As a Language Arts teacher and a teacher writer, I spend a lot of time thinking about writing. I spend even more time testing out lesson ideas in classrooms with many different ages and configurations of students. Once I have a good idea with lots of positive student response, I present that idea to my fellow educators in their buildings and districts, but also at state and national conferences. Because that’s what teachers do, we share what works.

As a result of my most recent presentation at the NAGC conference Fall 2019, I had the opportunity to meet with an editor from Routledge press and talk about how these ideas might become a book for teachers. I’m so happy to announce that this will be my new writing project! It has a long, awkward working title at the moment, “Developing Writing Talent in Grades 3-8, from Struggling to Gifted.”  Reluctant might be in the title as well. Sometimes students just don’t want to write one more personal narrative, but that doesn’t make them a struggling writer. Just a writer who has better ideas.

Of course I continue to write fiction and am closing in on finishing my 6th novel. Ooh, I love it so much and I’ll post about it sometime soon.