Creative Teaching Idea #1: Toy Travel Diary

Learn a little something by sending your toy pet into the world...

My name is Inch, and I’m from Wilmette, Illinois. Recently, I traveled to Maryland to visit author Mary Amato (you can see me on the bottom of her rather messy desk holding her pencil). She was surprised to see me and read the tag attached to me. My card asked her to send a note, photo, or postcard to the school about what it’s like where she lives (her geography, culture, climate, population, interesting facts, etc.). Then she is supposed to pass me on to someone else. I’m hoping to travel all around the country. Maybe even the world. Cool, hunh? Thanks to 5^th grade teacher Teresa Dobson at Highcrest Middle School for inspiring her students to follow through with such a great idea.

Do you have a creative teaching idea to share?

Writing Tip #16 Kids Deserve Rich Vocabulary

Sometimes adults ask me if I am conscious about word choice when writing for children: Do I deliberately choose a “small” word so that it doesn’t go over the reader’s head?

I shoot for the best word, no matter how small or large.

I believe that there is an organic process of learning language, which is called exposure. How do we learn “big” words? By hearing or seeing them used in context. I still recall the thrill of learning the word “salutations” when reading Charlotte’s Web. Imagine if E.B. White had deprived me of that thrill?

Kids are remarkable creatures and can handle just about anything.

While walking to the outdoor pool last week, I passed two boys, about seven years old, sitting on a fence, legs dangling. One boy’s flip-flop sandal fell off his foot, and he turned to his friend and said, in absolute deadpan, “I just lost my dignity.”