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I took a single novel with me to Hilton Head Island—the third novel by Seattle-based Stephanie Kallos, who brought us TODAY Book Club selection Broken for You as well as Sing Them Home, which was named by Entertainment Weekly as one Ten Best Novels of the year.
I was expecting very, very good, for I'd read those books and I know a little about Stephanie. I know how hard she has worked over the past four years toward this story she's called Language Arts. I know that she has broken it apart so that she might stitch it back together. That fortitude was required. And faith.
I'll enjoy this, I thought, as I packed my tiny red roller bag.
I had no idea what I was in for and here's the reason: I had no idea that a book like this was possible.
I spent nearly two hours on the plane this afternoon trying to summarize this book. I cannot. Yes, it's about a high school English teacher with a severely challenged (and now institutionalized) son. It's about the teacher's past, his regrets, a best friendship he once betrayed, the wife who left him, the daughter he loves. A family story, a deeply involving family story. It is absolutely that.
But it is also about the Palmer Method of handwriting, a brutalized Italian nun, Janet Leigh, Life magazine, thalidomide babies, and a young student who wears a camera for a necklace and has some ideas about art. Absolutely none of that is decoration, distraction, or tangent; it all counts. How and why it counts is a great part of the genius of this book.
And why you have to read it.
Structurally significant, philosophically whole, unbelievably well written, and please forgive me, Stephanie's best book yet. I could deconstruct this book for days. I could hang the sections by clothespins to a line and lie beneath the fluttering pages, pondering, but I would never be able to figure out just how this book got made. How Stephanie summoned the patience. How she held its many parts together in her head, then put them down for us.
Talk about fluid.
Talk about transporting.
Talk about clever in places and deeply sad in others.
Talk about a stab in the heart, and then a healing.
For the rest of you, if there are any rest of you, I give you one small passage about language from Language Arts.
Language left him gradually, a bit at a time. One would expect words to depart predictably, in reverse order—the way a row of knitting disappears, stitch by stitch, when the strand of working yarn is tugged off by the needle—but that was not the case.
Look for it next June.
0 Comments on Language Arts/Stephanie Kallos: Reflections as of 10/28/2014 6:03:00 PM
Melissa Wiley was born December 17th. In celebration of her birthday we’re making a special offer. The Arrow forThe Prairie Thief is half price today only: $4.95
Either I’ve encountered a conspiracy to confound teachers of writing, or I’ve discovered an “obvious secret” of descriptive writing. To paraphrase a classic School House Rock Video, it appears that verbs are, indeed, “what’s happening.”
I heard about the power of compelling verbs first from Ralph Fletcher in a visit to the Garden State. He explained that well-intentioned teachers encourage their students to use numerous adjectives to create interesting prose, which leads to detail-sodden writing which drags under its own weight. Simply unnecessary. In Ralph’s own words, “Nouns make the pictures, verbs make the pictures move.” (See my enthusiastic endorsement of a recent book by this author at the bottom of this post).
Flash forward to the New York State Reading Association (NYSRA) Annual Conference held in Saratoga Springs, New York (one of the best conferences I’ve ever attended). During the Author’s Progressive Dinner I had the pleasure of sitting with Steven Swinburne, creator of several wonderful nonfiction picture books including Lots and Lots of Zebra Stripes: Patterns in Nature and Turtle Tide: The Ways Of Sea Turtles. As he spoke with his guests about the creative process, he mentioned the importance of verb selection.
When I asked why he had mentioned verbs rather than any other part of speech, he quickly replied, “The correct verbs are essential. Verbs are the motor which drives the sentence.” Now I’m thinking that I’m on to something.
The following day I enjoyed a conversation with Steven Krasner, author of Play Ball Like the Hall Of Famers: The Inside Scoop From 19 Baseball Greats and Play Ball Like the Pros: Tips for Kids from 20 Big League Stars. Through his Nudging the Imagination workshop, Steve explained, he creates stories with students on-the-spot in order to model the writing process. “A huge key,” he explained, “is helping them to find the verbs to really move the story.” Opening one of his picture books, he pointed out he crafted the precise, vivid verbs of the final draft during the revision process, replacing common verbs which served only as place holders in the early stages.
If three very different writers can agree on the importance of verb choice, then I think there are some lessons to be learned by teachers of young writers:
Encourage students to examine verb choice in novels, poems, picture books, and informational texts. I choose existing mentor texts and rewrite excerpts using “common verbs” (or, as Krasner would call them, place holders). Students are then challenged to replace these with more precise or colorful verbs.
Direct your students to consider verb choice in their own writing, and work to find action words that are more exact. As a start, outlaw there is, there are, there were, there was phrases. A better alternative always exists. As do exceptions. Remember the first line of Holes?
Teach children how to use a print thesaurus or online reference source (such as the Merriam Webster dictionary or Wordnik) for assistance in locating more exact expressions.
I am defining pyrotechnics as deliberate playfulness with language used by writers to create a particular kind of effect as well as the specific tools used to create that that effect.
The term includes (but isn't limited to) puns, invented words, allusions, idioms, metaphors, similes, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, and alliteration. (A good deal of the text discusses sentence structure, which is key to complex and elaborated writing as defined by the Common Core standards). While at first these devices might seem like window dressing, realize this: your best readers can recognize these devices (even if not by name) and understand them in texts, which leads to improved comprehension. Therefore, giving students practice with literary devices in writing will not only make them better writers, but better readers as well. Among a ton of other issues in this book, Fletcher discusses the need for writing teachers and student writers to switch from the what (subject/meaning) to the how (language), and he follows up with many ways to make this important distinction. And to prove his point, the author provides this lovely extended metaphor:
The purpose of a dinner party isn't merely to sate your guests' hunger - they could easily go to the local greasy spoon for that - but rather to take them on a gastronomic journey. Certainly you want the food to taste good, but it's much more than that You plan, prepare, and cook the food so that it has the proper texture, crunch, visual and flavorful variety. The spices should be in harmonious balance with each other. Writers know the same thing. If you want to make your writing memorable to readers, you must give them an aesthetic experience.
In another section called Shimmering Sentences by Other Writers, he talks about how's he fascinated by writers who violate common ideas about usage, and get away with it. Not just get away with it, but produce stronger writing as a result! See Breaking All the Rules of Writing at my How to Teach a Novel site which discusses how author Andrew Clements does exactly that. If you still think that the books' about "play" and not about "practice," consider what not just Ralph Fletcher, but other experts, had to say:
...Language play carries the huge cognitive benefit of helping children become more efficient language users. Many educators have pointed this out, including Vygotsky, who famously described a child's language as "a head taller" during play. Jerome Bruner said that "language is most daring and most advanced when it is used in a playful setting."
And for those who prefer practice over theory, Fletcher includes a number of hands-on, ready-to-use-tomorrow resources here, including a Q and A section, craft lessons divided by grade level (K-5+), and a number of appendices which supply the teacher with loads of language exemplars, as well as recommended mentor texts.
I can't recommend this book too highly! Preview it in its entirety online at Stenhouse Publishers and see if you don't agree! But buy it on Amazon, save the shipping, and support this site!
1 Comments on The Secret to Descriptive Writing, last added: 2/26/2013
Hi Keith! I just wanted to let you know that our next Kid Lit Blog Hop is Wednesday, March 6th and we would love to have you back! I'm really enjoying exploring your blog.
My Brave Writer podcast interview with Julie Bogart is up! We gabbed about my new books, our writing lives, encouraging our kids’ writing, homeschooling, blogging, and all kinds of things. Something there for everyone, not just homeschoolers. I loved getting to talk about the writing process with someone as on fire for the subject as Julie and could have gone on chatting all day.
If you have any questions about the topics Julie, her son Noah, and I discussed, please fire away!
Foreign language app we are finding irresistible, with a deliciously mockable edge: Earworms. (I learned about it at GeekMom. Rose and Beanie are using the German; Jane, the Japanese. Rose likes it so much she ponied up her own funds for the Arabic.)
Other resources Jane is using to learn Japanese (answering Ellie‘s question from my learning notes blog): Pimsleur Approach audio program (check your library for these); Free Japanese Lessons; Learn Japanese Adventure (another free site).
I had such a fun time yesterday recording a Brave Writer podcast with Julie Bogart and her son. I’ll let you know when it goes live! The Prairie Thief is the October selection for Brave Writer’s Arrow program—a monthly digital language arts curriculum featuring a different work of fiction in each installment. Brave Writer is one of the first resources I ever gushed about on this blog, way back in 2005. And as you’ll discover in the podcast, Julie Bogart was the blogger who inspired me to start Bonny Glen in the first place!
I’m a longtime fan of the Brave Writer writing program for homeschoolers—as this gushing review from (gasp) 2005 will attest. I’ve borrowed many an idea from Julie Bogart’s The Writer’s Jungle and I’ve ordered a number of issues of The Arrow and The Boomerang over the years. These monthly newsletters, which you can purchase individually or by subscription, are focused around a particular novel that you read aloud to your kids. For each book, there are copywork and dictation passages, a discussion of a literary element that appears in the reading, and writing prompts for your students. For my kids, I’ve found these downloads to be great discussion starters—and for me, they’ve been an easy way to introduce my kids to the tools of literary analysis.
So it’s a tremendous honor to see one of my own books on the list of Arrow titles for 2012-2013. The Prairie Thief, which comes out in late August, will be the October selection. Thanks, Brave Writer!
Julie Bogart has some fun plans in mind for October, such as a podcast interview with me…I’ll keep you posted!
P.S. Here’s next year’s Boomerang list (aimed at ages 12-15), if you’re interested. The Arrow is for kids ages 8-12. And this year Brave Writer is adding a new tool for early readers: The Wand.
About setting, about character, and even about plot.
Beloved Children’s Author Gives Advice to Parents of Budding Architects
National Building Museum Online sat down with Isabel to discuss her work and her advice for the parents of budding architects.
National Building Museum Online (NBM Online): As an urban planner and architectural historian, what motivated you to create books for young children?
Isabel Hill: Quite honestly, I was inspired to write my first children's book, Urban Animals, by my own daughter, Anna. When Anna was younger we used to take walks in Brooklyn where we live and I would always point out architectural details. One day, as we were wandering around our own neighborhood, I stopped to point out an interesting floral detail on a building and Anna interrupted me saying, "Mama, there is a dog on that building!" So my wonderfully-observant 5-year old daughter gave me the idea to create books for young children about architecture.
NBM Online: What was the inspiration behind your latest book, Building Stories?
Isabel Hill: For many years I worked as an urban planner in an old industrial neighborhood in New York. I walked by a building with spectacular, yellow, terra-cotta pencils on the outside and just had to find out why they were there. I researched the building and discovered that it was the Eberhard Faber Pencil Factory, famous for making those yellow, Number Two pencils that were used for generations all across America. Fast forward to two years ago: as I began to brainstorm about a second children’s book on architecture, the Eberhard Faber Pencil Company Building came to mind and inspired the book.
NBM Online: In Building Stories you look at the details of a building as being the characters, plot, and setting of a story. Have you always thought of buildings in this way?
Isabel Hill: No, this was a new concept for me but I think it works extremely well. Buildings do have stories and, when you think about it, what goes on inside can be mysterious as well as educational. Sometimes a building can have many plots and characters depending on what goes on inside and who is involved with the building.
NBM Online: What advice do you have for the young readers who enjoy your books?
Isabel Hill: I am so excited about these books and want them to be the catalyst for walking around one’s own neighborhood and observing all the interesting architecture that surrounds us. My advice would be to go out, walk the streets, take the books as your guides, but find your own architectural treasures. Photograph them, draw them, write about them, and share what you find with other children and adults.
NBM Online: What advice do you have for parents of budding architects?
Isabel Hill: I think it’s great for parents to read the books out loud, to help their children tackle some of the harder words, and to ask their children what they see in the books that relates to what they see in their own neighborhoods.
NBM Online: As an architectural photographer, what is your favorite city to photograph?
Isabel Hill: I must admit I love the city I now call home—New York—because it is so vast and has so many different kinds of buildings, architectural styles, and fantastic details. But Washington, D.C. is the place I used to call home, and I have a huge affection for the beautiful choreography of scale, m
0 Comments on BUILDING STORIES by ISABEL HILL as of 1/1/1900
A lot of you know I'm a former teacher. I've spent a total of seven years teaching English, social studies, or some combination of both.
One reason it's so much fun to teach these subjects is the variety of creative ways you can present subject matter. Both social studies and language arts lend themselves to assignments that allow students to work at their own pace and ability, giving them room to dig deep and explore topics well beyond initial classroom lessons.
While teaching English one year, I designed a reading assignment I called Where in the World are We Reading. Each term, my kids had to read a book located on a different continent, with the option of visiting one place "out of this world" (a fantasy title) during the year. Students marked their books' settings with stick pins on a big classroom map and kept a record of what they learned in a packet I called a Travel Log.
A few years later, I adapted the assignment for my social studies students. This time around, I drew from my students' understanding of setting (the time and location a story takes place). I gave kids permission to read anything in a different setting. Contemporary books like PEAK set in the Himalayas, historical fiction like Harry Mazer's A BOY NO MORE, and biographies all qualified.
Again, kids filled out a Travel Log while reading their books. My seventh graders were required to read two books a term. Fifth and sixth graders read one. Fourth graders could read for extra credit.
Some students chose to focus their reading in one area: I had one girl who read only about the Holocaust. She was able to use what she learned in a Social Studies Fair project later that year. Some decided they wanted to read about a specific country or period in history.
As a teacher, I was deeply satisfied watching my students go deeper and wider in the areas of their interest, learning about history and the world through literature.
For those of you interested in using this reading assignment, I have both the Where in the World Are We Reading and Travel Log handouts available as PDFs at my website. Please tell me about your experiences if you do!
1 Comments on Classroom Connections: Where in the World Are We Reading?, last added: 6/1/2011
Do you miss read alouds? In many of today's classrooms, reading aloud with children has been squeezed out or, perhaps even worse, has become a clinical, teacher-directed instructional piece to the point where it's lifeblood and impact have been depleted.
Take a look at an abbreviated list of values for reading aloud with students:
Pure enjoyment of great stories/growing motivation and interest in reading Taking students to a different level of understanding of the story (Bloom’s Taxonomy concepts) Discussion and reinforcement of story elements Reflecting on the text and searching for multiple meanings Exploring the elements and format of print and story Practicing and modeling specific comprehension strategies such as questioning, predicting, clarifying, etc. Building and activating background knowledge Using inference Understanding of the writing process, use of grammar, point of view, writer’s voice, word choice and other writing-related skills. Introducing and reinforcing vocabulary Reinforcing content area learning Modeling and Practicing “think-aloud” and visualization Introducing and/or reinforcing summarizing skills
This list reads like a list of standards. I expect you can find at least a few of your state's embedded here.
So what's the deal? What I recommend to many teachers is to step back. Look at what you do as a reader when you read text. It is an active and interactive process. You draw on all you know about how to figure out those squiggles on the page and the meaning behind them, almost effortlessly. Our students are still learning about those through comprehension strategy instruction, decoding instruction and fluency practice. So open up your brain. Get off the "lesson" channel and just explore, think, wonder, figure out and celebrate great writing.
It doesn't have to take 30 minutes - try 5 or 10 (most picture books can be read in that length of time). Evaluate the "down times" in your day - waiting for students to arrive, during the "morning meeting"/first few minutes of class, before or after lunch, closing out the day. There IS time.
When you take this approach to reading aloud with your students, it will have an incredible impact.
Do you know about the research behind read alouds (there is actually quite a bit)? Dr. Wesley Sharp has written an excellent article summarizing some of it on Educationworld.com. Dr. Maryann Manning's take includes not only references to research but also personal experiences. My favorite principal of all time, Dr. Reba Wadsworth, has great insight into this area as well. One more resource: Katherine Goldner's action research in conjunction with her graduate studies. It so clearly illustrates the value of such "in the classroom" experiments and evaluation.
I'd love to hear from real teachers out there using (or not using) read alouds. What have your experiences been?
0 Comments on Revisit the Read Aloud as of 1/1/1900
As my husband is wont to say, God bless YouTube. One of the girls was confused about whether or not to drop the silent e in “unfortunately.” I know how I resolved that question at her age, and I went a-googling to see if I could find a certain video clip.
And sure enough, faster than a rolling O, there it was.
Of course you know we spent the next hour watching more Electric Company clips, with the girls cracking up at my terrier-like 70s-child excitement. The lolly song! And that other lollipop song, the creepy one. Hey, you guys! Silent E! The uberfunky TION song, which I now realize may have been the genesis of my environmentalist streak. (Rewatching it, I’m rather shocked by the garmentlessness of the crowd at the end of the song. I guess the Age of Aquarius touched kiddie TV too.)
Look, there’s Morgan Freeman with a broken leg singing “There’s a Hole at the Bottom of the Sea.” Frankly, I always thought the gang was a little hard on the gorilla.
Rose and Bean liked Letterman best, and who can blame them?
Originally published in November, 2005 as “The Purple Cow Hula-Hooped Boisterously.”
This is a game we played in the car yesterday, all the way to town and back. I assigned each of the girls a part of speech: noun, verb, adjective, adverb (one girl had to take two parts in each round). From there it went something like this:
Me: Miss Noun, what is it?
Beanie: A giraffe!
Me: Miss Adjective, what kind of giraffe?
Jane: A hungry giraffe.
Me: Miss Verb, what did the hungry giraffe do?
Rose: It bounced!
Me: Miss Adverb, how did the hungry giraffe bounce?
Jane: Enthusiastically!
All together: THE HUNGRY GIRAFFE BOUNCED ENTHUSIASTICALLY!
a free 20-80 page "Teaching Activities" online supplement for each book that includes:
Questions for before and after reading the book
Language Arts
Science
Math
Research and Geography
Character Related (where applicable)
Bingo and other fun games or coloring pages
Here's another one. http://www.teachinglearning.com Included in their website are
Teacher Resources
Social Studies
Math
Science
Language Arts
Four Square Writing
Responsibility Ed.
Arts and Crafts
Poster Papers
Karen's Kids Clip Art
Please write to me if you have a website for me to view. I will check it out and see if it will make my Best list for children's books. My e-mail is [email protected]
0 Comments on Best Publishing House Websites as of 1/1/1900
People tend to think that it is a very big deal when The Today Show speaks with the year's Newbery and Caldecott winners. For one brief and shining moment, children's books are front and center in the news (unless one is able to locate the word "scrotum" in a the text, of course). So it was with interest that I saw the title NBC's 'Today' Launches 'Al's Book Club For Kids'.
Each month during the summer, Al and a group of young book club members, ages 9-11, will meet in Rockefeller Plaza for their monthly book club meeting to talk about the selected book and ask questions of the author. "Al's Book Club For Kids" plans to meet four times, and kids everywhere are encouraged to visit "Today" on the Plaza when the club convenes and bring a copy of Al's monthly pick to be signed by the author. Stay tuned for date announcements.
"Al's Book Club For Kids" will have extensive online components at Todayshow.com and scholastic.com/summerreading. Parents and kids alike from across the country can be part of the club by e-mailing questions for the authors, who will answer a select few live on "Today." Todayshow.com will continue the discussions with the author online after each book club segment airs. In addition, at Scholastic.com/summerreading (launching May 15) kids can access fun book-themed activities, join a book community and create their own reading log. Parents, teachers and librarians can also find expert advice on reading and age-appropriate summer book lists for kids in English and Spanish, as well as downloadable materials that will help engage kids in reading.
Well played, Scholastic. You can bet that there's a publishing house or two out there kicking themselves over this loss. No word yet on the four books that'll be discussed. We'll have to wait until May 15th, it seems. As such, we'll reserve judgment for a little while.
My book predictions: Hugo Cabret, Harry Potter, Chasing Vermeer, and Gregor the Overlander. Even money, people. Lay down your bets.
I also wonder vaguely if The Today Show made overtures to New York Public Library at any point. It'd be nice to tie all this into library use as well.
I was gonna guess Holes, but I see it's not a Scholastic title.
In that case, Gregor.
Kelly said, on 4/27/2007 7:41:00 AM
You're right with your first guess, Fuse. I have the dreaded "Today" show on the background right now and Al and Scholastic rep are talking Cabret at this very moment.
fusenumber8 said, on 4/27/2007 8:04:00 AM
Score!!! That's one.
Kelly Fineman said, on 4/27/2007 8:52:00 AM
You are 1/1. Can't wait to track your success rate.
gail said, on 4/27/2007 10:45:00 AM
Hugo Cabret, all the way!
gail
zee said, on 4/27/2007 12:38:00 PM
Why would you say Gregor? That is one of my favorite books, period. But why do you think they would pick this one? Just curious.
bookbk said, on 4/27/2007 1:21:00 PM
Gregor's not too long but is still substantial, it's in paperback, it has a compelling plot and strong human and buggy characters, it's SF but still attached enough to the real world that it wouldn't alienate kids who like realistic fiction, it's got a male protagonist but an important female character in the little sister, and it's just got that well-rounded thump to it.
Plus it's first in a series so kids who like it would be able to move right onto the rest of the books.
Hugo Cabret is a more idiosyncratic choice, and is newer and more expensive, so I'm kind of surprised. But the kids at my library are crazy about the copy we just got in, so based on them I bet it'll be popular.
fusenumber8 said, on 4/27/2007 4:39:00 PM
The homeschooler bookgroup I run did both Gregor and Hugo. Gregor was probably the better choice of the two. Suzanne Collins has a magnificent website showing different kinds of cave formations. It made for an excellent discussion. We'll see, though. It's possible that Scholastic will only wish to do titles from 2007, though. Hence my Potter suggestion.
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and 
. As he spoke with his guests about the creative process, he mentioned the importance of verb selection.
and 
. Through his Nudging the Imagination workshop, Steve explained, he creates stories with students on-the-spot in order to model the writing process. “A huge key,” he explained, “is helping them to find the verbs to really move the story.” Opening one of his picture books, he pointed out he crafted the precise, vivid verbs of the final draft during the revision process, replacing common verbs which served only as place holders in the early stages.
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Hi Keith!
I just wanted to let you know that our next Kid Lit Blog Hop is Wednesday, March 6th and we would love to have you back! I'm really enjoying exploring your blog.