Psychometrician Johnson O’Connor studies factors leading to career achievement. His studies cover a wide range of areas, including age and level of education. Every time he analyzed the data, he got the same results: the better a person’s vocabulary, the better correlation with success. Scientists think that that a bigger vocabulary is connected to the [...]
I used to go into classrooms with a very clear idea of the poems and stories I wanted the students to create. I imagined beautiful, lyrical language, deep emotional revelations, memorable, personal themes. Then I started reading some of the research about boys and writing. I learned from experts such as Ralph Fletcher and Peg [...]
I am from the pink ribbons, the hot delicious coffee. I am from the back deck. I am from the purple roses, the beautiful blue lake. I am from the traditional everyday home-cooked meals and the stubbornness that runs in my blood. My parents are the first daughter and the last son So I am [...]
When I am bored, she sends cheetahs so we can race. When I am cold, she wraps me all around with vines and leaves. Whenever I am hungry, she drops apples all around me, or when I’m injured, she grows medical herbs to heal me. When I want to get refreshed, she uses her long [...]
The award-winning film Race to Nowhere will be shown on December 2 at Alamo Drafthouse West Oaks at 7 pm. In this film director Vicki Abeles turns her lens on the pressures faced by American schoolchildren and their teachers in a system and culture obsessed with the illusion of achievement, competition and the pressure to perform. [...]
Writers in the Schools (WITS) is offering a special discounted ticket to the annual A Celebration of Story gala on November 4th. For a limited time only, the $250 seats are available for $150. Come meet Jeannette Walls, best-selling author of The Glass Castle, in a rare Houston visit. Jeannette’s story about how she survived [...]
By jrwatson5
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Also posted in books, event, father, inspiration, memory, mother, story, writer, writers in the schools, writing
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Tagged a celebration of story, Arts, family, Glass Castle, Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel, Half-Broke Horses, Houston, Jeannette Walls, psychology
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Advice on Conducting Oneself, or Views On Natalie’s Future, From People Who Eat Snacks and Play with Rolly Pollies at the Same Time By the Kindergarten and First Grade Students Eat breakfast first thing. Because your stomach needs to have something. If you have leftovers in your stomach, you’ll throw up. Eat Toaster Strudel for [...]
WITS Executive Director Robin Reagler recently appeared on Fox 26′s community affairs program Hola Houston to discuss the transformative power of reading and writing beginning with the early years of childhood. During the segment, she also explains how parents can get the WITS program in Houston schools. View her interview with Host Josè Griñan.
By jrwatson5
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Also posted in education, Houston, Spanish, story, student, teaching, video, writers in the schools, writing
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Tagged Hola Houston, Jose Grinan, literacy, Robin Reagler, YouTube
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I, the star god, Take bones from the Underworlds of past times To create mankind. Xanath, meaning star, Another story for Another night. Tomorrow’s Sun will be here to wake Us up soon enough. Let us go to our mats Now and sleep As the stars up above. A shining light, The light of the [...]
Studies regularly indicate that girls score higher in reading and writing than boys by a statistically significant amount. Travis Elementary School in the Heights is working hard to change that. The PTA pays for Writers in the Schools (WITS) to help create a rich environment for boys (and girls) to grow as readers and writers. [...]
Today is the final day of the Summer Creative Writing Workshops in Houston. Students are performing plays and skits that they have written. In this photo Nick, age 5, plays the part of the Daddy Eagle, swooping down to protect the eggs. His group wrote a play called “The Magic Lantern.”
All My Faves has added a Kids section to their “best of the web” site. There’s even a section on book sites such as Dr. Seuss and the Magic School Bus. Let us know how you like their list. Any favorites that you care to recommend?
Every Saturday morning from 10:30-11:30 Kent Shaw and I co-teach a free WITS workshop inside the HPL Express Library at Discovery Green Park in downtown Houston. A group of 10-15 kids sit with us in a circle and write poems and stories. We use the downtown space as inspiration—studying the trees, the sculptures, and the [...]
Every time my mom comes home, she gives us a big hug. When she cooks the tacos, she makes them just right. She loves us so much, as much as 100 peanuts or 2,000 fish. When she smiles, she looks like an angel. When she colors, she stays in the lines and makes the picture [...]
