Speaking Schedule: Federal Programs Conference April 5-7 in Boise, Idaho

The snow is falling thick again, as if four snow days last week were not enough! Meanwhile, I just found out I'll be presenting at the 2017 Federal Programs Conference in Boise in April. As always, I'm thrilled to be able to share my session on Choose Your Own Adventure: Writing and Publishing Narratives Using Digital Technology with a wider audience. Some 900 teachers, administrators, and other school personnel will be attending. Teachers, I hope to see you there!

Going on right now, I'm talking poetry with readers on the Overcoming With God blog. Stop by and leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Landlocked, my new poetry chapbook. You can also buy the book now.

So blessed yesterday to present Using Mentor Texts to Enhance Creativity (free to you here) at a hub meeting of Idaho Coaching Network teachers in Twin Falls. Our little group of participants worked hard, laughed a lot, and wrote some moving poetry, too.

Want to book me for a conference or professional development? I speak to writers' groups and Christian ladies' groups, too. Email me at amy @ amyballard .com [remove spaces].

Using Mentor Texts to Teach Writing and Enhance Creativity

"Mentor text" is a buzz-word in education circles, but what does it mean? How can teachers use mentor texts effectively in the classroom to teach reading and writing?

Free PD Presentation on Using Mentor Texts

I recently had the opportunity to explore the topic of mentor texts and create a professional development presentation for my Idaho Coaching Network class. The result is "Using Mentor Texts to Enhance Creativity," and it's free to you from Christian Teacher, Public School for educational or PD use.

This presentation focuses on teaching writing using mentor texts such as "Four Eyes" by Nikki Grimes, "April Rain Song" by Langston Hughes, "Hope is the Thing with Feathers" by Emily Dickinson, and "The Rainy Day" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The grade-level examples are approximately third-sixth, though the principles for using mentor texts extend lower and higher.

It's twenty-four below here in southern Idaho, and the snow is reaching record depths, but my mind turned toward spring when creating this Google Slides presentation. Hence the rainy-day, umbrellas-and-rubber boots theme. I hope you enjoy!

Know of a great strategy or resource to use with mentor texts? Have a favorite mentor text that you use in your classroom? Share in the comments!

More teacher resources:
Free Ninth Grade Vocabulary Presentation with Lots of Images to Help Kids Learn Words
Visit Brevity on Teachers Pay Teachers
Freebies from Dover Publishing