36 Workshops to Get Kids Writing

Hurtado, Annmarie. 36 Workshops to Get Kids Writing from Aliens to Zebras. ALA Editions, 2018. ISBN: 978-0-8389-1648-3

Description: 

    Creative writing encourages imaginations to take flight, and when adults use the  right approach, building literacy skills becomes a form of play that gets kids excited to create their own stories. Packed with ready-to-use lesson plans designed for kindergarten- and early elementary-aged children, this book will help librarians add creative writing activities to more traditional storytime initiatives and school librarians enrich English Language Arts lessons. Hurtado’s resource provides an entire year’s worth of weekly lesson plans, adaptable as needed, that include instructions, handouts, and everything needed to plan and prepare: recommended read-alouds for each lesson plan; ideas and activities scaffolded for different ability levels; tips for using humor and silliness to grab kids’ attention and keep them engaged; information on how creative writing dovetails with Common Core standards, emphasizing skills and critical thinking over rote learning; and additional quality read-aloud picture books that can be used as inspiration to create new lessons.

    This book will serve as a handy lesson/program planning tool for any children’s or school librarian interested in exploring new ideas to teach creative writing and higher literacy.

Table of Contents: 

Chapter One    Writing in the Library: A Radical Idea

Chapter Two    All You Need Is a Good TERRIBLE Idea

Lesson 1    A Panda Parade Is a Terrible Idea

Lesson 2    If You Ever Want to Bring a Shark to the Park, DON’T

Lesson 3    Revising and Illustrating: Smartphones Are Definitely Not for Animals

Lesson 4    Don’t Let the Alien Play in the Toilet!

Lesson 5    Teach Your Zebra to Ride a Bike

Chapter Three    Fractured Fairy Tales

Lesson 6    The Very Old Bad Wolf

Lesson 7    Fairy-Tale Characters on Vacation

Lesson 8    Double Trouble

Lesson 9    Trickster Tales

Lesson 10    Small Actors Folktale Theater

Chapter Four: Animal Muses

Lesson 11    If I Had a Dinosaur

Lesson 12    How to Throw a Unicorn Party

Lesson 13    My Puppy Brother

Lesson 14    Take Your Poem for a Walk

Lesson 15    Don’t Sweat the Snow Stuff: Self-Help for Stressed Penguins

Lesson 16    Public Service Announcement: Beware the Giant Humans

Lesson 17    Diary of a T. Rex

Chapter Five    The Plot Thickens

Lesson 18    Chickens Can’t Sing

Lesson 19    Pirate Puppy

Lesson 20    Maybe It’ll Work This Time

Lesson 21    Every Hero Needs a Villain

Lesson 22    Meanwhile

Chapter Six    Playing with Words

Lesson 23    Go on a Word Hunt

Lesson 24    Insect Linguistics

Lesson 25    How to Make a Bear Burrito

Lesson 26    Riddle Me This

Lesson 27    Silly Split-Panels

Lesson 28    Scrambled Animals

Lesson 29    Bring a New Animal to Dr. Seuss’s Zoo

Chapter Seven    Advertising and Other Forms

Lesson 30    Grand Opening for a Literary Diner

Lesson 31    Write a Circus Poster for the Most Horrible Monster on Earth

Lesson 32    Make a Menu for an Ice Cream Truck Shop

Lesson 33    Make a Campaign Video for President Squid

Lesson 34    Propaganda: The Truth about Flowers

Lesson 35    What Will You Do with Your Idea?

Lesson 36    Make Your Own Jar of Happiness

Chapter Eight    Books to Feed the Young Author’s Spirit

Appendix A

Appendix B

Bibliography

Index

Counting Down to Kindergarten

Counting Down to Kindergarten: A Complete Guide to Creating a School Readiness Program for Your Community by R. Lynn Baker. 

Chicago, IL: ALA Editions. 978-0-8389-1333-8.

The public library is in the perfect position as a community resource to help bridge the gap between preschool and kindergarten; however, starting from scratch can feel daunting. In this guide, Baker combines her background in early childhood education with her experience as a youth services programming specialist to present a school readiness program that can be tailored for any public library. Based on the successful framework of her tried and tested original program, this book offers everything that a public library needs in order to get started, including

• A six-week schedule of detailed lesson plans which combine the best practices of the Every Child Ready to Read® (ECRR) Second Edition (talking, singing, reading, writing, playing) with nationally identified school readiness skills
• A six-month family calendar with activities to help parents engage their children in activities that foster early literacy and school readiness skills at home
• Tips for maintaining a collaborative relationship with early childhood stakeholders and policymakers to help maintain a program that fits the school readiness needs of the local community
• Specific examples of successful school readiness programs and partnerships from public library systems across the country

Baker’s guide will help public libraries ensure that young children are ready for school from day one.
(book description)