It's not easy being a tween. A lot of us are either in a tunnel or a bridge. A lot of us don't know who we are. Instead of following Barney's advice, we end up doing what popstars do. --Kelley, age 10 No longer little children, but not yet teenagers, tweens are beginning to see themselves as autonomous while still struggling to understand where they fit in. It can also be an awkward time for teachers who cherish the hilarious and poignant personalities of tween writers, but feel pressured by a new emphasis on testing in the intermediate grades. Many teachers have virtually abandoned writers' workshops in favor of formula writing and prompts, even though these workshops may be essential for understanding the emerging competencies and personalities of eight- to twelve-year-olds. Bruce Morgan and Deb Odom teach together at a school where formula writing and test preparation led to stagnant writing scores, student boredom, and teacher discouragement. They worked with their colleagues in grades 3-6 to make some dramatic changes in their collective writing instruction. These changes included a return to their roots as writing workshop teachers, but with new twists. The teaching staff drew up new common standards for writing assessment and achievement. The revised writing programs also involved integrating insights from reading strategy instruction with a renewed emphasis on the basics of writers' workshop: student choice, teacher modeling, revision, and using quality children's literature as mentor text. Writing Through the Tween Years documents how teachers can get back to the joys of teaching writing in a literature-rich, thoughtful environment. There may be no better way to understand and reach tween writers.

"Heartbreaking yet hopeful, this astute exploration of the bonds and limitations of family is a perfect book club pick.” – New York Times bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson A Most Anticipated by Goodreads * SheReads * E! News * Frolic Jessica Strawser's A Million Reasons Why is "a fascinating foray into the questions we are most afraid to ask" (Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author)--the story of two women who discover a bond between them that will change both their lives forever. When two strangers are linked by a mail-in DNA test, it’s an answered prayer—that is, for one half sister. For the other, it will dismantle everything she knows to be true. But as they step into the unfamiliar realm of sisterhood, the roles will reverse in ways no one could have foreseen. Caroline lives a full, happy life—thriving career, three feisty children, enviable marriage, and a close-knit extended family. She couldn’t have scripted it better. Except for one thing: She’s about to discover her fundamental beliefs about them all are wrong. Sela lives a life in shades of gray, suffering from irreversible kidney failure. Her marriage crumbled in the wake of her illness. Her beloved mother, always her closest friend, unexpectedly passed away. She refuses to be defined by her grief, but still, she worries what will happen to her two-year-old son if she doesn’t find a donor match in time. She’s the only one who knows Caroline is her half sister and may also be her best hope for a future. But Sela’s world isn’t as clear-cut as it appears—and one misstep could destroy it all. "A thrilling story of what happens when a long-held family secret comes to light...[Strawser] shows that no one is ever truly a villain or a hero, but instead, we are all a beautiful and messy mix of both." - Associated Press review

The library programs featured in this unique collection are those that have been suggested, created, and led by youth with the help and guidance of the supportive adults at their library. Many times, librarians bring ideas to teens in hopes of getting them to buy in and perhaps help them to run programs. In this book, you’ll primarily find a role reversal! Tweens and teens lead the way with whatever adult information, support, and supervision they need to see their proposals through. To accomplish this, the youth are encouraged to create new ideas, are empowered to make decisions, and are given control. Plus, the ideas they bring to life are not just peer-focused. The programs, activities, and events they create and lead can be for children, adults, or even for all ages or mixed audiences, as well as for fellow tweens and teens. In addition to finding a wide array of proven ideas, recommendations, and testimonials from real tweens and teenagers, you will discover helpful advice on using the philosophies behind allowing youth to not only have a say but to take action; testimonials from adults who have worked directly with youth having this level of empowerment; suggestions on getting approval and providing funding and other support for youth ideas; ways to evaluate such youth-led programs; and sample forms, flyers, and other materials that can be adapted.

Writing is all about making meaning. The prospect of teaching writing to a classroom full of students—some who speak English and some who don't, can be overwhelming. When students learning English are at different levels, the task is even more challenging. Writing Sense: Integrated Reading and Writing Lessons for English Language Learners outlines the classroom conditions necessary for successful writing instruction with English language learners, whether in writing workshop and/or small-group instruction. It includes 68 classroom-tested lessons for grades K 8 that show kids at all levels of language acquisition how to make connections, ask questions, visualize (make mental images), infer, determine importance, synthesize, monitor meaning and comprehension, and use fix-up strategies. The five main sections are geared to the stages of language proficiency, and lessons are divided into younger and older students, spanning kindergarten through to grade eight. There are extensive lists of suggested books for mentor texts as well as lists of mentor authors to facilitate teachers' planning and instruction.

Keep this guide on your desk because you'll use it every day of the school year to guide your students to writing competence. Each month includes sample daily sentences for primary and upper grades, journal writing topics, a variety of lessons for developing writing skills in a developmental fashion, poetry to memorize, poetry to write, and vocabulary development based on root words and prefixes. This is a comprehensive outline for building writing skills one day at a time. Book jacket.

In her 30 years as an educator, Debbie Diller has closely examined classroom practice, asking Why? What's the purpose? Watching primary students work successfully at literacy work stations, she wondered with teachers, Why don't we have upper-grade students doing this? Could we kick it up a notch? In her new book, Debbie shows teachers of grades three-to-six how to structure their classrooms so that all students can be successful doing meaningful independent work using literacy work stations. Practice with Purpose offers guidance on establishing routines for independent reading and response writing, as well as step-by-step instructions on how to set up and manage a variety of hands-on literacy work stations appropriate for intermediate students. Each chapter includes: how to introduce the station;innovative ways to use materials;what to model to guarantee independence;how to troubleshoot; assessment and accountability ideas; how the station supports student achievement on state tests; reflection questions for professional development. The extensive appendix includes time-saving tools such as management board icons, graphic organizers, task cards, and recommended Web sites and children's literature.

Learn to craft smart, original stories and scripts for a variety of television formats and genres, including comedy, drama, pilots, animation, made-for-TV movies, late night, and reality television. Hear directly from studio and network executives, agents, and managers on what they’re looking for in new writers and how to avoid common pitfalls. Gain access to sample outlines, script pages, checklists, and countless other invaluable resources that will help you break into the industry and put you on the path to immediate success. In Write to TV, Second Edition industry veteran Martie Cook offers practical advice on writing innovative television scripts that will allow you to finally get that big idea out of your head and onto the screen. This new edition has been updated to include: Tips and techniques from industry vets Jay Leno, Norman Lear, Paul Haggis, David Magee, Susan Rovner, Tal Rabinowitz, Jonathan Littman, Peter Jankowski, Steve Stark, and Doug Herzog that you can immediately apply to your own projects Expanded coverage of writing pilots, pitching, writing webisodes, writing for tweens, writing for late night, and rewriting Useful advice for navigating the confusing television hierarchy, including how to network, get an agent, land that first writing job, and even "do lunch" 25 new interviews with writers and producers of hit shows such as New Girl, Parks and Recreation, The Blacklist, Curb Your Enthusiasm, CSI, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and many more An all new companion website (www.writetotv.com) featuring blog updates, industry trends, a Q&A discussion forum with the author, and many other resources