3 reasons students need to publish their writing
Something you may not know about me is I’m the esteemed author of ‘The Great Big, Enormous, Gigantic Banana.’ You may have heard about this book’s famously oversized front cover- …
Writing
What is Dysgraphia?
Have you ever had a student who battled against the written word every time you asked them to put pen to paper? A student who just can’t come up with …
Interview with author Carole Wilkinson
I love getting the opportunity to speak with published authors about their writing processes. Every single insight they give us is a form of professional development that can build our …
Interview with author Kaye Baillie
I was recently fortunate enough to interview Kaye Baillie, the author of one of the most heart-warming books ever, Boo Loves Books (where two of my loves- books and cute …
Why ‘Less is More’ in Genre instruction
Being a writer has been a lifelong dream of mine. From a young age, I’d tell Mum and Dad I was going to be an author, an illustrator and a …
Perfect poems to celebrate World Poetry Day
Happy World Poetry Day! Today is a wonderful day for me as I’ve always loved reading and writing poetry. I can’t remember exactly where this love started but I do …
Strategies for supporting reluctant writers
Lots of teachers ask me how to engage their reluctant writers. It’s like they know my secret when they ask me. The secret that my family know only too well: …
3 Common Misconceptions About The 6+1 Traits of writing
It’s no surprise that I get a lot of questions about the 6+1 traits of writing. I do, after all, bang on about them ALL. THE. TIME. Why? Because even …
Read more3 Common Misconceptions About The 6+1 Traits of writing
Should You Teach Genre or the 6 + 1 Traits?
I get asked this question quite a lot. And it excites me. Why? Because it’s generally asked after a teacher has had their eyes opened to the 6+1 traits of …
4 books to spark start-of-year notebook writing
Notebook writing is the perfect start-of-year activity for your literacy classroom- it builds community and teaches students timely strategies for generating ideas for writing. Now that’s a win-win right there. …