Good Writers Read Out Loud

We have all heard of book signings where authors read excerpts of their books. And who hasn’t happened by an open mic poetry reading at niche coffee shop? We even buy books on tape. So why don’t we encourage our students to read their own written work out loud?

Reading out loud is an excellent tool for students to learn about the flow and pacing of good writing. If reading a sentence makes him feel tongue tied or rushes by so fast that he runs out of breath, chances are that the sentence needs revision.

Good writers use their ear to HEAR mistakes even when their fine tuned brain compensates for errors that they SEE on a page.
An added bonus of learning to read out loud properly is a big boost in selfconfidence. Public speaking skills are sorely lacking in many students partly because they don’t have the opportunity to practice and get good feedback along the way.

So the next time your child hands you a draft to read, hand it right back and say, ”Let’s hear it!”
Tuesday

Top 10 Uses for the Comma

10. Dates and Addresses: place a comma between cities and states or cities and countries; place a
                                         comma between the day and year in a date.                    

London, England                   January 12, 2016  

9. Numbers: place a comma in large numbers each three places right of the decimal.

5, 567, 543  

8. Dialogue: place a comma between the line of dialogue and the tag which tells who is speaking.

Mary said, “Pass me the sugar.”  

7. Direct Address and Interjections: place a comma after the                                                                       name that you are speaking                                                                directly to as well as after                                                                    words that indicate                                                                              exclamation or emotion.

Wow, I love chocolate!  

6. Between Adjectives: place a comma between adjectives that are                                        side by side and used to describe the same                                          noun.

                                    It is a big, blue house.   

5. Appositives: place a comma around the noun or noun phrase that renames another noun beside it.

The mosquito, an insect, leaves red bumps that itch.  

4. Conjunctive Adverbs: place a comma after a conjunctive adverb used to join two main clauses.

I love the holidays; however, I often work too hard.   

3. Introductory Elements: place a comma after introductory phrases, clauses and words that appear
                                             before the main clause of a sentence.

After breakfast, I leave for school.   

2. In Lists: place a comma between three of more items in a list.

I like pizza, pasta, and garlic bread.   

1. Compound Sentences: place a comma before the conjunction that joins two independent clauses                                              in a compound sentence.

Harry hit the ball, but John caught it. 

Education: The Great Equalizer

   

With Online Scribblers immersed in its 5th year, it is only natural to reflect upon its continued development and growth. In doing so, one question continues to present itself: What are the advantages of online learning?    

The answer appears evident. Online learning affords students a unique educational experience emphasizing superior accessibility, individualized pacing, and custom feedback.    

First, online learning allows every student access to experts in their field no matter where they live. Previously, students in metropolitan areas had greater access to higher education and renowned professional experts. Now even students in rural, less inhabited areas can learn from the best. Even more importantly, these students can collaborate and learn together. Their diversity lends a greater depth to the learning process. Online learning equalizes opportunity among all students.      

Secondly, online learning allows students to progress at their own pace and around their schedules. No longer must one student spend an hour on a lesson that made sense to them in 20 minutes. Similarly, a student who struggles with a concept has the chance to repeat and review it as many times as needed to fully grasp it.

Online learning also allows students and families to forge their own academic experience. It is flexible.

A family might travel frequently: no problem. 

A student might deal with intermittent health concerns: no problem.  

A student might be pursuing a competitive talent: no problem.  

These students don’t need to choose between their specific  interests or circumstances and a quality education. Online learning makes everything possible.    

Finally, online learning allows teachers to provide individual and customized feedback to each student. The teacher can push an excelling student a bit harder while praising and encouraging the smaller accomplishments of a struggling student to affecting greater confidence. It eliminates the competition in education and focuses on the outcome. No two students are the same and neither should be their education.

     In many ways, online learning is akin to having your own private tutor. And similar to the special relationship that develops between a student and their tutor, a unique relationship evolves between online students and their teachers. There is no hiding in the back row of the classroom or sinking low in a chair. There is no waiting for the outgoing student in the front row to answer all the questions. Online teachers get to know each student personally. Each student is held to a higher level of accountability and responsibility for their work.      

In a traditional classroom, a teacher has a finite amount of time to communicate a lesson, discipline, and develop a rapport among students. What a feat! However, online learning accelerates this one to one relationship between student and teacher. And once a level of comfort is achieved, the real nitty-gritty of learning can flourish.      

So, while knowledge is power and the road to success, online learning just might be the modern face of education in today’s world: the great equalizer.  

Top 10 Homophone Mistakes

Homophones are two or more words with the same pronunciation but different meanings. Mixing up homophones is one of the most common mistakes students make in their writing. Below are the most frequent errors that I see in student work:

10.  Tale: a story      
       Tail: the hind part of an animal

9.  Site: a place or location
     Sight: what you see

8.  Threw: having thrown something
     Through: passing or complete  

7.  New: not having been used before  
     Knew: understand (past tense)  

6.  Weather: the state of the atmosphere (rain, sunshine)
     Whether: if, depending

5.  Effect: noun—a change or consequence of an action
     Affect: verb—to make a difference

4.  Your: belonging to you  
     You’re: you are

3.  To: referring to direction or place
     Too: also, in addition, an extreme amount

2.  Their: belonging to them
     There: a place, where something is

1.  Its: belonging to it
     It’s: it is

Scream Out Loud makes a SPLASH in San Diego!

This past February, I had the unique opportunity and privilege to take part in the San Diego Local Author’s Exhibit. Over 300 local authors were recognized at the annual event, and I was honored to be included with my recent novel, Scream Out Loud.

Aside from seeing my book showcased beside other talent in the lobby of our Central Library, perhaps the highlight of the evening was listening to the personal story of the esteemed keynote speaker, Brian Selznik. Mr. Selznik is the author of several best selling novels as well as the Oscar Award winning movie Hugo.

Excitement and thrilling milestones continued in the month of March as I visited with a local book club that had read Scream Out Loud. What a treat to be able to interact with my readers! It was a surreal to hear the many ways that my characters impacted these women and the emotion that arose as the controversial topics of abuse and suicide were discussed.

When I write, I am completely consumed by my characters and immersed in their world. But to see this fictional world come to life for readers was beyond a dream come true. Definitely a highlight of my writing career!

 

Get the "Math" Kids Writing

I can’t count the number of times parents ask for help teaching their student to write “because they are more math oriented.”

So make it more like math. Appeal to the math concepts that these students absorb easily.

Every child has a specific learning style and subjects that they like more than others. The key to teaching any subject is to find what resonates with each student and adjust your presentation. Once the student acquires the skills and concepts—and once she begins to find success and builds confidence—the rest will come more naturally.

So find the math in writing… 

Here are some ways to bring the principles of logic and organization to writing:

1. Teach the art of diagramming sentences. Sentence diagramming is geometric. Students learn to compartmentalize words into their function in a sentence. Every word has a job.  Students learn how words fit together to form grammatically correct sentences and they learn how to avoid incomplete and run on sentences. Suddenly introductory elements jump out of  sentences and punctuation becomes easier to place.

2. Use graphic organizers to teach paragraph structure and focus. These help students visualize a large piece of writing and provide a framework to begin the arduous process of paper writing.

3. Create formulas to explain concepts of writing.  Hook + Thesis + Blueprint = Introduction Paragraph Formulas provide a familiar concept that allows students to plug in parts of a whole to achieve a final outcome.  So don’t write off  “math kids”. Instead help them to be successful “writing kids” too!

Ten Classic Novels for Teens

Classic literature is replete with imagery of the time it was written and lessons for the 

ages. It also demonstrates the excellence of well written works where emphasis was 

on quality of words and structure rather than quantity of books published.  These are 

some of my favorite and most important works of all time!

10. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

          This is a tale of two displacd migrant workers during the depression in California.

9. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

     

           This is a true story of a young girl in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi   

           occupation of the Netherlands. 

8.  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

          Set in the post war South, this story paints a picture of he people and places 

          along the Mississippi River. 

7. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

          This story follows the experiences of Jane Eyre on her journey from youth to 

     

          adulthood including her moral sensibilities of the times.

6. Animal Farm by George Orwell

          This is an allegory that questions the role and responsibility of government to its

          people to rebel.

5. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

          This novel courageously addresses adolescent themes of anxiety and alienation.

4.  Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

  

          This classic is a book about the strength of women and the validation of virtue

          over wealth in a family setting.

3.  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

          The story follows the main character as she deals with issues of manners,

           morality, education, and marriage in high society of early 19th Century England.

2.  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

          This story reveals the unprecedented economic prosperity and flagrant culture

           of the 1920's.

1.  To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

          A disturbing look at the racial and financial inequality of the South in the 1930's.

6