Classroom Blog

As a gifted education specialist, I have classes that span from kindergarten to fifth grade. Even within one class of all gifted students, there’s a range of interests, abilities, needs, and [...]

In my previous blog, “The Case for Comics in the Classroom,” I argued for comics as a valuable teaching tool in schools. Now, you might be asking yourself where to start.  Since the realms of [...]

As a parent of a child who seemed to be born loving trains, I’ve learned more about trains than I ever imagined I would in one lifetime. Though he’s now matured well beyond wooden toy railways [...]

At the culmination of every year, I ask graduating seniors to pass along some sage advice to future students in a short essay. Invariably, almost all of them tell their fellow Stoneman Douglas [...]

 You may know Melissa Stewart as an award-winning author of more than 190 science books for kids, including her latest picture book Fourteen Monkeys: A Rain Forest Rhyme, illustrated by Caldecott [...]

When the pumpkin spice latte makes its appearance at your favorite coffee shop, it can only mean one thing: fall is upon us. Although this year the release of the favorite fall coffee flavors was [...]

All fiction can transport the reader to another time and place. Historical fiction requires a balance of creativity and factual research on real people and events to tell a unique story. [...]

While walking through my local Target recently, I started to see the back-to-school end caps and signs. Although I am not in the classroom anymore, it always brings back feelings of preparing for [...]

Where do stories come from? Inspiration. Well, where does inspiration come from? Some might think it just plops into your head like a lightning bolt. After eleven years of writing, I’ve learned [...]

When I was six years old, I wanted to become a writer. Why? Because of Charlotte. I had just finished reading E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web in one sitting. After I stopped crying, I immediately [...]