What is Writing? Advice from a Literacy Specialist
The question is not really what is writing, but what is good writing.
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Articles tagged writing
Writing: What Literacy Specialists Want Parents to Know
Literacy specialists want parents to prepare their children for school by sharing a love for writing, the attitude that writing is important, and the expectation that all children can become successful writers. How to do this?
The Art of Revising: A Writer’s Tips
CLiF Presenter author/illustrator Jason Chin shares during his presentations his process for creating and revising his picture books (you can watch this video on Jason’s presentation at JFK Elementary in Winooski, VT this summer). He shows kids the various drafts his work has gone through to become his non-fiction picture books. He tells them about … Continued
How to Encourage an Aspiring Young Writer
Does your child love to write? How can you encourage her passion without turning writing into a chore? As I write this from a writers’ retreat in Lost River, WV, I’m reflecting on what’s helped my writing, from making up my own stories as a young child until now, as a Master’s candidate in Fiction … Continued
Summer Fun with Reading and Writing
You know how important it is to make sure your kids keep learning during the summer months.
A Reading Specialist’s Tips: How to Help Kids with Writing
Successful writers understand the difference between strong and weak writing, and use that knowledge to create stronger drafts.
After 20 Years, CLiF Has Just Begun
Twenty years ago this week the Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF) was born. Like all new nonprofits, we started small. Our first initiative was the Rural Library Program. We created it to provide collections of new, high-quality children’s books to rural public libraries in New Hampshire or Vermont that were struggling with limited resources, and that … Continued
The Interesting Connection between Literacy and Behavior in Children
People are getting more enlightened today with the help of literacy. Without literacy, we wouldn’t be able to shape meaning out of the world. That is why it is so important to continue fighting for the increase of literacy for everyone. In the case of children, literacy isn’t just about understanding things and expressing opinions. … Continued
Shipwrecks, Flying Pigs & Talking Fruit: VT PBS Kids’ Writing Contest
What do shipwrecks, flying pigs, and talking fruit have in common? There were all featured in story submissions for the Vermont PBS Kids’ annual Writing Contest, which I had the pleasure of judging last week. Last Friday, I joined nine other writers, librarians, and members of educational non-profits at Vermont’s PBS headquarters in Colchester to … Continued
The Value of Mentors
Have you had a mentor who influenced your life? I’ve had quite a few, some through formal mentorship programs, but most have happened organically with a friend or colleague I respect who shares their experience and advice with me and acts as a sounding board when I need it. I consider my fellow writing group members … Continued
General / CLiF Spotlight / Book Recommendations
August 8 Friday Links Library
I’m so excited: I’m reading the manuscript of a friend’s just-finished mystery novel. I love reading more than pretty much any other activity (besides, maybe, eating), and reading a friend’s work — especially when it’s great — is so much fun. The dialogue! The suspense! The inside jokes! I’m very proud of him for having the focus … Continued
A Novel Idea
I have a theory that everyone who loves reading also has their own book kicking around in their imagination. It’s simple: reading other people’s stories empowers us to tell our own. I would bet every one of us — faced with an incredible real-life situation, waking up from a dream, looking up an interesting fact … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
Get Out! Ideas for Bringing Books Outside This Summer
With the promise of summer weather on the horizon, I’ve started to contemplate fun ways to bring our reading outdoors on warm, sunny days. Luckily with the world of Pinterest and creative blogs, I found a wealth of ideas for summer literacy activities. Unfortunately, children that don’t read and write during the summer months experience … Continued
The Creators of The Expeditioners Visit Students in Newbury, VT
Flight goggles firmly on their heads, Vermont author and CLiF presenter SS Taylor and New York City illustrator Katherine Roy voyaged to the Newbury Elementary School in Newbury, VT last Friday to give three presentations to all the students from Grade 1 to Grade 6 about the multi-year process they navigated to create their new epic children’s book The Expeditioners.
Author Teaches Students How to Tell Family Stories
Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, a children’s book author from Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, has been visiting K-8 students at the Lunenburg Elementary School and Gilman Middle School since October to teach her Story Keepers humanities curriculum. Story Keepers is part of Lunenburg’s three-year Community Literacy grant from CLiF. Natalie’s books are often based on her own family stories. … Continued
Let’s Meet Common Core Standards with Great Nonfiction
Last week, the New York Times‘ Opinionator blog featured an essay called “What Should Children Read?” by English teacher and writer Sarah Mosle. In the essay, Mosle highlights the new emphasis on nonfiction in the Common Core State Standards, “a set of national benchmarks, adopted by nearly every state, for the skills public school students … Continued