Melissa Forney's blog

We are all living in tough times. Schools have very little money, teachers' jobs are being cut, and there are few resources for special programs. Yet our job remains the same. Our mission is to teach children to the best of our abilities.

Who says good writing doesn't "pay?" I recently asked teachers at a writing workshop to think of persons who had impacted their lives in a powerful way. They discussed these "mentors" with partners and then worked up storyboards. Duane Richards, a 4th grade teacher, shared his storyboard with our entire group. For his moving portrayal of "Uncle John," his kind, supportive stepfather, he won $50 to take his special person to dinner. Uncle John recently visited Duane's classroom and spoke to the children about Veterans' Day.

I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving Day. We have much to be thankful for in this country. Years ago I visited a school in Vlora, Albania. The classroom had backless bench seats for the children, and the bathroom toilet was simply a hole in the floor. My friend, Edwin Lopez, teaches in an elementary school in Antigua, Guatemala. Books, computers, and resources like we have here are scarce. Another friend teaches in Africa and her students must go to a feeding center just to get enough to eat for a single day. Look what we have here!

When it comes to young writers of any age, "medium" makes a difference. Kids love to experiment with a variety of surfaces, textures, colors, and sizes. As writing teachers, it is good to "think outside the box" every now and then to keep things fresh and exciting.

Well, the ideas keep pouring in. Thank you, teachers, for sharing great teaching strategies for other teachers to copy and tweak and use in their classrooms.

Karenna Holt, a 4th grade teacher from Frontier Elementary, West Palm Beach, Florida, writes:

Teachers never cease to amaze me. Three teachers from Sand Pine Elementary, in Wesley Chapel, Florida, recently went ALL-OUT in their teaching of my new intermediate novel, The Astonishing Journey of Teddy Bodain. Using two tables, one placed upside-down on top of the other, the teachers and their husbands built a covered wagon in the Media Center. They cut hula-hoops and wood for "stays" for the canvas top. The wagon is big enough for kids to climb inside and spend time curled up with a good book. What a blast for the kids!

I did some classroom modeling today for primary and intermediate teachers in eastern Illinois, St. Clair County, to be exact. The weather is fabulous: cool and breezy. The countryside is beautiful: green trees changing to copper and gold. The teachers are right on target. I was happy to see that first grade students are able to write 3-4 sentences on the same subject by the first week in October. Generating several sentences on a given topic is a "must" for kids at the end of their kindergarten year. Then, in first grade, we can continue to build on those skills.