Author: KSMAdmin

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Handwriting Guides

Letter guides are an important visual resource, for grade school students who are learning how to write, as well as for older students who’d like to improve their handwriting. Letter guides should be simple but well designed, showing students the most efficient way to form each letter, so …

Memory for Details

Writers are observers. Any tiny thing we notice–a cracked sidewalk, a friend’s laugh, the contents of an old backpack–could be the starting point for a great piece of writing. For most of us, however, it takes practice to become not only a keen observer, but also a writer …

Summer — Time to Write!

For both students and teachers, summer is a much needed break from the pressures of the school year. But by the start of August, when things start to drag a little, summer can also be the perfect time to write. Low Demands, Big Rewards The beauty of writing …

New York Times Today: “Why Kids Can’t Write”

This morning I logged into the New York Times and noticed this article by Dana Goldstein: “Why Kids Can’t Write“. Goldstein claims that the Common Core State Standards, established six years ago, could lead to better writing instruction in American public schools. She explains: By requiring students to …

Quick Bibliography

When my kids were younger, they loved researching interesting topics, like Sweden, dinosaurs, Florence Nightingale, and fishing! At first, digging for information was fun. But as time went on, the requirements for research projects increased… Inevitably, it would be 7 PM the night before a research project was …

Getting Stuck at the Start

Getting started with a new writing project can be hard… In reality, it might not be as funny as Snoopy’s situation. As the minutes tick by, you might start to worry: If I can’t even write the introduction, is this entire project going to fail? Never a great …