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KATE NARITA: CHILDREN'S AUTHOR

Chalk + Ink: Season 2; Episode 28

12/16/2021

Interview with Author and Educator, Zetta Elliott

This episode is full of heart. Zetta Elliott talks about how magic is for everyone, questions why some books aren’t reviewed, and shares a simple and flexible way to outline a novel that you can try yourself and/or share with your students.

Zetta's written many fabulous books. The ones we discuss in the interview are her Dragons in a Bag series, Say Her Name and the Caldecott Honor winner, A Place Inside of Me.

We talk about how the Dragons in a Bag series celebrates and includes groups of people who have often been omitted from fantasy narratives. In addition, Zetta illuminates urban settings, like abandoned factories, that are rarely if ever mentioned in a genre that elevates secret gardens and rural landscapes.

Say Her Name is an exquisite collection of poems that according to Jacqueline Woodson, "is a tribute to Black Women, in verse." While discussing "For Saundra," by Nikki Giovanni, which is included in Say Her Name, we examine the stereotypical assumption that cities don't make good subject matter for poetry, while trees do.

Finally, we chat about A Place Inside of Me. Zetta explains she changed the order of some stanzas in the poem to make more of a narrative arc. She questions why some books are reviewed while others are not.

If you're interested in winning one of Zetta's fantastic books, be sure to listen to the end of the episode to find out how to enter the giveaway.

Zetta thinks every upper grade classroom should have a copy of Ann Clare LeZotte's Show Me a Sign, which is a tension-filled, adventurous, historical fiction novel, which looks at how society discriminated against deaf people in the 1800's. I totally agree that this book should be in every classroom. I wish I would have mentioned A Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly, which examines some of the challenges that deaf children face today.

Happy listening and happy holidays! Feeling generous? Give Chalk + Ink a holiday gift and leave a positive review wherever you listen to your podcasts.

See you in the new year!

Chalk + Ink: Season 2; Episode 27

12/2/2021

Interview with Elementary Librarian and Author,
Marcie Flinchum Atkins

The regimented and reflective, Marcie Flinchum Atkins, shares organizational tips to help listeners make the most out of every marvelous writing moment life has to offer, gives listeners a great revision tip that will raise works-in-progress to the next level, and explains how to incorporate different brainstorming techniques into your writer's workshop.

I've never met someone as organized as Marcie Flinchum Atkins. Not only is she organized, but she breaks her writing process, filing system, and goal setting routine into simple steps that listeners can follow. I can't wait to try out more of her tips.

The reason I chose the word, "more," instead of "some," is because I already tried one of Marcie's tips, and the exercise did indeed raise my current picture book in progress to another level. I couldn't believe how much I changed my manuscript as a result of holding my picture book dummy up as if I were reading it to my class twelve different times over the course of a week. True magic.

During the pandemic, Marcie enrolled in Becca Syme's Better-Faster Writing Academy. Marcie figured out her top five strengths, and now she leans into those processes to make the most out of her writing time.

Marcie has a ton of recommendations below, but before you read those, I want to say you need to have a copy of Marcie's book Wait, Rest, Pause: Dormancy in Nature in your hand as the energy level rises in your classroom this month. This title will help teachers and students slow down, take a deep breath, and appreciate the small treasures in our stunning world.

Since Marcie is an elementary librarian, she often reads titles ten-to-twelve times a week. Three titles that she enjoys reading over and over again are: Oh No! by Candace Fleming, Horrible Bear by Ame Dykeman and Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dykeman.

Marcie believes every elementary library should have the following books:

This Poem Is a Nest by Irene Latham
The author wrote a lengthy poem with four different parts. Then, she wrote 100 found poems inspired by her original poem. I'm not familiar with this book but I love Irene Latham and Charles Water's Dictionary for a Better World which we also talk about during the episode.

Watercress by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin
This book highlights a Chinese American family who stops their car to pick watercress along the side of the road. The book highlights the complex feelings of shame and joy surrounding cultural heritage. It's a great book for teaching personal narrative or memoir, and I believe it will be a 2022 ALA award winner.

What's In Your Pocket?: Collecting Nature's Treasures by Heather L. Montgomery
Montgomery highlights various scientists and childhood treasures they found in the natural world and then gives readers a window into the work they've done as an adult. Many people rave about this book. I have to check it out.

Shaking Things Up: Fourteen Women Who Changed the World by Susan Hood
This book features fourteen different styles of poems about fourteen females who changed the world and each poem is illustrated by a different female illustrator. I concur that this title is a must have!

Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge by Ray Anthony Shepard
This book has a beautiful cadence and it's about Ona Judge's daring escape as an enslaved person from George Washington.

Someone Builds the Dream by Lisa Wheeler and illustrated by Loren Long
So many different people build the infrastructure in our country, yet we rarely take the time to honor their contributions to our society. This book honors the construction workers, electricians, architects and many others who create structures that make our world a better place.

13 Ways to Eat a Fly by Sue Heavenrich
Talk about a brilliant nonfiction book! This book packs rhyme, math, science and most of all fun into 32-pages.

When the Schools Shut Down: A Young Girl's Story of Virginia's "Lost Generation" and the Brown v. Topeka Board of Education Decision by Yolanda Gladden and Dr. Tamara Pizzoli
During the spring of 2020, we experienced a shut down. Some of us didn't attend school for months while for others it was a whole year. But back in 1954, the schools in Farmville, Virginia shut down for five years rather than integrate. This book publishes in January of 2022, and will be a fantastic addition to schools' historical fiction collections.

Whew! Marcie came prepared with so many books. But hey, after listening to the episode, I wouldn't expect anything less from her.

To find out how to win a signed copy of one of Marcie's books, stay tuned to the end of the episode.

Happy listening!

Chalk + Ink; Season 2, Episode 26

11/18/2021

Interview with STEAM Teacher and Author,
Kristen Nordstrom

The responsive and inventive, Kristen Nordstrom, talks about learning from “lean-in” moments in teaching, how writing a sentence on a page is an act of bravery, and how the secret to getting started on the writing journey is to let yourself be imperfect.

Throughout her twenty-five year career, STEAM educator, Kristen Nordstrom, has taken the time to talk with her students to find out what kindles their passion for nonfiction. Her students have shared that they love animals and they love learning about the world they live in. Kristen's students know that the nonfiction section in the library is not boring but the part of the library where they can find answers to their questions and quench their curiosity.

During this episode, we talk about how educators who are interested in getting to know their students better as readers should check out Pernille Ripp's book, Passionate Readers, and how educators who are interested in learning more about why it's so important to have a wide variety of nonfiction texts in their classroom should grab a copy of Melissa Stewart and Marlene Correia's 5 Kinds of Nonfiction.

In addition to sharing a myriad of ways to engage students in the classroom, Kristen talks about how her breakthrough moment in writing came while she was crafting her incredible book, Mimic Makers: Biomimcry Inventors Inspired by Nature. She had done loads of research but her book was missing that special spark. It turns out, she needed to reach out to each and every one of the scientists who she was studying in order to raise her work to the next level. Digging deep, she found the inner bravery she needed to contact them and the result is a work of art that inspires readers to take a closer look at the world around them.

Kristen thinks every elementary classroom should have the book Crossings by Katy Duffield and I couldn't agree more. I've had this book in my classroom for two years and each year it has engaged a student who has been unengaged in reading until they find this poetic, inspiring book in their hands.

At Kristen's school, they've built a project based learning curriculum around Crossings. They're proposing a design for an animal crossing in their own community and bringing in people who build and design animal crossings as well.

There is so much to unpack in this episode and Kristen is offering a free thirty-minute Skype classroom visit to a lucky listener. Details on how to enter are embedded in the episode.

Happy listening!

Chalk + Ink: Season 2; Episode 25

11/5/2021

Interview with Author and Teacher, Tina Athaide

The persistent and innovative Tina Athaide talks about how she learned something new each time editors rejected her novel, Orange for the Sunsets, how teaching first grade started her publication journey, and the importance of having diversity in critique groups.

If you've been writing for a while and are feeling discouraged, this is the episode for you. Tina tells listeners editors rejected Orange for the Sunsets thirty times. She also explains how once she stopped judging herself by how many words she wrote a day and started thinking of brainstorming while walking or reading picture books as part of the writing process, her productivity increased.

Tina recommends that classrooms have the following books:

Samira Surfs by Rukhsanna Guidroz. This novel takes place in Burma and Bangladesh. It's written in verse which Tina loves because her students devour verse novels quickly. I'm reading this book and loving it. Rukhsanna is a surfer and her passion for the water shines through on every page.

The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani. In 2019, The Night Diary won the 2019 Newbery Honor-what else needs to be said? If you don't have this novel in your historical fiction collection, add it now.

Kid Sterling by Christine Welldon. Can't wait to dive into this historical fiction novel set in 1906 in New Orleans. Tina raves about the main character's passion for music and jazz and the cast of colorful characters. There's also historical background in the backmatter.

The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes. Percy Jackson fans will love this "contemporary adventure based on Maya mythology." Since the Mayan culture is now part of the fourth grade curriculum, I'm particularly excited to check out this title.

Drama by Raina Telgemeier. Drama passes from one student's hands to the next in my classroom. This book has no idea what it feels like to sit on a shelf. Tina copies a page from the book, whites out the speech bubbles, and asks students to fill in the dialogue. Then, they use the different responses to develop empathy for different points of view.

Here's the homework for our next episode. Read Mimic Makers: Biomimicry Inventors Inspired by Nature by Kristen Nordstrom. Also, if you live in New England, Kristen will be at the South Hadley Public Library on Saturday, November 20th at 1 P.M. She’ll be presenting Mimic Makers with two of the scientists featured in her book. Do you have to read Kristen’s book or go to her presentation? Of course not, it’s optional. But it is a chance to get one book signed by three different people which is pretty cool.

Page Street Publishing generously donated a copy of Meena’s Mindful Moment to a lucky podcast listener and Tina is donating a picture book critique as well as a critique of the first ten pages of a middle grade novel. There are several ways to enter: 1) Tweet or retweet this episode and be sure to tag me and April, 2) Write a comment below, 3) Make a comment about the episode on our Chalk + Ink Facebook page; and 4) Become a Chalk + Ink Patreon supporter. Patreon supporters are automatically entered into each giveaway. Each one of these actions is the equivalent of one entry which means people could have up to four entries for each giveaway. In order to enter the giveaway, these actions must be completed by midnight on Friday, November 12th. The winner will be announced on Friday, November 19th, on the podcast as well as on Twitter and on our Facebook page.

I have a favor to ask, if you enjoy this podcast, please leave a positive review wherever you listen to your podcasts. At the time of this recording, Chalk + Ink only had two ratings on Apple Podcasts and I know one of those is mine. The other one is probably my mom’s. Come on now people! Please help other listeners find us by rating the podcast and leaving a positive review.

Finally, I want to give a shout out to Sarah Brannen for Chalk + Ink’s podcast art. Sarah’s latest book, Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, earned a starred review from Kirkus.

Happy listening!

Chalk + Ink: Season 2; Episode 24

10/21/2021

Banner design by Sarah Brannen and slide design by Jimena Catalina and Slides Carnival.

Interview with Seventh Grade ELA Teacher, Public Speaker and Author, Pernille Ripp

On today’s episode the flexible and innovative Pernille Ripp talks about how there is no such thing as a perfect teacher, how when she writes she strives to create from an authentic and honest place, and how as educators we need to prioritize conversations with students to make sure we don’t lose sight of the kids as we cross off items on our curriculum to-do lists.

Lots of people say, "Progress not perfection," but Pernille practices it every day in her classroom. She knows, "Change can literally happen any moment. It's just in how you interact with kids." And that's the truth. We don't need to wait for more resources, permission from admin, or the start of a new year to shift the energy in our classrooms. We just have to decide that the kids are more important than the curriculum and act accordingly.

During the episode we spent some time discussing Pernille's book, Passionate Readers. Pernille wisely advises teachers to make time for independent reading by taking a time inventory. If we figure out how we're spending our time in the classroom, we can cut out what we don't need and spend more time creating a compassionate, community of learners and implementing imperative literacy practices such as independent reading blocks.

Pernille started The Global Read Aloud which is happening right now in 2010. Here are her 2021 picks:

Picture Books: Anything by Duncan Tonatiuh. Pernille always learns about something or someone new when she reads his work and his art is stunning.

Chapter Books: Zetta Elliot's Dragons in a Bag. This early reader doesn't shy away from tough topics and does an incredible job developing character in one hundred pages. Ms. Elliott wanted to see black heroes in fantasy series, so she created one.

Early Middle Grade: The Jumbies Series by Tracey Baptiste. The perfect amount of creepy for young readers.

Upper Middle Grade: The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson. I'm late joining The Global Read Aloud but this is the title I'm going to read with my class. The publisher describes it as, "Narnia meets traditional Indigenous stories of the sky and constellations." I'm a huge Narnia fan and I have students this year who are obsessed with space. So, it seems like a great pick for us.

Young Adult: Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger. Get this author's books on your to-be read list. Her second title that debuts this fall, A Snake Falls to Earth, is on the National Book Awards longlist.

I’m donating a copy of Passionate Readers to a lucky podcast listener. There are several ways to enter: 1) Tweet or retweet this episode and be sure to tag me and Pernille, 2) Go to www.katenarita.com/podcast and make a comment on this episode’s post, 3) Make a comment about the episode on our Chalk + Ink Facebook page; and 4) Become a Chalk + Ink Patreon supporter. Patreon supporters are automatically entered into each giveaway. Each one of these actions is the equivalent of one entry which means people could have up to four entries for each giveaway. In order to enter the giveaway, these actions must be completed by midnight on Friday, October 29th. Wow! I can’t believe October is almost over. The winner will be announced on Friday, November 5th, on the podcast as well as on Twitter and on our Facebook page.

I have a favor to ask, if you enjoy this podcast, please leave a positive review wherever you listen to your podcasts. That will help other listeners find us.

Finally, I want to give a shout out to Sarah Brannen for Chalk + Ink’s podcast art. Sarah’s latest book, Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, earned a starred review from Kirkus.

Happy listening!

Chalk + Ink: Season 2; Episode 23

10/8/2021

Banner design by Sarah Brannen and slide design by Jimena Catalina at Slides Carnival.

Interview with RISD Instructor and Children's Book Author, April Jones Prince

The creative and supportive April Jones Prince talks about how we write to create a connection with others, how when she gets stuck as a writer she thinks of the encouraging comments she uses to support her students and how she wants to empower everyone to see themselves as readers and writers.

Together with Judy Sue Goodwin Sturges, April teaches Picture and Word at Rhode Island School of Design. When she feels stuck as a writer, she reminds herself of the encouraging comments she uses to support her students to move past the blank page. She remembers that only she can tell a story in a specific way and that every picture book has a question and an answer that hits the reader in the heart. To support her instruction, April uses a myriad of picture books and Ann Whitford Paul's, Writing Picture Books.

April's newest book, You Are a Reader!/You Are a Writer! is an incredible work of art that should be in every elementary classroom because it emphasizes the fact that every person is a reader and a writer. On the blog Teachers Books Readers, I list ten reasons why every classroom needs this book. For the sake of brevity, I'll only list reason number here. The world needs your students' voices and this gem will teach your students how to put their hearts on the page.

During our discussion, April talks about how she' s learned to put passion on the page whether she's writing nonfiction or fiction. She gives a shout out to Melissa Stewart's fabulous book Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep because it highlights fifty nonfiction authors and how they mine their passions, personalities, beliefs and experiences to create engaging texts. She also reminds listeners that kids love Melissa's book Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers: Celebrating Animal Underdogs because it hits readers in the heart.

Before I list the titles April thinks every classroom should have, we also spent some time discussing an activity that revolves around April's title Twenty-One Elephants and Still Standing. The book is the true story of how P.T. Barnum and his elephants helped convince people that it was safe to use the Brooklyn Bridge. When April visits classrooms, she brings in various circus items. The students work together to write descriptive paragraphs about one of the items and based on their descriptions, the other students have to guess if the item is hay for the elephants, or the tophat, or the clown shoe.

April thinks every classroom should have these two titles:

1) Teammates by Peter Golenbock

Teammates focuses on the relationship between Jackie Robinson, who April thinks is the most amazing human being ever and his teammate Peewee Reese. April loves how this book celebrates Jackie Robinson's incredible bravery and fortitude as he desegregated professional baseball and shows readers how to be an ally. Be sure to check out April's early reader about Jackie.

2) Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family's Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh

This book highlights the many different layers of discrimination in our society in an accessible way for readers of all ages. Duncan's titles are part of the 2021 Global Read Aloud. I'm planning on reading this title to my class and through the event I hope to provide my students a chance to discuss the text with other readers in different places.

April Jones Prince generously donated a signed copy of You Are a Reader! /You Are a Writer! to a lucky podcast listener. There are several ways to enter: 1) Tweet or retweet this episode and be sure to tag me and April, 2) Go to www.katenarita.com/podcast and make a comment on this episode’s post, 3) Make a comment about the episode on our Chalk + Ink Facebook page; and 4) Become a Chalk + Ink Patreon supporter. Patreon supporters are automatically entered into each giveaway. Each one of these actions is the equivalent of one entry which means people could have up to four entries for each giveaway. In order to enter the giveaway, these actions must be completed by midnight on Friday, October 15th. The winner will be announced on Friday, October 22nd, on the podcast as well as on Twitter and on our Facebook page.

I have a favor to ask, if you enjoy this podcast, please leave a positive review wherever you listen to your podcasts. That will help other listeners find us.

Finally, I want to give a shout out to Sarah Brannen for Chalk + Ink’s podcast art. Sarah’s latest book, Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, earned a starred review from Kirkus.

Here's the homework for October 22nd:
Join the 2021 Global Read Aloud.

Happy listening!

Chalk + Ink: Season 2; Episode 22

9/25/2021

Banner by Sarah Brannen and Slide Design by Jimena Catalina at Slides Carnival.

Interview with College Professor and Scientist, Loree Griffin Burns

The flexible and observant Loree Griffin Burns talks about how teaching has forced her to dissect her writing process as well as her product which has made her a better writer, how as a teacher she’s embracing the writing process instead of leaning on students’ products and how sometimes the labels we assign to ourselves hold us back from finding out who we really are.

Loree teaches undergraduate as well as graduate students. In her undergraduate class, she teaches a memoir unit and she reads Birds of a Feather: Bowerbirds and Me by Susan L. Roth to her class. In addition to being a stunning piece of art, Birds of a Feather: Bowerbirds and Me is a cross between nonfiction and memoir. After Loree reads the book to her class, she challenges them to write a memoir that reveals who they are by comparing themselves to an animal. Another one of the picture books Loree uses when teaching memoir is Watercress by Andrea Wang, illustrated byJason Chin. I have been wanting to read this book for a long time, and talking to Loree made me realize I can't wait any longer!

We also talked in depth about two of Loree's fabulous books: You're Invited to a Moth Ball and Citizen Scientists. You're Invited to a Moth Ball: A Nighttime Insect Celebration invites readers to join Loree at her house as she welcomes moths of all different colors and sizes to her yard in central Massachusetts. Even better, the book gives readers the information they need to have a moth ball in their own neighborhoods. We also delve into Citizen Scientists: Be a Part of Scientific Discovery from Your Own Backyard. I love that this book gives examples of how to engage with the natural world during all four seasons, not just during warm weather.

Before we move onto the books Loree thinks should be in every classroom, I want to give a shout out to two of Loree's other titles that my students gravitate toward each year: Tracking Trash and Hive Detectives. I highly recommend both titles for students who are interested in preventing plastic pollution or protecting honey bees.

It totally thrilled me when I asked Loree which books she felt should be in every classroom because she mentioned two ofJeanine Atkins' titles: Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science and its companion title Grasping Mysteries: Girls Who Loved Math. Although these books are shelved in fiction because they're written in first person poems, each book is a collection of biographies. Finding Wonders features Maria Merian, Mary Anning and Maria Mitchell. Grasping Mysteries also features scientists but Jeanine highlights how math shaped their work. Luckily, I have Finding Wonders in my classroom but I'll have to purchase Grasping Mysteries because I have two girls in my class this year who are obsessed with space and this collection features two astronomers. Can't wait!

Loree shared that the book that has impacted her the most over the past couple of years is Rex Ogle's Free Lunch. This book is a memoir about Rex's very difficult childhood and Loree wishes this book would have been around when she was a child. In 2020, Free Lunch won the YALSA's Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction award.

An author who is bringing Loree a tremendous amount of joy is poet and professor, Ross Gay. Loree highly recommends The Book of Delights and Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude. Both of these titles will be on my holiday wishlist.

If you'd like to win a signed copy of You're Invited to a Moth Ball, take one or more of these actions: 1) Tweet or retweet this episode and be sure to tag me and Loree, 2) Make a comment below on the episode’s post, 3) Make a comment about the episode on our Chalk + Ink Facebook page; and 4) Become a Chalk + Ink Patreon supporter. Patreon supporters are automatically entered into each giveaway. Each one of these actions is the equivalent of one entry which means people could have up to four entries for each giveaway. In order to enter the giveaway, these actions must be completed by midnight on Friday, October first. The winner will be announced on Friday, October 8th, on the podcast as well as on Twitter and on our Facebook page.

Congrats to last episode's giveaway winner, Sharon Abra Hannen! Sharon, you won a picture book manuscript critique from Carole Boston Weatherford. Yahoo!

Here's the homework for October 8th:
Read YOU ARE A READER!/YOU ARE A WRITER! written by April Jones Prince and illustrated by Christine Davenier.

Happy listening!

Chalk + Ink: Season 2; Episode 21

9/10/2021

Banner by Sarah Brannen and Design by Jimena Catalina and Slides Carnival

Interview with College Professor and Poet, Carole Boston Weatherford

The multi-talented and transcendent Carole Boston Weatherford talks about how she scaffolds her English class assignments to meet the needs of all learners, how she channeled Billie Holiday’s voice while writing Becoming Billie Holiday which led to other masterful books such as Birmingham, 1963 and Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement, and that the author and teacher’s influence extends far beyond a single reader turning a page or the students sitting in front of us.

In addition to channeling, Carole talks about how authors and illustrators create heart projects for one another. During this part of the discussion, Carole talks about Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre illustrated by Floyd Cooper and Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library illustrated by Eric Velasquez.

We dive into Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom. Originally, Carole had written this text as a picture book. Then, two amazing picture book biographies debuted about Henry Brown which were both illustrated by artists Carole had previously collaborated with, Henry's Freedom Box illustrated by Kadir Nelson and Freedom Song illustrated by Sean Quails. So, she rewrote the manuscript for older readers and created a masterpiece that is not only an ode to Henry Brown but whose structure highlights the confinement of slavery and the box Henry Brown travelled in to mail himself to freedom.

We also talked about these other amazing books Carole has written:
Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins
Jazz Baby
The Roots of Rap: 16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip Hop
I, Matthew Henson: Polar Explorer
You Can Fly: The Tuskegee Airmen
Beauty Mark Conjures an Icon: A Verse Novel of Marilyn Monroe
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul

During the episode, Carole talks about how two books by Jacqueline Woodson, The Other Side and Coming on Home Soon influenced her own writing.

Carole believes every classroom should have the following books:

1) Carver: A Life in Poems by Marilyn Nelson
This is a biography in verse about botanist and professor George Washington Carver.

2) The Cosmobiography of Sun Ra: The Sound of Joy is Enlightening by Chris Raschka
This biography marks the centennial of this jazz great's birth.

3) What Can You Do with a Voice Like That?: The Story of the Remarkable Congresswoman Barbara Jordan written by Chris Barton and illustrated by Ekua Holmes
If you live near Boston, be sure to check out the MFA's exhibit featuring Ekua Holmes' work.

4) William Still and his Freedom Stories: Father of the Underground Railroad by Don Tate
The father of the underground railroad kept meticulous records which helped reunite families after the emancipation.

5) Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Phillip Freelon by Kelly Starling Lyons
This late architect from North Carolina headed up the creation of the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington DC.

6) Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of the first Black Woman in Congress by Alicia D. Williams
Listen here to Chalk + Ink's interview with Alicia.

This episode’s giveaway is amazing. It’s a picture book manuscript from Carole Boston Weatherford. There are several ways to enter: 1) Tweet or retweet this episode and be sure to tag me and Carole, 2) Make a comment below on this post, 3) Make a comment about the episode on our Chalk + Ink Facebook page; and 4) Become a Chalk + Ink Patreon supporter. Patreon supporters are automatically entered into each giveaway. Each one of these actions is the equivalent of one entry which means people can have up to four entries for each giveaway. In order to enter the giveaway, these actions must be completed by midnight on Friday, September seventeenth. The winner will be announced on Friday, September 24th, on the podcast as well as on Twitter and on our Facebook page.

I have a favor to ask, if you enjoy this podcast, please leave a positive review wherever you listen to your podcasts. That will help other listeners find us.

Finally, I want to give a shout out to Sarah Brannen for Chalk + Ink’s podcast art. If you want to make the most out of these last few summer weeks, be sure to check out Sarah’s A Perfect Day for some summertime fun.

Happy listening!

Chalk + Ink: Season Two Opener; Episode 20

8/27/2021

Welcome back to Chalk + Ink: The Podcast for Teachers Who Write and Writers Who Teach. I'm your host Kate Narita, author of 100 Bugs! A Counting Book and fourth grade teacher.

This is the first episode of Chalk + Ink’s second season. It’s also a new season in my life. My youngest son left for college last week which makes my husband and me official empty nesters. To keep myself from bursting into tears throughout the quiet days, I have been pouring energy into this kickoff episode.

We ended season one with a compilation of top ten writing tips for a creative summer and we’re going to start season two off with top ten writers’ workshop tips to help you set your students up for creative success throughout the year. Making this episode has made me so psyched to go back to school. Let’s get started.

Tip Number Ten: Plan for Success
If you’ve been listening to this podcast, you know I like to get started or jump right in. I’m that way in school, too. But when I rush the planning process in writer’s workshop, I end up with a bunch of students staring at an empty page or students who get off to a great start and then get stalled in the creative process. Listen to how third grade teacher and author, Hannah Stark, sets her students up for writing success from day one.

Tip Number Nine: Go Green
So thanks to Hannah Stark and tip number ten your students are all planned out for narrative success. Let’s get real. No matter how much time you and your students invest in prewriting, sometimes kids don’t want to write narrative, informational or opinion texts. Sometimes kids just want to write to have fun. Listen to how novelist and third grade teacher, Jody Little, incorporates greenbelt writing into her classroom once a week.

Tip Number Eight: Idea Boxes
So how do we inspire the joy of writing all day every day, not just during greenbelt writing blocks? Give students idea boxes and a stack of index cards at the beginning of the year. Encourage students to jot down an idea whenever it comes to them and add it to their box (even if it’s during math or science-gasp!). This technique will help students understand that writers are always open to ideas no matter what they’re doing. Listen to how author and second grade teacher, Katrina Moore, uses an idea box to spark her own creativity and encourages other aspiring authors to do the same.

Tip Number Seven: Marvelous Multiple Intelligences
You’ve incorporated the joy of writing into your writer’s workshop and implemented lots of activities to grow ideas, but some students are still stuck. Why? Because if we forget to stimulate multiple intelligences and simply want kids to sit and write, they’ll freeze up. Listen to how the 2020 Newbery honoree and artist in residence, Alicia D. Williams, uses vocal orchestras and teamwork activities to get students’ creativity moving and grooving.

Tip Number Six: Wonderful Word Choice
Words are flowing thanks to all of our prewriting activities, but if we see, hear or read another sentence that starts with “I went,” one more time, we may cry. I don’t know about you, but I’ve done enough crying this week. In order to avoid tears during writer’s workshop, create word lists with your students throughout the year. Listen to how middle grade instructor and author, Michelle Schaub, immerses her students in rich vocabulary and encourages them not only to use the words in their writing and speech but to be on the lookout for wonderful words in their environment as well.

If you like talking about the wonder of words, be sure to listen to April Jones Prince’s episode which will publish October 8th.

Tip Number Five: Poetry Power
Your students have a rich vocabulary, now what? Put the five paragraph essays aside and incorporate some poetry. Take a tip from Michelle Schaub and start with a collective poem to build students’ confidence. Then, follow librarian Jolene Gutierrez’s advice and take your workshop outside to help students incorporate sensory details. Finally, remind them poetry is fun because you don’t have to follow the rules.

If poetry is your jam, be sure to listen to Chalk + Ink’s interview with Carole Boston Weatherford on September 10th. Her picture books embody the power of poetry.

Tip Number Four: Emphasize Empathy
Currently, there’s a lot of pressure to integrate social emotional learning into the classroom. One way we can add more social emotional learning into our days is by incorporating it into our writer’s workshop. Librarian Cathy Breisacher uses pictures as prompts. She asks questions that require students to infer the subject’s feelings. School counselor and author Sarah Scheerger shows a graphic-novel style page from her middle school novel Operation Frog Effect and asks students to write that same scene from a different perspective.

Tip Number Three: Editing Excellence
In the past, I’ve done partner editing when students have a complete draft. While it’s been effective in some ways, it presents some problems. The first challenge is it takes some students a long time to finish a draft which means they may wait weeks to get student feedback. The second challenge is that some students wait for friends to finish before they edit because they want to work with a specific person. Listen to how author and educational consultant, Angela Shante, streamlines the peer editing process by incorporating ten minutes of daily editing with fixed student groups.

Tip Number Two: Authentic Audiences
Writing is a form of communication and students will be most likely to engage in writing, whether it’s narrative, informational or opinion if they’re writing for authentic audiences. Listen to how these three educators and authors suggest creating authentic audiences for their students. In this section, we’ll hear Melissa Stewart talk about classroom blogs, Ernesto Cisneros talk about bookmark recommendations and elementary librarian and author, Lisa Rogers enlists students to decide whether or not their school library collection should or should not include titles that have been banned by some libraries and schools.

Tip Number One: Lit Libraries
Finally, if we want students to write, they have to see themselves as authors. Second grade teacher and author Katrina Moore talks about what happens when students don’t see themselves reflected in the classroom library. Cathy Breisacher talks about incorporating students’ books into the school library collection.

Thanks so much for listening to the Chalk + Ink Season Opener. We have some new features this year. At the end of every episode, I’ll be assigning optional homework. Before September 10th, be sure to read Carole Boston Weatherford’s Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre illustrated by Floyd Cooper and The Roots of Rap illustrated by James Morrison. Do you have to read these books ahead of time? Of course not, it’s optional. But you’ll probably get more out of the episode if you’re familiar with Carole’s work.

The next feature is tons of fun. Each episode will include a giveaway. This episode’s giveaway is a signed copy of 100 Bugs! from me. There are several ways to enter: 1) Tweet or retweet this episode and be sure to tag me and at least one of the featured authors as well, 2) Make a comment on this post, 3) Make a comment about the episode on our Chalk + Ink Facebook page; and 4) Become a Chalk + Ink Patreon supporter. Patreon supporters are automatically entered into each giveaway. Each one of these actions is the equivalent of one entry which means people could have up to four entries for each giveaway. In order to enter the giveaway, these actions must be completed by midnight on Friday, September third. The winner will be announced on Friday, September 10th, on the podcast as well as on Twitter and on our Facebook page.

I have a favor to ask, if you enjoy this podcast, please leave a positive review wherever you listen to your podcasts. That will help other listeners find us.

Finally, I want to give a shout out to Sarah Brannen for Chalk + Ink’s podcast art. If you want to make the most out of these last few summer weeks, be sure to check out Sarah’s A Perfect Day for some summertime fun.

I look forward to chatting with you again on September 10th. Until then, best of luck with the beginning of the school year.

Chalk + Ink: Season 1 Finale; Episode 19

5/28/2021

Top Ten Summer Writing Tips

Welcome back to Chalk + Ink: The Podcast for Teachers Who Write and Writers Who Teach. I’m your host Kate Narita, author of 100 Bugs! A Counting Book and fourth grade teacher.

Believe it or not, the school year is wrapping up. For teachers who write and writers who teach that means more time to write. To celebrate the end of Chalk + Ink’s first season, I’ve compiled the top ten writing tips from the first season’s collaborators to help get listeners psyched up for a creative, productive summer. I know this has been a particularly exhausting year and for some people, preparing for a summer of writing may not seem like a restorative practice. But for me and for you, a summer of writing is probably exactly what you need otherwise you wouldn’t be listening to this podcast.

This episode embodies the reason this podcast exists. You count. You matter. Your creativity counts. Your happiness matters. Put every thought of the classroom, whether it was physical, virtual or some mind-bending combination aside, and dive deep into your creative self. Whether you are a budding or a blooming writer, these tips will help you deepen your creative practice. Let’s get started!

Tip Number Ten: Set Your Summer Goals Now.
Don’t wait a second longer. If single parent, third grade teacher and author, Hannah Stark, can find time to plan for success, you can, too.

Tip Number Nine: Get Current.
People say if you want to write, you have to read. But what exactly does that mean? How many books and what should you look for? Librarian Lisa Rogers explains how it’s done.

Tip Number Eight: Learn the Craft Moves.
If you’re not sure what goals to set or what part of craft to focus on this summer, educate yourself. For picture book tips, check out Rob Sanders' blog Picture This. Want to know more about the craft of nonfiction, study Melissa Stewart’s blog, Celebrate Science. Maybe you want to deepen your poetry skills, peruse Michelle Schaub’s blog Poetry Boost. Don’t just visit these sites once. That’s not what I’m talking about. Commit to reading one entry a day to deepen your knowledge.

Tip Number Seven: Strengthen Your Word Choice:
Michelle Schaub quotes Mark Twain, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter--it is the difference between the lightning bug and lightning.” Michelle explains how to find the just right word.

Tip Number Six: Know Your Characters:
Two outstanding novelists, third grade teacher Jody Little, and instructional aide and Newbery honoree, Alicia D. Williams, let their characters take the lead.

Tip Number Five: Find Your Voice.
Rob Sanders, Jen Swanson and Hannah Stark all have something to say about voice.

Tip Number Four: Be vulnerable.
Don’t shy away from topics that are tough for you to write about. Teacher educator and STEM author Melissa Stewart talks about finding the courage to write one of her most well-loved books, Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes and Stinkers.

Tip Number Three: Write In Your Underwear.
Not literally, but figuratively. Pura Belpre Award Winner Ernesto Cisneros talks about how his debut award-winning novel Efren Divided emerged when he started focusing on writing a story that was true to himself and what he wanted to read as a kid instead of worrying about publication.

Tip Number Two: Find the Heart Before You Start. Second grade teacher and author Katrina Moore explains how finding the heart before she starts has transformed her writing career.

Tip Number One: Decide You Have a Story Someone Needs to Hear. Newbery Honoree Alicia D. Williams, author of Genesis Begins Again and Jump At The Sun, explains that the key isn’t deciding that you have a story to tell but deciding you have a story someone needs to hear.

Don’t let nothing stop you Chalk + Ink listeners. You got this! There are so many more invaluable writing tips in each episode of season one. I hope you’ll listen to each interview and take advantage of the invaluable knowledge each creator shared. Chalk + Ink will be back on August 27th with the top ten teaching tips from the first season to get us psyched up for the 2021/2022 school year.

Before I say goodbye and begin what I hope will be my most creative summer yet, I do have a favor to ask. If you enjoy listening to this show, if it’s given you ideas to take back to the classroom or tips to improve your own creative process, please leave a positive review on Stitcher, I-tunes, Google or wherever you download your podcasts. Positive reviews will help other listeners find us.

Finally, I want to give a shout out to author/illustratorSarah Brannen for creating the art for Chalk + Ink. Sarah’s newest book that she illustrated, Summertime Sleepers is now available at your local bookstore.

As for me, estivation is not part of my summer plan but digging deep into my heart is. I look forward to chatting again on August 27th. Until then, happy writing!