Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education

This week, I shared one of my all-time favorite childhood summer pastimes, running under the sprinkler.  I have a fear that this is becoming a relic – an ancient ritual that is now supplanted by indoor air-conditioned video-gaming.  I wanted to show my students a simpler time when backyard fun reigned supreme.  I can still hear the rhythmic clack-clack-clac...

This week’s teacher-student collaborative writing went to the beach.  I shared an image of a giant translucent bubble sitting on the edge of the shoreline.  The photo serves as launchpad for another creative writing journey designed by my third and fourth-grade students. I was hoping to engage these reluctant writers with a magical image that they could use as a blu...

To help students keep up their writing skills, I often create a collection of visual prompts to spark their imaginations and help them write.  I create stories with them, and we share what we have created back and forth all summer long.  Besides giving students practice writing, they also get practice reading and critiquing what I have written.  This summer wri...

I have never been a sports fan, not really.  There was a time in high school when I cheered on our football team on Friday nights.  And I was an avid basketball fan for a short time in college, but I am not the type to tailgate and have a team to follow, whether that be football, baseball, basketball, or hockey.  However, this summer changed al...