Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Your Glorious Gene Pool
Students read the books like I Am the Dog. I Am the Cat by Donald Hall and Joyful Noise by Paul Fleischman and read the lyrics while listening to the song "Shallow End of the Gene Pool" by the Austin Lounge Lizards. Then students learn...
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Memoirs About Telling Lies That Hurt
Book reviews about Walter Dean Myers' Bad Boy and Madonna's Mr. Peabody's Apples are given on this site. The author suggests that using these books to help illustrate the concept that it better to tell the truth than to suffer the...
EL Education
El Education: A Beaver Story
This children's book about beavers was written and illustrated by 6th graders after extensive field research with experts in the field. The book is unique in that it offers a continuous fictional narrative at the top of each page, an...
EL Education
El Education: A Park Grows in Portland
This field guide was a cross curricular project created by 7th grade students in Portland, Maine. Students engaged in multiple fieldwork visits to the Deering Park (across the street), during which they observed trees, recording with...
My Hero Project
My Hero: Nelson Mandela
Use this resource to learn about Nelson Mandela's freedom, which marked the end of Apartheid. This article includes images and an excerpt from his book, "Long Walk to Freedom."
Edutopia
Edutopia: Innovative Practice: 5 Strategies for the Early Learning Classroom
Project- and play-based learning are essential in the early grades to develop creative learning dispositions during the brain's most active period of synaptic growth. Here are five strategies that can be implemented in early learning...
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Going Beyond "And They All Lived Happily Ever After."
After listening to the first 12 pages of the book Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude by Kevin O'Malley, students will discuss story elements leading them to develop their own solution to the story's problem. Students will then generate...
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Scary Somethings
Dick Gackenbach's classic picture book, Harry and The Terrible Whatzit, is a wonderful story about a child and his fear of the Whatzit that he is sure lives in his cellar. The story shows how through determination and the desire to save...
EL Education
El Education: How Does Your Garden Grow?
This book was created by kindergarten students from the East End Community Charter School in Portland, Maine, as part of an eight-week learning expedition on local food and gardens called, "How Does Your Garden Grow?" These young...