A word from Maupin House

I asked Julie Graddy, the publisher at Maupin House to comment on why teaching through reading is "hot" right now, and this was her response: "The link between reading and writing is obvious, but no one has been taught how to teach the two concepts together as reciprocals. With all the time constraints that teachers have, it makes sense to be able to open up the K-5 reading block and use writing as a strategy for teaching reading. All the research supports it." Julie Graddy, Publisher, Maupin House.

Check out this fun definition of copyright!

A friend passed this along; it is a very creative way to teach kids what copyright means. Check out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJn_jC4FNDo

Why I am a Writer – Part 2

Last week I had written about how Paul Stankard was so delighted with the article Paperweight Magic in Highlights Magazine. Yesterday, he received this e-mail which was forwarded along to me:

"My seven year old daughter, Clarity just got done reading the article about you in Highlights Magazine. She was completely enthralled in your work. She loves art, nature, painting, clay, etc. I think she could see herself doing something like this. She just won First place in her school science fair for a project on Honeybees. The judges told her the display was a work of art. She even made a 3 segment bee out of Sculpey clay and fastened it with velcro. Not too bad for a seven year old. Is there anywhere in Northern California we could see your work?"

Is there anything more thrilling for a children's writer than to have a reader become excited about a subject because you wrote about it?

I don't think so!

Attention South Carolina Homeschoolers!

I just wanted to let you know that I'll be giving three presentations at the South Carolina Home Educators conference on June 15-18 (Scroll down and you'll find me on the speakers list). I'll be giving workshops on "Mining Your Students' Lives: Writing Fiction in Middle and High School", "Show Them How to Create a Character (and More) With a Little Help from the Masters", and "Making the Red Pencil Your Best Friend: Fostering Critical Thinking through Focused Revision." You will learn skills that you will be able to take home and use with your children…and probably a few that you'll try out yourself! My hands-on workshops are always fun and go so fast that the hour is up before I even know it. Hope to see you in Sumter.

Learning from Literature

As I'm writing my second IRA proposal on "Show Don't Tell: How Creating a Genre Setting Enhances Reading Instruction" I am once again thinking about how I have learned to be a writer because I am a life-long reader. Lots of time writers give the same advice as I do, "If you want to write, read." But what should an adult or young adult be looking for when she reads? How do novels or short stories become writing textbooks?

When I read (or listen to an audio book) I look for the following:

1. How has the author created realistic dialogue? How do the characters' voices stay consistent through the story?
   
2. For that matter, how does the character himself stay consistent through the story through his reactions, emotions, and thought patterns?
   
3. How does the author use similes or metaphors to help me picture the character or setting? Is the text heavy with figurative language or is there enough of this spice thrown into the mix to enhance the story?
   

For young adults, two examples of consistent characters and settings in imaginative, well-written fantasy books are Cornelia Funke's books Inkheart and Inkspell.

These principles can be applied to creative nonfiction as well as to fiction. My first "official" creative nonfiction book that I read was Susan Orlean's book, "The Bullfighter Checks her Makeup." (For homeschooling parents: You might want to read this first before recommending it to your children.) Orlean has a magnificent grasp of language and tells stories through her nonfiction essays.

Linking to Technorati

Technorati Profile.
I am hoping to link to many homeschool parents and teachers this way. Bring it on!

Is a Red Pencil Friend or Foe?

How many of you have students who write a first draft, turn it in, and considered it "done"? Most students would rather eat beets and liver for dinner than rewrite their stories, essays, or papers. Why is that? Perhaps it's because we haven't taught them what every published writer has realized: good writing depends on multiple rounds of critique, revision, and re-writing. Even though students may lack the maturity to realize that "written" does not equal "finished" or "publishable" But we can help them in this process by communicating that their own red pencil is really their best friend, not something to be "forgotten" at home, buried in the deep recesses of their backpack, or thrown away.

How can you communicate this important principle?

Three ways:

1. Accept critique of your own work. When you write a sentence on the board, ask your students if they can think of a more vivid verb than what you have written. Is there a more specific noun? A more descriptive adjective? (Notice that adjectives are last on the list and adverbs are not even included! Lively writing is empowered by active verbs and precise nouns.) For some fun activities on using vivid verbs, see pp. 5 – 13 of Jane Kiester's book, Blowing Away the State Writing Test, also from Maupin House.
   
2. Give your students tools so that they can critique their own work. When they have the red pencil in their own hands, they have responsibility and power. Click here for a free mini-lesson on peer editing from my book, Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Middle School.
   
3. Encourage your students that all professional writers spend a lot of time and effort revising their work. "Very few stories are aced on the first shot. Leo Tolstoy rewrote Anna Karenina seventeen times. Jean Auel calls the revision stage 'where I get a handle on the book.' And Isaac Bashevis Singer considered the wastebasket the 'writer's best friend.'" Nancy Kress, Contributing Editor, Writer's Digest, July, 2005.
   

Does Fiction Writing Help Students Write Nonfiction?

I think it does!

I've been thinking about this topic as I've prepared a proposal for the IRA (International Reading Association) 2008 conference. My main idea is that there are many crossover skills between fiction and nonfiction such as focus, organization, including appropriate details, and practicing writing mechanics. On top of that, writing a short story that the student has brainstormed herself is more fun (and actually more work, but don't tell anyone!) than writing the traditional 5-paragraph essay. I also think that students who have practiced using figurative language, imagery, and literary techniques when writing a story will be more likely to use these devices when writing nonfiction. With the addition of the written portion of the SAT, it seems that fiction writing can be one way to help students become more well-rounded writers comfortable using a variety of literary devices.

If you have had experience teaching fiction to intermediate or middle school students and have seen crossover of these writing skills to essays or research writing, please e-mail me at cbaldwin6@carolina.rr.com.

One Reason I am a Writer

Last week Paul Stankard, an internationally acclaimed paperweight artist, called. A friend of his mother's who lives in Nebraska, was reading the June issue of Highlights to her grandchildren and was excited to find the article I had written about him. I have written about Paul for many glass magazines, but have never heard him so thrilled to see his work in print where kids could read about his Paperweight Magic. He was so proud of the fact that his grandchildren could read about him! His pride mirrored my own: I was thrilled to be able to bring his story to two million Highlights readers.

Conversation with Carol Crane, Learning through SCBWI, & More

I had a nice conversation over the weekend, with Carol Crane author of a number of beautiful ABC and number picture books. She voiced a concern that I have heard from many children's authors: people just aren't buying as many books for children as they used to. She wondered if it was a symptom of our economoy, I pointed out that most households in the US have at least one television and many have computers (and almost everyone has at least one cell phone!). We agreed that it's a matter of priorities--and that buying books may not be as important in our culture as it used to be. Any other opinions on the subject?

On another note, the Charlotte SCBWI group had our monthly meeting on Saturday morning. Even when I don't bring something to be critiqued myself, I always learn from the give and take that we share. Over the 12 + years which I have been moderating this group, I have learned a tremendous amount from the process of answering the questions, "What is wrong with this piece?" and "How can this writer make her work better?" These same questions are the same which writers of any age must ask of themselves and of their peer's work. This process of critical analysis is one that I advocate in my book and "Red Pencil" workshops.

To all homeschool educators: Maupin House's 50% discount is this week only (May 7-12) and applies to all books and all products. Just use TA07 when you check out. www.maupinhouse.com

Entering the Blogging Universe

I have officially started my blog, with some hand-holding by Emily Gorovsky, one of the editors at Maupin House. I plan to update this a few times a week and share news about my book as well as what I'm learning about teaching writing to young adults. Bookmark the website: www.carolbaldwinblog.blogspot.com.

If you haven't already checked out my first review at Teaching K-8, please read it here.

My conference schedule now includes the National Middle School Association meeting in November when I'll be presenting, "Making the Red Pencil Your Best Friend: Fostering Critical Thinking Through Focused Revision."

Teachers- check this out. In honor of Teacher Appreciation week, from May 6-12 Maupin House (www.maupinhouse.com) will be giving 50% off ALL their titles. Just use code TA07 when you check out.