Op-ed article in California Reading Journal

Hi everyone,

The winter issue of California Reading Journal is out and I’m happy to be in it with an article called “Poetry for All.” You have to be a member to see it but for those who are, it starts on page 24. My thanks to editor NANCY ROGERS-ZEGARA, past president of The California Reading Association, for including me in this issue. An earlier version of the piece first appeared in The Robb Review, Education Blog, hosted by EVAN and LAURA ROBB.

Talk about a great free ride

Hi everyone,

Recently I mentioned that Mary Jo Fresch (and I, honorarily) had an article accepted by The California Reader, which drew from the book we did together for Scholastic, 7 KEYS TO RESEARCH FOR WRITING SUCCESS. We are particularly pleased to see this new attention brought to the ideas in our book. I think it’s one of the best projects I’ve been involved in because it provides so much help for classroom teachers showing students how to approach writing and greatly improve their results.

I’m happy to say the article is out now in Volume 53, Number 3, Fall 2020, pp 26-30. The title is “Three Steps to Researching: Modeling the Works of Authors.”

Yesterday our editor notified us and said, “We have been receiving rave reviews about your article. I hope you are happy with the end result.” She also invited us to consider future articles, and we will. We even have a potential subject in mind inspired by our book coming out this fall with NCTE titled EMPOWERING STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE OF VOCABULARY: LEARNING HOW LANGUAGE WORKS.

Hey, Mary Jo, maybe on the next one I can be more than just a pretty face. (:>

Accepted for The California Reader

Hi everyone,

Mary Jo Fresch and I have been notified that our peer reviewed article, “Three Steps to Researching: Modeling the Work of Authors,” has been accepted for publication in the Fall Issue of The California Reader, due out next month. The article outlines a classroom tested plan for teaching research skills. Used in a number of classrooms across the United States, the plan consists of three steps, modeled after some of my work. We have presented this plan at several conferences (International Literacy Association, National Council of Teachers of English, Ohio Council of Teachers of English). Between the results of the classroom testing and the reaction of conference participants, we know this is a very doable approach to helping students learn to be researchers.

Editor, Nancy Rogers-Zegarra, a past president of California Reading Association, says she is “very excited to be able to include your insightful article . . . The reviewers loved (it) and I am attaching their comments below.”

1) Nicely organized and written
2) Informative and practical for educators
3) Possibly could have been written as 2 articles, one of which focusing on part 3 Research. The focus could be on 1) Practice use of resources, 2) note taking and 3) summarizing. There’s more to unpack!

My first publication in The California Reader was probably twenty years ago and I’m glad to be in it again. Although the article is informed in part by our book for Scholastic, 7 KEYS TO RESEARCH FOR WRITING SUCCESS, this is nearly all Mary Jo’s handiwork. I’m riding on those proverbial coat tails and loving it.