What could possibly be interesting about a sponge? As I researched this ancient animal for Extreme Survivors, I remembered something I learned long ago as a magazine writer: There’s no such thing as a boring subject. There are only bored writers. How do you break through boredom in your own writing and in the classroom? […]
Does moss or lichen grow in your schoolyard or park? If so, you probably have water bears! These endearing and hardy micro-animals are fun to hunt for and easy to observe with a dissecting microscope at 40x magnification. Also known as tardigrades, water bears resemble gummy bears with eight legs. Don’t let their cuteness fool […]
Whiting Village’s tiny, three-room school bustles with creativity. Stephanie Higgins used Extreme Survivors: Animals That Time Forgot to create this great timeline with her students in grades 2 through 4. Check out the way Stephanie brought together geologic time, the ancient animals in my book, and clear learning goals: “I understand that complicated life forms […]
Students often ask me, “what’s the best part of writing a book?” High on my list is meeting them—and seeing how my books inspire them in their own writing, guided by their brilliant teachers. Young writers at one elementary school in Maine recently created cool comic strips inspired by ancient creatures in my book Extreme […]