5 tips for effective writing conferences
I’m often asked for tips on how to engage in effective writing conferences with students. Conferring with writers can feel a bit overwhelming for some teachers, and for good reason- …
Writing
5 tips for creating a ‘writerly’ environment in your classroom
Often when schools want to work on improving their students’ growth in writing they start by changing their teaching. (‘Something isn’t working- let’s try a new program or a new …
Interview with author Victoria Mackinlay
It’s been a while since I’ve had an author in my interview chair, so I was very excited when award-winning, Sydney based writer, Victoria Mackinlay recently agreed to come on …
Admiring Your Students’ Writing- The What, Why And How
What is the admiring lens? Like most adults, when I read kids’ writing, I too am almost swallowed up in a sea of punctuation errors, twisted syntax, shifting tenses, and …
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- …
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 …