you --my unnamed blog readers--are. So, from now until the end of December, I'm sponsoring a giveaway of an autographed copy of Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8. Send an email to cbaldwin6@carolina.rr.com and tell me how you found my blog and why you read it. Then click on the "Follow" button on the left below "Speaking Engagements." I'll announce the winner here and share what I learn about my blog demographics in the beginning of 2011.


Be more than just a face in the crowd or a statistic on my blog. Intoduce yourself and enter to win a copy of my book! 


                                              picture from www. thirdpipe.com

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Science in a 17-Syllable Setting

Science, poetry, and short stories. You might not ordinarily put those three together in the same sentence, let alone in the same curriculum. Here is a suggestion that could be used in your language arts or science classroom.


On a recent drive at dusk from North Carolina into Tennessee, I saw beautiful gray clouds that resembled feathers. They reminded me of arrows and as night descended, I began playing with the image, wondering how I could use it in a poem. Since I couldn’t get beyond the clouds themselves, I thought it might make a good haiku. Here is the first result:

Gray feathered clouds

shot from hidden bow. Puncture

blood-red dying sun.

In Teaching the Story I discuss how setting should help create a story’s mood. The same can be applied to poetry. Since I used a metaphor and compared the clouds to an arrow, the verb “puncture” followed which led to the creation of a dramatic, violent setting with an ominous mood.

Could I change that mood? Here is the second haiku:

Gray feathered clouds

line rose-kissed skyscape. Blue

hills embrace twilight.

I started with the same prompt but instead of a setting which reflected war and destruction; I created a soft, romantic mood by using the image “rose-kissed skyscape,” and using personification by suggesting that the hills “embrace” the twilight. The haiku format forced me to choose verbs and adjectives which enhanced each specific mood.

Since I didn’t take a picture of the clouds, when I decided to write this blog I googled “gray clouds + feathers” to search for an illustration. Although I didn’t find a picture of the clouds that streamed over the Smokey Mountains, I discovered that these clouds are called cirrus virtebratus—and were an identifiable subspecies of Cirrus clouds.

Photo by Michael Grossman, taken in Germany

Suddenly, my interest in clouds sky-rocketed (forgive the pun!) and I began wondering about other clouds outside the car window. Science exploration had begun.

You can do the same. Use a visual prompt in your classroom, either from pictures your students bring in or from a website like Google images. Exercise muscle words, play with verbs, and brainstorm moods.

Science, poetry, and short stories. Why not?

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Teaching the Story: A Middle School Teacher's Testimonial

Last November when I taught at NCCAT, I met Rebecca Quick who had taken a workshop from me at the North Carolina Middle School Conference. I was delighted to find out that she had been using my book and asked if I could interview her.  Now, seven months later, here is the interview. (Scroll down for the video.)


Carol: You have taught language arts for thirteen years. How is Teaching the Story different than other materials you have used?

Rebecca: I have many other writing materials which I never know quite when to use.  Teaching the Story is very well organized and allows me to stay focused on teaching each story element.  The CD provides worksheets that I use as overheads thus simplifying the process of developing a story.

I want to allow my students to write freely, but they get very overwhelmed with the process. Before I used your book I found myself teaching all over the place without a lot of structure. As a result, my students’ writing was all over the place.  Now, using Teaching the Story, at the end of each semester my students have a well written short story of which they are proud.

Carol: What was the most significant way that Teaching the Story helped you as a teacher?

Rebecca: It gave me an outline and direction to teach each element of a story.  For example, the fact that there was a separate chapter on developing the character and then several mini-lessons to help students develop their character was very helpful. 

Teaching the Story is very specific and detailed with lessons that explain and show exactly how to create a setting, develop a character, and create a "real" problem with a "real" solution. 

Carol: Was there a particular lesson that was most helpful?

Rebecca: I found that planning the plot helped the students organize their stories. The “Build-a-Plot” handout was one of the most useful instruments.  As a teacher, I was able to give the students a visual representation of their story in a very simple format.  It allowed me to conference with them and they could adjust their stories as needed. 

Carol: How did the book help you to be a more organized teacher?

Rebecca: By taking time to teach each element in a very simple manner my students did not get overwhelmed and could really focus on the key elements of their story.  It also helped to have a focus when conferencing.  I knew what I had just covered in class and I was able to discuss and give very specific feedback when trying to help them revise. 

Carol:  What would you say to other language arts teachers?

Rebecca: I believe that Teaching the Story will give direction when teaching the fictional narrative. There are many ways to teach students how to write stories, but you will find that Teaching the Story is very helpful in staying focused and keeping the process simple.  At the same time, the book still allows room for your personal style and additional lessons.




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