Podcast appearances and mentions of patricia polacco

Baba Yaga is a witch famous throughout Russia for eating children, but this Babushka Baba Yaga is a lonely old woman who just wants a grandchild--to love. Don't forget to check out our Spring & Summer Book Collections at: www.SlothDreamsBooks.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/slothslovetoread/message

Não é fácil ser Benvindo Conforto - um menino que cresceu em um orfanato sempre mudando de casa em casa e sendo importunado pelas crianças na escola. Mesmo o Natal, a época mais maravilhosa do ano, não é tão maravilhosa para Benvindo, já que ele não tem família, nem presentes, nem Papai Noel. Mas Benvindo conhece Quintino, o zelador da escola, ele finalmente encontra um amigo. E quando chega o Natal, Benvindo embarca em uma aventura extraordinária que mudará sua vida para sempre. Escrito e ilustrado por Patricia Polacco e ainda não publicado no Brasil, por isso eu traduzi e adaptei especialmente pra esse episódio. Para acompanhar a história juntamente com as ilustrações do livro, compre o livro aqui: https://amzn.to/3FUPxAb Se voce gostou, compartilhe com seus amigos e me siga nas redes sociais! https://www.instagram.com/bookswelove_livrosqueamamos/ E fiquem ligados, porque toda sexta-feira publico uma nova história. Até mais! Trilha sonora:  Music: Wonderful Christmas Time [Classic Version] by Frank Schroeter Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6727-wonderful-christmas-time-classic-version Licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Are we willing to walk with our characters? Are we willing to go far enough? Are we willing to let go to find transcendence? This episode's special guest is former Editor in Chief of Philomel Books, Patricia Lee Gauch. Patti (as she's known by her friends) was T. A. Barron's editor for over 30 years – editing 27 of his 32 books. T. A. and Patti speak passionately about finding the core values of your story, then protecting and nurturing them, and letting them shine organically. Hear two seasoned writers explore the power of humor and magic in stories, as well as the importance of voice. Patti urges us, “Trust the universal storyteller in you. If you only trust your brain, you may have a compositionally powerful piece, but you may have missed the beating heart. And that is what we're going for – the beating heart.” Where did it all begin for Patti? And… how do we, as authors, earn our ending? You don't want to miss this lively and completely inspiring conversation about voice, character, and the beating heart of story. Aspiring writers – this one's for you. About Patricia Lee Gauch: I am Patricia Lee Gauch, my writers call me Patti. I have worn many hats – journalist, author, teacher, lecturer and finally editor, but all of my hats have been grounded in writing. And my relationships with my writers have passed into sacred space, from my point of view. I have worked with Patricia Polacco, Brian Jacques, Eric Carle, Andrew Clements, Janet Lisle, Jane Yolen, but the first writer I worked with at Philomel was T.A. Barron. The renowned Madeleine L'Engle discovered him at a retreat, was impressed, and brought him to my agent Dorothy Markinko, and she brought him to me, fledgling editor. He was and always has been an unusual mix of writer of fantasy writer and environmentalist, wroter of fantasy and philosopher. As he walks his Colorado mountains, which he does regularly, he is always searching for ideas. His characters are often paradigms, rich in their humor, their courage, their humanity. That's Tom, searching. And discovering. Tom and my fondest memories were rooted in editorial sessions at his mountaintop cabin in Colorado. We would sit in a window that looked out on a meadow, simply breathing open air, and we would begin a somewhat miraculous brainstorming. I was often the tip-master, but Tom could catch fireflies of ideas, and when he realized that there was a key Merlin story still to be told, he began writing his life's work. We are partners still. And partners here today. Check out Patricia Lee Gauch's novels and picture books. Magic & Mountains is hosted by T. A. Barron, beloved author of 32 books and counting. Carolyn Hunter is co-host. Magic & Mountains Theme Song by Julian Peterson.

Hello Listeners!! today we will hear a very unique story and recipe, that will give us a a fun idea to overcome a very common fear. Story taken from the book: Thunder cake by Patricia Polacco Episode art credits and recipe: http://www.grouprecipes.com/64115/thunder-cake.html Don't forget to share your comments at my Twitter handle @RoshniSK or at the email ID - sishu_katha@outlook.com. Also if you listen to the podcast on Spotify app, do share your ratings. Waiting to hear from you!! Do tune in next week for the upcoming episode.. :)

Puppets from around the world with a story from Patricia Polacco!

Când zgomotele furtunii devin amenințătoare, iar tunetele fac să se cutremure ferestrele, Babușca o atrage pe nepoțică într-un joc terapeutic. Pentru bunica, când tună, tună a tort! Leacul pentru frica de tunete și fulgere este un tort special, pregătit cu sufletul la gură, în ritmul furtunii. La sfârșitul jocului, nepoțica descoperă că este o fetiță curajoasă, iar pe masa din bucătărie se află cel mai îmbietor tort de leac. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/cufarulcupovesti/message

Come along and hear what your fellow listeners have been talking about! We'll also share what we've been reading lately and some fun summer plans! Books Mentioned in this Episode: Dune by F Herbert The Vorkosigan Saga by LM Bujold The Ender Quintet and Shadow Series by OS Card Farenheit 451, R is for Rocket, and The Martian Chronicles by R Bradbury Father of Contention by L Mores The Space Trilogy by CS Lewis The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by D Adams The Ones We're Meant to Find by Joan He The Aeronaut's Windlass by J Butcher Alexander M Smith Mysteries Rhys Bowen Mysteries Elizabeth Peters Mysteries Grit by A Duckworth Read-aloud authors: Tommy DePaulo, Patricia Polacco, Mrs. Piggle-wiggle books The Hiding Place by C Ten Boom Animal Farm by G Orwell Durable Trades by R Groves The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by KM Richardson The Master Craftsman and Like A River From it's Course by Kelli Stuart Anna Karenina by Tolstoy The Wingfeather Saga by A Peterson Black, White, and The Grey:The Story of an Unexpected Friendship and a Beloved Restaurant by M Baily and J Morisano Salt Houses by H Alyan

Season 2, Episode 19 *Please note that many products linked are Amazon affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but a small portion of your purchase will come back to us to help offset the costs of the show. Thanks for your support!* You know we just LOVE read alouds, so why not offer you some suggestions for the most wonderful time of the year!?! This episode if full of books we think make for terrific reading as a family! We start with picture books, then move to middle grade and up. We even give some suggestions for the teacher(s)! Enjoy, friends! 2:10 Homeschooling Moments of the Week: Rachel (new vision therapy) 4:00 HSMotW: Mindy (Jubilee's presentation) 5:23 S1E14 (Some of) Our Favorite Read Alouds 5:24 S1E34 Round 2 of (Some of) Our Favorite Read Alouds 5:45 Topic Talk: Christmas Read Alouds 5:50 How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Suess 5: 53 A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles M. Schultz 6:05 Picture Books Shared by Rachel: 6:10 The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats 7:19 Mr. Willoughby's Christmas Tree by Robert Barry 8:00 The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco 8:30 Christmas Tapestry by Patricia Polacco 9:24 An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco 10:03 The All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll by Patricia C. McKissack 11:15 Apple Tree Christmas by Trinka Hankes Nobel 11:47 The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski 13:07 Jotham's Journey by Arnold Ytreeide Christmas Chapter Books Shared by Mindy: 16:24 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson 17:15 The True Gift by Patricia MacMachlan 18:27 How Winston Delivered Christmas by Alex T. Smith 19: 48 The Girl Who Saved Christmas by Matt Haig 21:05 The Paperbag Christmas by Kevin Alan Milne 21:57 A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig 23:08 Letters from Father Christmas by JRR Tolkien 24:44 The Toymaker's Apprentice by Sherri L. Smith 27:01 The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries Edited by Otto Penzler 28:53 Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan 28:56 Currently Reading Podcast 30:40 Comments on need for Middle Grade Christmas books by POC authors 31:17 Refer back to this moment when 4 authors Mindy reached out to publish some ;) Teacher Books shared by Mindy: 31:45 The Treasury of African-American Christmas Stories by Bettye Collier-Thomas 32:32 The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan 22:25 The Deal of a Lifetime by Frederick Backman 34:15 Make It Personal for Near and Far Bookends: Share your fave Christmas read alouds on our IG post 34:Take This With You: Make S2E18 Easy Music Appreciation and Read Alouds the biggest part of your homeschooling this month… relax and read together! Bookend Homeschoolers on IG Mindy at gratefulforgrace on IG Rachel at colemountainhomeschool on IG Our Zazzle store!

In this episode Veronica and Erika lay down basic principles you can use to help you as you read through these chapters. They do not go in depth into each particular instance, but instead give a viewpoint of what the culture might have been like back then. They continue to come back to the idea that we are to love God and love our neighbor. They hit on topics like slavery and justice. Erika begins this episode summarizing the story by Patricia Polacco titled “The Bee Tree.” Veronica also used commentary from First Fruits of Zion.Questions to consider:Did this background help bring context to these commands?What commands are you still struggling with?Can you think of other commands in Deuteronomy or Leviticus that would help with these chapters in Exodus?You can join us on our Facebook page called "The Context and Color of the Bible" as well as Erika's website erikavanhaitsma.com.In order to prepare for this study we used the following books or articles:Exploring Exodus by Nahum SaranExodus: God, Slavery, and Freedom by Dennis PragerThe JPS Commentary on Exodus by The Jewish Publication SocietyMessiah - Issue 24Exodus: Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible by Thomas Joseph White, OPExodus: A Mentor Commentary by John L. MackayShadows of the Messiah by First Fruits of Zion, book 2Miqra Journal - Winter 2003 Music: Tabuk by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4453-tabukLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Have you ever realized that an art collection can have the same function as a library? All of the creations by doll artist Jennie Hepler-Takens are stories and her body of work is her book. Every doll Jennie creates tells a story.  Sometimes she even continues to work on a character's story long after he or she is settled into their new home.    In this episode, we learn the stories behind some of Jennie's past and current works. There's a bearded lady, who gives us a glimpse into the life of a side-show performer. A blue little boy expands upon the story of Jack Frost. A witch peddles tears in vials for all who desire them. A wolf doll inspires us to think of Little Red Riding Hood in new ways – was the wolf really the bad one?    When Jennie appeared on this podcast 3 years ago, she was creating as Prim Pumpkin. She has since transformed into My Dearest Witch. Her new name is a nod to her husband's term of endearment for her and doesn't lock her into any particular style.   Jennie pours her heart into her work and her hope is it fills up the hearts of her collectors. My Dearest Witch connects with everyone differently. Every piece is deeper than face value.   She is inspired by David Bowie, Victorian mourning, antiques, textiles, oddities, baskets, fairytales, and hairy creatures. She is sentimental and loves to preserve old things – for example, she lovingly cares for a collection of fire-damaged antique dolls.  Jennie is a community builder. In addition to producing Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween, she loves to lift other artists up and inspire people to get into Halloween art collecting. Her husband Joe taught her to never be embarrassed by where she began – you cannot have progression if you forget where you started.   Jennie recommended Slater Basketry - https://www.instagram.com/adkbaskets and the book “The Graves Family” by Patricia Polacco. The castle they visited on Halloween was: https://www.hendersoncastle.com.   Her web site is: http://www.mydearestwitch.com.  

There's still a LOT to cover on the youth literature front, so we're back again with the likes of James Patterson's unruly range of novels (looking at you, Daniel X series.... and you, Sundays at Tiffany's), Patricia Polacco's heart-wrenching and nostalgic stories and illustrations, the stress and wonder of bookfairs, and the Borders versus Barnes & Noble ultimatum. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Friends from different backgrounds come together in a heartwarming picture book that is perfect for Passover, from beloved children's book author Patricia Polacco! Larnel doesn't know his neighbor, Mrs. Katz, very well, until he asks her to adopt an abandoned kitten. Mrs. Katz agrees on one condition: that Larnel helps her take care of the kitten she names Tush. When Larnel starts spending more and more time with Mrs. Katz to help with Tush, Mrs. Katz tells him stories about coming to America from Poland and about the good times she spent with her late husband. As Larnel grows to love Mrs. Katz, he also learns about the common themes of hardship and triumph in each of their cultures.Book: Written and Illustrated by Patricia PolaccoISBN: 9780440409366Publisher: Random House Children's BooksPublication date: 03/01/1994Read by: Erin YeschinPURCHASE BOOK HERE-> https://bookshop.org/a/18361/9780440409366Check out our new and improved online bookstore! Our #OneStopBookShop offers safe and fun titles for everyone to love (including grown ups!) based on diversity, inclusion, emotional intelligence, growth mindset conscious & neuroscience based parenting all while supporting small business and independent book stores alike! SHOP HERE -> https://bookshop.org/shop/HippocampusClubhouse

It is no secret that some traditional teacher evaluation systems are less than effective in supporting professional growth. Faculty want feedback, and yet tired policies and lack of imagination can prevent leaders from seeing what is possible.Consider a different approach to this area of instructional leadership. Matt Cormier, an elementary principal in Jefferson County Public Schools in Colorado, takes more of a coaching stance to his work, including:feedback that is focused on the future and on teacher growth,how documentation can show alignment between teachers’ beliefs and their practices plus current research, andengaging in more conversation and less judgment around instruction.Enjoyed this episode? Share it with your colleagues and your PLN. If you post this podcast on Twitter and include my handle (@ReadByExample), you could win a one year subscription to Choice Literacy.Related ResourcesTranscript + AudioMatt’s District Webpage, BioMatt’s Recommended Sources for Research: The Marshall Memo, The Main IdeaMatt’s Coach, Samantha Bennett (Linkedin)Literacy Walks e-course (Choice Literacy)Full TranscriptMatt Renwick:It is no secret that teacher evaluation systems are less than effective in supporting professional growth. Faculty want feedback, and yet tired policies and lack of imagination can prevent leaders from seeing what's possible.Matt Renwick:In this episode of Read by Example, I talk with Matt Cormier, a principal in Jefferson County Public Schools in Colorado about his unique approach to teachers who provision. It is teacher driven, aligned with mutual goals, and focused on improvement instead of only evaluation.Matt Renwick:Hey, Matt, thanks for joining me today. And we spoke before about just this unique approach you have to staff supervision and evaluation. And so I asked if we could connect again and just kind of lay it out and just think about how this might work for teachers and you. Anyway, it's quite different, but can you just explain just your staff supervision and evaluation approach and what is it and why did you move toward it?Matt Cormier:So I would definitely say the theme of the approach is that my feedback to teachers is not about the lesson I just watched. It's not about today. The focus is really about tomorrow. You've got to go in with that mindset that it isn't about what you just saw. It's about what the teacher will do with feedback and what tomorrow might look like.Matt Cormier:The other thing too, I think foundationally, I have to say, I would never use this process with somebody I didn't know, or somebody that I was concerned about their performance. I don't believe that that's the right direction to go. With folks that you don't know, I think that it's important to have to utilize the formal process that's been approved by the school district and by the association. And I think that's key. And for somebody who you're concerned about their performance, I think that you have to follow that as well.Matt Cormier:Now, my situation, like many others I have a stable staff. Some of the folks that I'm working with, I've worked with the entire time I've been here. So this is my seventh year. And as I kind of reflected last year about their performance, I could go down the list of my staff and say, at the end of the year, my guess is this staff member will end up as effective. This staff member will end up as highly effective. Just I know them, I've worked with them long enough to know that would be the case. And so it kind of felt like that the structure that we had in place was going to lead to that ending, that maybe there was an opportunity for a different structure, something that felt different to everybody.Matt Cormier:So I guess I would say that one of the pieces of this process is that I still need to do what the school district says that I have to do, which is have a formal observation of every teacher by the end of semester one. And for people who are probationary, I have to have two formal observations by the end of the year. And so the way that I do that is they self-evaluate their work against the 23 indicators in the school district. And they submit their self-evaluation to me of those 23 indicators. And generally, I ask for that to be done by Labor Day.Matt Cormier:And then between Labor Day and the end of September, I take their ratings from their self-evaluation. I put them in the formal observation document. I take a look and I compare how they rated themselves against their most recent evaluation that I did using those 23 indicators. And I say, does this align with what I know about this person? Does this make sense? And if it does, I send them back their formal document. I say, "This looks good to me. Does it look good to you? Let's have a meeting."Matt Cormier:So in that meeting, it could be a long meeting, but not about the formal, the fall observation. The conversation about the fall formal goes like this. "Hey, do you agree with all these ratings in here? Yeah, you do? All right. That sounds good. Would you sign the document for me? Okay. Send the document. Now let's talk about what do you want to get better at?"Matt Renwick:Right.Matt Cormier:Because if I'm going to come into your room, say I'm going into come in your room six times, seven times this year, and I can look for whatever you want and I'm going to then look for research that backs up what you're doing. What do you want me to look for? What is it you want me to pay attention to? And that's where the length of the conversation happens for folks in the fall.Matt Cormier:So basically one of the things I love about this is I'm done with everybody's fall formal document by the end of September. There's no problem, nobody worrying about whether I've got my documents done at the school district. They're done. I probably could do everybody at this point. I could do everybody's spring formal if I needed to do that for the probationary folks. And honestly, I could start to work on the finals evaluations right now, too, because I'm just literally going to take the fall formal ratings and put it into a final document and have a very similar conversation in April. "Hey, do you agree with all these ratings? You do? All right. Now, let's talk about the other things. You told me you wanted to get better at this. Let's talk about that."Matt Renwick:Yeah.Matt Cormier:That's why I say, part of it is understanding that what I do is get what is required of me by the school district done very soon, very quickly so that I can engage in this process of writing letters of reflection after doing observations, which leads me to my next key piece here, which is when I write a letter of reflection, I am making sure that there is alignment between a teacher's philosophical beliefs about education and who they are as a teacher. So there's alignment between their beliefs with actually what they're doing. The teacher moves that I notice in class, and then I match that with research. So those three pieces.Matt Cormier:So we got to take one step back because in August, when all teachers come back, I asked teachers to write me a context letter. And the context letter is filled with their beliefs about what it means to be a teacher, their beliefs about good teaching and what gets them out of bed in the morning? Why do they choose to do this job? And so everybody is asked to write that and submit that to me before Labor Day so I have that. And then as I go into.. I reread everybody's context letter. Every time that I go, every single time I read the context letter, I talk and say, "These are the teacher moves that I noticed. And here's the research that backs you up. This is what the researchers say." And generally I look for opportunities to look for the things that they asked me to look for.Matt Renwick:There's a real shift in the power dynamic when you have teachers self-assessing and telling you what they want you to look for. Did you have any initial concerns as you shifted to this approach? You're releasing some of that, I wouldn't say authority, but you're just sharing it, I guess more than anything.Matt Cormier:Yeah. I mean, I think there were concerns, both from teachers and for me. The biggest concern for teachers was sitting down and writing a context letter. It's almost like, I would say to them like, literally, "Wake up before the house wakes up. Get a cup of tea or a cup of coffee. Sit down and write your beliefs about being a teacher. When you're done, you will say that was the greatest time you spent, because nobody's asked you to do that in a long time. And it feels good to try to reflect on who you are, why this matters to you." But teachers were nervous. They were nervous about it. And they said, "Are you going to check my spelling and grammar?" I said, "No, I just want your thoughts."Matt Renwick:Right.Matt Cormier:So in hindsight, I think I probably should give a devoted time and say, "I'm serving you the tea and coffee. Now we're going to sit and you're going to do this incredible thing."Matt Renwick:There you go.Matt Cormier:For me, I think the toughest thing was the idea that everybody delivers a train wreck of a lesson. And there are times where I've gone in to go through this new process and write a letter of reflection. And it's a train wreck. And I know it, and I'm hoping to God, the teacher knows it too, because if the teacher knows it, the teacher looks at me and says, "Oh my Lord," then I feel great. Then I feel great. Like yeah, nothing went the way you wanted it to go, or the moves felt awkward today. And if the teacher could just say to me, "Oh Lord, do overplays," then I would feel so much better because a lot of times I have this piece of where I'm actually wondering, do they know it was a train wreck because in the process that I undergo, I don't sit there and go," Gotcha. Gotcha. Gotcha. That was a train wreck." Instead, I look at the positive pieces.Matt Cormier:And so it does become hard when you want to say like, "Hey, I think that was in your blind spot. You missed a great opportunity there to create a letter that might give that feedback," but it also makes the teacher want to get up the next day and do this again because teachers pour so much of who they are personally into their work that sometimes feedback about their work feels like feedback about them. [crosstalk 00:11:30].Matt Renwick:Yeah. In the traditional approach, they're not asking for feedback. It's just something you have to do. And when they write that context letter and then say, "This is what I want you to look for," the early shifts and the feedback becomes something that they want, versus something they're going to get. I liked reading your context letter, and I'm very interested in history. And you're very open about your history and your philosophy and approaching that. Being vulnerable with them, I'm sure helped them craft their own letters and feel okay about it. And you mentioned that you read their contexts letters. How else do you use that when you go into classrooms and give them the reflection letter itself?Matt Cormier:I often will think through, because the idea is to try to match their beliefs with the teaching moves. And so sometimes I've read the context letter before I go in and I think I know I'm going to pull out these beliefs, but then I'll actually observe something and be able to go back and say, "Wait a second. I remember seeing that," and then pull out another component there where you're just...Matt Cormier:And I'll write sometimes in the section where I write about teacher moves, instead of saying, "Hey, I'm going to match your move to research. I'm not going to tell you which researcher has got your back, but I'm going to tell you that your belief system has your back. When you say you want to do right by all kids and then I noticed that you made an adjustment in the lesson at the moment, because you were clearly teaching to one group of kids and you noticed it. And in the moment you said, 'Wait a second, I got to adjust something right here,' that's a point where when I write about that teaching move, I will say in your book that that is so aligned with your belief system."Matt Cormier:The other thing I love about the context letter is it says, I see you, I see who you are as a person. I see who you are as an educator because often teachers will share with me personal stories in their contexts letter. What gets them out of bed in the morning might be an experience that they had as a young person. Think of the, Thank You, Mr. Falker, Patricia Polacco book, right? A lot of teachers have that book, their own book written, and they might share something with me. And then you can see them treat another kid in the way that they were treated. And to say, "Look at how you believe and look at what you did for that kid," there is alignment.Matt Cormier:And I think a lot of times what I'm saying is I see you, I see you and I hear you. And I know you as an individual and as a professional. I think there's a lot of... My teachers have given me a lot of feedback that this process, they don't put on a dog and pony, they're not trying to hit all 23 indicators and be like, "I know if I say this, I've hit an indicator to see." Instead, it feels very different for them.Matt Renwick:Yeah. They're showing you the real deal. And again, I think it comes back to what you did with your own context letter of revealing your own experience as a teacher. And it wasn't always perfect. That's got to be huge. So I think you started with one teacher, right, Matt, to try it with, and it sounds like it's expanded, more teachers are electing for this more authentic approach. Is that all your teachers now are on it, or how many?Matt Cormier:Everybody's on it. Last year, it was opt in. You had to say yes. And I had almost all teachers opt in. And when I asked some teachers, "Why didn't you do it?" They said, "I'm nervous about writing the context letter."Matt Renwick:Writing. I gotcha.Matt Cormier:But I thought to myself, but you wanted the 23 indicators where I rate you, you wanted that. Who wants that? So this year it was opt out. This year it was, this is what I want to do. You can opt out. Nobody opted out.Matt Renwick:Yeah.Matt Cormier:Nobody at all.Matt Renwick:Kind of a passive permission in a sense, maybe that little nudge for those people who are still unsure. That's a cool way to think about that. You mentioned your teachers give you feedback. What do they say about this process now that you've got it now a couple of years?Matt Cormier:I think mostly what they would say is that it doesn't feel stressful. That it feels safe. And so that's probably the most powerful thing that I've gotten out of this period of time. Because I think that if we can create a very safe environment... Probably a lot of us as principals say the same kind of thing, right? It's that idea that why don't we learn through failure and success? Why don't we learn by trying? And we say all those things, but there are all these immense pressures on teachers to take those risks. That can be a big step for a lot of people because there's way too many other pressures.Matt Cormier:And so, if really what I've gotten out of this period of time, just a little over a year with the pandemic lockdown down in the middle of that, is that everybody feels safer about when I come into the classroom, then I'll take that without a doubt. I do get some really good back and forth conversations because when I write a letter of reflection, it always ends with, "Now, tell me what you're thinking. Tell me what you're thinking about, what I said or the research that I shared." Sometimes where I quote research, I'll actually make a copy of that article, put it in their box. "And what do you think?" And we can end up with a back and forth conversation.Matt Cormier:Some of my favorites are honestly, where I might have a question that does challenge. I recently observed a teacher who wasn't posting learning targets and freely admitted it. "I haven't posted a learning target in a while." And it was a great opportunity for me to say, "Tell me why. Why is it that you didn't do that? Philosophically, what is it that stopped you from doing that?" Because to me, a learning target is foundational to a good lesson or a bad lesson. To any lesson at all kids need to know what they're working towards.Matt Cormier:So this was a great moment for me to say like, "This is not a gotcha moment. I actually really want to know what is getting in the way." And obviously the feedback could actually be time, but my response on time is my son called me today and said, "Dad, I need you. I've just been in a car accident." I would get out of this building and go. He is that important to me. To me, in lesson planning, the learning target is that important. I would never, ever not create a lesson plan that didn't have a learning target and success criteria that everybody moved towards. So it was fantastic for me to ask, "What stopped you from doing that? What is your belief system?" And I think that is rich to have it be a place where teachers don't feel scared to engage in that. It's not a gotcha.Matt Renwick:And you're feeling safe too, it sounds like to share your own belief system about learning targets, but in a way that's not confrontational, just here's where I'm at. Here's where I understand you're at. And we're just trying to engage in a conversation versus a battle of wills.Matt Cormier:Because here's the truth. This teachers' evaluation around learning targets has already been written, right? It's already been written. Whatever rating that we agreed upon, she's gotten. And if somebody were to say, "Well, Matt, but what if she doesn't do learning targets?" Well, here's the thing. If I were to do a scheduled observation and rate her 23 indicators, do you think she'd have her learning targets up on that day? She'd have her learning targets up on that day. So the fact that she did it on that day, that I came in out of compliance around a 23 indicator rubric, that is not as rich and meaty as the conversation I get to have with her, when she admits I haven't posted them in a while. And I get to say, "Why?"Matt Renwick:Yeah, you have established trust and relationships. And you're clear about what you're working on. And yeah, no, that's powerful. The clear distinction between the traditional approach and you're more learning-centered structure, what skills did you need to development, Matt, in order to make this process successful?Matt Cormier:There's so many. I laugh because I am just struggling every day in this and it feels great. It's the best part of my day is to engage in this struggle, which is writing a good reflection letter. At first, when I thought about, I have to see if there's alignment between beliefs, actions, and research, I thought, how on earth am I going to do the research? I spend most of my evenings watching woodworking videos. I don't just peruse educational publications or read articles for fun. I don't do that.Matt Renwick:I was going to ask, when do you read the research? But you mentioned the Marshall Memo was one way you can kind of stay on top of current studies.Matt Cormier:Yeah, that was probably one of the biggest benefits, was somebody who was saying, "Get access to the Marshall Memo." That's an incredible resource because you just, you know you want to give somebody feedback about shifting of the cognitive load or you know you want to give somebody some feedback about their feedback. And you can only quote John Hattie's effect size on feedback so many times. You're like, "Somebody give me an article that quoted John Hattie. There we go." And so the Marshall Memo has been incredible. And then, now the gifts that I've received. My boss gave me a gift of access to Jenn David-Lang's summaries of books. That was a great gift.Matt Cormier:The other thing that I would say that I really benefited from is every time my boss walks into the building, I look and I say, "Hey, no chitchat. Let's get in classrooms." And then we go into a classroom and she helps me write that letter of reflection. And that has been one of the best gifts because to have two people writing a letter of reflection and me getting to benefit from when she looks for articles. Now I've got that article in my repository that I can pick. And actually she's doing that for a lot of people. So that was the hardest part was to write a really good letter of reflection and find some good research for folks.Matt Cormier:And then I came across this idea that my school district had put out these look-fors for when teaching moves were effective. And each of the 23 indicators, they've got quite a few bullets of look-fors underneath those. And I just thought there's some language. I don't know that I have to... When I write about the teacher moves that I noticed, and I want to write something that feels like it's worth people's time of reading and it really kind of matches what we want to say in an educational world and a professional world, well, there it is. I was able to say, "When you're adapting, okay, let me look at the look-fors. I'm seeing those things. Why don't I just pull that right in to my document of feedback?" And that's been a nice way to marry the old process of rating 23 indicators with this new process of saying these are the teacher moves that I noticed and using some of that language.Matt Renwick:It gives you the language to make it evidence-based and it's aligned and it takes a little bit of the thinking work and try to be creative, which I struggle with sometimes. What do I want to say exactly here? And just having those terms up is helpful. So I assume you would never go back to your former model.Matt Cormier:No.Matt Renwick:No. But if someone is thinking about, like me, truly kind of marrying authentic feedback and growth with an evaluation system, what would be some first steps in getting started in the process that you would recommend?Matt Cormier:I think I would ask you to reflect on this question that I was challenged with. So this, everything I'm talking about came from one of the most amazing intellects I've met in recent years, Ms. Sam Bennett, and that's who challenged me to think differently about this work. And she challenged me with this question. I would ask everybody to think it through as well. "Do you think that your current process is getting you the results and getting teachers the results they want?" And I actually, honestly, I answered back very quickly. I said, "Yes, it is. Because when I rate teacher ineffective or partially effective, the next time I go in, they have absolutely made a change."Matt Cormier:But then, the question I think, came up was "Well, what happens if you go in the next time or the time after?" And I thought, no, it's compliance. Right? The current system I have is about compliance and it doesn't feel good when I hear teachers say to me is they're nervous. Even the very best of them who say, "You can come in anytime you want, Matt." Because we've all heard that. "Come in anytime you want. I don't want to change a thing." The fact is when I walk in, I notice a change either in the voice or just in some of the moves. If I've got a computer with me, there's a change.Matt Cormier:And so I recognize that the old system, wasn't what I wanted. I didn't want a compliance-based system. I didn't want to worry in November if I had gone through all the pieces the district required me to do or again in April. And how many of us have written evaluations on Saturday nights in April? I didn't want to do that anymore. I didn't want to worry about compliance. I'd worry about authentic growth, something that the teacher wanted. And so that's what I would say to everybody first to get started, ask that question of yourself. Are you getting what you want? Are your teachers getting what you want? Because if you're not, then that is the definition of insanity.Matt Renwick:Yeah.Matt Cormier:You have to think about something different. And my guess is your school district, like my school district probably offers some flexibility around how you do that.Matt Renwick:Yeah. And especially this year with observing Zooms and all kind of creative ways to get in the classroom. Well, this is very helpful, Matt. Remind me, which district are you out of? You're in Colorado.Matt Cormier:That's right. Best district in Colorado. I'm in Jefferson County, Jeffco Schools, which is on the west side of Denver. We're a good sized school district, over 80,000 kids. And I'm super proud of this district. I've been here 20 years. No, 19 years. 19 years. But I think it's forward thinking, forward looking and definitely been given some grace around thinking through the different process here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readbyexample.substack.com

This is a conversation with two retired librarians - Minetta and Grace. Minetta has grown children, grandkids, she loves books and she is also is an incredible storyteller - like she gets invited to go places and tell stories. She has an incredible knowledge of all kinds of books for all different kinds of occasions. Grace has grown children, loves books and is the ultimate book gift giver. You can ask the Lassiter brothers about this! A few sites and books they mention: https://txla.org (Texas Library Association) http://www.ala.org (American Library Association) https://www.goodreads.com (Good Reads) The Public Library! Minetta's Favorite List -  Anne of Green Gables  All books written by Patricia Polacco Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Grace's Favorite List -  Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus & Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis The Trees of the Dancing Goats by Patricia Polacco

You matter because you're you!! Kindness matters too! Skin colour, eye colour, hair colour, race, religion, orientation, gender ... none of these things matter when it comes to being kind to each other! Acceptance, love, kindness are the most important things to remember! I'm proud of you!

This week Seth and Rebecca are joined by special guest and host of the Book of Life Podcast, Heidi Rabinowitz for a discussion about their favorite Jewish kids books! Show Notes: 2:08- My First Jewish Baby Book, by Julie Merberg 5:37- Queen of the Hanukah Dosas, by Pamela Ehrenberg 8:26- The Last Place You Look by Jay Wallace Skelton 10:37- Yaffa and Fatima Shalom Salaam, by Fawzia Gilani-Williams 14:05- Hats of Faith, by Medeia Cohan 14:47- The Brothers Promise., by Frances Harber 17:40- PJ Library 20:18 - New Year at the Pier, by April Halprin Wayland 29:00- The Keeping Quilt, by Patricia Polacco 38:42- Kibitzers and Fools, by Simms Taback 44:52- Sesame Street Chicken Soup Joke 47:55- Sam and Charlie (and Sam Too!), by Leslie Kimmelman 56:38- Celebrate Passover with Matzah, Maror, and Memories, by Deborah Heiligman 1:02:05-  Ezra's big Shabbat Question, by Aviva Brown 1:06:07 - Love your Neighbor Project (Jewish Kid Lit Recommendations)   Follow Heidi: Book of Life Podcast   Find us on the web! Rad Child Podcast: www.radchildpodcast.com Facebook Twitter Instagram Contact us: radchildpodcast@gmail.com Be a guest Donate Buy Rad Merch Shift Book Box: https://www.shiftbookbox.com/ Facebook Instagram Twitter       

A lot of this show consists of Betsy thinking up an author (say, Patricia Polacco) then saying to herself "What's their most famous book?" In the case of Ms. Polacco, she was a bit stumped. This book was definitely in the top five, and she figured it would make for an interesting choice. Particularly since its shiny Sydney Taylor Award on the cover was intriguing. With its 1988 pub date, there's still a lot to really enjoy about this title. It's aged nicely, and ties in well with stories like Jacqueline Woodson's Show Way or Papa Had a Little Overcoat, even. Show Notes: I'm not kidding about the fact that Polacco went to school with Frank Oz and babysat Tom Hanks. Read all about it here: https://lifechums.wordpress.com/tag/tom-hanks/ If you would like to see the additional pages that Patricia Polacco made for the 25th anniversary edition of this book, take a gander at this video by the Mazza Museum. Our sole objection to this vid is that you never get a good close look at the quilt itself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIHG0vLoyjk Want to see the full Show Notes? Then join us at : http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/07/27/fuse-8-n-kate-the-keeping-quilt-by-patricia-polacco/

Discussion with Peg Southgate about children's book author Patricia Polacco. Check out Patricia Polacco's author page and order her books at Patricia Polacco on Amazon  https://amzn.to/2JvkSMR Please be sure to rate us and review this episode wherever you listen to podcasts.  It really helps other people find us.    Follow the show on Instagram at readbetweenthelinespodcast Follow our parent network on Twitter at @SMGPods Make sure to follow SMG on Facebook too at @SouthgateMediaGroup Learn more, subscribe, or contact Southgate Media Group at www.southgatemediagroup.com.   Check out our webpage at southgatemediagroup.com/readbwetweenthelines

Mary and Shannon discuss Dyslexia. There are a lot of misconceptions that are due to lack of training. Many teachers are somewhat familiar with dyslexia and may even say that they have previously taught students with dyslexia. However, the reality is that almost 20% of the population struggles with dyslexia and may or may not be formally diagnosed. Find out more about dyslexia and join the conversation. Are you wondering what you can do to keep your classroom "dyslexic-friendly?" We have plenty of ideas! Resource Links:Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally ShaywitzYale Center for Dyslexia and CreativityDyslexia in the Classroom: What every teacher should know from IDA8 Things Every Teacher Should Know about DyslexiaTeachers Don't Understand the Depth of DyslexiaLetter Fed Gov Guidance on Dyslexia 2015APM Reports Educate: Hard Words by Emily HanlonDyslexia Simulation - Dyslexia Training InstituteLearning AllyAn interview with Patricia Polacco (children's author) about her struggle with dyslexiaFollow Us:Our Website InstagramShannon's TPT Store

First-time author Phyllis Lawson tells the story of her black heritage in Quilt of Souls, a memoir of growing up as a child in the South during the 50s. Sent to Alabama at age four to live indefinitely with her maternal grandparents she'd never known, Lawson is one of "grandma's other babies. Fortunately, Grandma Lula's quilts and family stories bring healing. 00:15   Intro to Phyllis Lawson, author of Quilt of Souls  01:15   As one of “grandma’s other babies,” Lawson sent to Alabama to live with grandparents 01:45   Family part of the “Great Black Migration” in the 40s and 50s, seeking fortune in North 03:00   Typical of African-American families to send “extra” children away 04:30   Migration causes “very, very extended” family to live together just to get by 05:15   Lawson aches for mother, then meets “Miss Lula” (grandmother) for the first time 06:00   Grandma Lula gives Lawson lots of attention and warmth 06:50   She uses a special “quilt of souls” to warm and comfort young Phyllis 08:50   After hungering for maternal love, her mother arrives but Lawson fears being taken from her grandmother 10:40   Learns how to quilt while also learning family stories 11:15    While quilting, Lula intentionally passes on oral family history so the stories wouldn’t be lost 12:00   Today, Lawson encourages every eldest family member to share stories with the youngest 13:45   Warns of losing stories by either neglecting to talk about them or to listen and record the stories 15:10   In Quilt of Souls, Lawson sprinkles stories of Southern racism 16:05   Lula intentionally stays away from color terms (“black” & “white”); respects all people 16:50   “Don’t ever look at the bad in a person and work backward; look at the good and work forward.” 17:10   When the Ku Klux Klan shows up, Grandma Lula invites them in to eat, averting the capture of a young black boy 18:50   Pecking order among blacks is still a hidden dilemma of the black community 20:20   Fair-skinned blacks don't mind letting people know of their white ancestry 20:55   Mixed genealogy often not discussed (e.g., Miss Hattie) 21:45   Discovers that Miss Hattie, a strong-willed woman, is grandmother’s stepsister stolen in slavery 22:35   Grandma Lula teaches Lawson to love her dark black skin 23:00   Eavesdropping provides an informal education of original-source history lessons in slavery 24:50   Local black school receives “the dreaded Dick and Jane” secondhand books 26:00   Black teachers abandon textbooks; begin teaching kids from the Britannica encyclopedias 27:40   Returns to Detroit public schools; discovers she loves poetry, especially Langston Hughes’ poem, “A Dream Deferred” 28:45   Her mother attends Alabama Teaching College, but she marries, moves to Detroit, and gives up teaching dream for cleaning houses 30:25   Lawson carries her grandparents’ truisms (e.g., “Trouble don’t last always, chile.”) 32:15   The quilt becomes a symbol of more than family history 32:45   How Lawson stays connected to the trauma of past while still looking to a bright future 34:10  Grandma Lula's early, strong foundation later lifts her up and moves her in the right direction 35:00   Ancestors make Lawson who she is and destine her to write their stories 35:15   Unsung, Lawson's next book slated for publication in late 2019 35:45   Recommendation: The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco (author and illustrator) BUY "Quilt of Souls" by Phyllis Lawson By "The Keeping Quilt" by Patricia Polacco Connect with us on social media! Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube  Special thanks… Music Credit Sound Editing Credit

Sally shares one of her favourite holiday stories, The Christmas Tapestry by Patricia Polacco. This picture book has a heartwarming story that kids and grown-ups can both enjoy. A tapestry that is being used to cover a hole in a church wall at Christmas brings together an elderly couple who were separated during World War II. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself re-reading this book every year.

I learn best through stories. Curl up with a blanket story time on I See You, featuring stories and tales that teach both kids and adults about the power of compassion and connection.Today we talk about two of our favorites:You are Special by Max Lucado and Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco.You can find these books on Amazon here:You Are Special by Max LucadoThank You, Mr. Faulker by Patricia Polacco

Join us as we retell "The Trees of the Dancing Goats" by Patricia Polacco. There will be parts for everyone who wants to participate. The service will also include a child dedication ritual and a celebration of our newest members. For this service, all are invited to be in The Commons for the whole service, though the nursery and the preschool classrooms will be opened and staffed for our youngest children.

Patricia Polacco appears at the 2012 Library of Congress National Book Festival. For captions, transcript, and more information visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=5772.