by Alison Ashley Formento Have you put up any holiday decorations? There are people like Martha Stewart who knows how to trim a Christm...

by Mary Quattlebaum Aesop’s Fables is a classic that should be part of every home and school library, not only for its centuries-long...

Guest Post  by Janet Wong One of the hardest things for any writer is revision. You write something and fall in love with it: how could...

by Mary Quattlebaum How might you encourage students (of any age) to attend to language?  To begin to delight in and revise for sound...

by Alison Ashley Formento Leaves swoop around us this time of year and a swirling rainbow of autumn colors fill the air. Leaves lea...

by Mary Amato When I was in the eighth grade, my teacher Mr. McCauley brought in a record: Paul Simon's “I am a Rock.” He played ...

by Jacqueline Jules At the end of the year, many schools publish literary magazines. It’s a wonderful way to   help young writers see ...

by Jacqueline Jules Inspired by Mary Amato’s post on Sharing Mistakes, http://penciltipswritingworkshop.blogspot.com/2012/02/sharing-mistak...

by Pamela Ehrenberg In ninth grade, I had big puffy hair, braces, and stirrup pants.   I read Stephen King and Sweet Valley High, dissecte...

by Jacqueline Jules The more I work with student writers, the more I think about how I developed my own writing skills. When did I become ...

by Mary Quattlebaum I don’t know what to write!  Have you heard this wail from your students?  The five-senses exercise gives them a fun a...