Category Archives: Books

The Habit and Importance of Reading

I read for several reasons. I like to be entertained and, for this reason, have a deep affection for Stephen King novels. In fact his book Pet Sematary was seminal for me in my early 20s, showing me that reading … Continue reading

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The Graphic Novel: An Interview with Michael Chaney

I initially wrote the below for the newsletter that goes out every other month to my former college classmates, and one of them, Ann Jacobus, who writes for and teaches writing to children and young adults, said that others might … Continue reading

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Looking around: Creating a learning environment (even without a teacher)

My friend Kevin Washburn (@kdwashburn) is the executive director of Clerestory Learning, author of the instructional-design model Architecture of Learning and instructional-writing program Writer’s Stylus, and co-author of an instructional-reading program used by schools nationwide. He’s the author of The … Continue reading

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Teach Elmore Leonard’s Hombre!

I loved this Elmore Leonard novel, easily my favorite of the Leonard books that I have read, and part of the reason that I loved it was because I could imagine teaching it. It has the layers that make a … Continue reading

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Young Adult Literature or The Hunger Games Explained

My college classmate Ann Jacobus writes and writes about Young Adult literature, and I got the OK to re-purpose the below piece that she’d written for my college class’s newsletter. You can find Ann at www.annjacobus.com and www.readerkidz.com. Here goes … Continue reading

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The value of homework

My son brought home a great assignment a few weeks ago – to identify around the house obtuse and acute angles – and he and I went a step further, taking pictures of the angles we found and emailing some … Continue reading

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