Podcasts about write about

An Ohio Mayor has demanded five school board members resign or face possible criminal charges over course material a judge labeled as “child pornography.” Angela Donadio reports that Craig Schubert addressed the school board after several high school parents brought complaints about the content of writing prompts contained in a book called 642 Things to Write About that was provided to high school students who are taking a college credit course called Writing in the Liberal Arts II." For more details on this subject  check out  https://www.charismanews.com/us/86751-child-pornography-in-classroom-stuns-mayor-parents

This week, I've got no guest, it's a solo cast. I'm going to be talking to you about building a blog that provides real value.   The Importance of having a blog? I want to dive into the importance of writing a blog. I mean, what is a blog at the end of the day? What I want to share is that a blog is literally fuel for the search engine fire. It's giving you more content to share on social media, it's providing and proving your expertise. Studies have indicated that businesses that are actively blogging acquire more customers because they have a stronger brand presence online. It ultimately allows you to level the playing field and helps you to get to know your target audience and it helps your target audience to get to know you.    The Keystone Click Blog:   I look at our Google Analytics, I often will break it up into the different segments of the site and figure out what kind of elements of our site are driving the most traffic. Historically, there is a blog post that continues to show up as one of the top-visited pages on our website. Now, what's fascinating is that this post was written in 2014. So this blog post was written by one of my team members. It likely took her maybe about three hours, that's on average, what we budget per blog post, to do a little research and writes and then published it, and now today, it still drives traffic to our site.   What Should you Write About?   First and foremost, start with the top questions that are asked of you, from your customer base when you're in that discovery phase when you're getting to know someone from a networking standpoint, even established clients that you have. Anytime someone is asking you a question, just write it down. Do that exercise for a week and it will give you a ton of ideas for what to write about. The reason you want to do this is that oftentimes, questions are what is being entered into search engines, people often are searching a question to find an answer or solution. So if you're writing questions, or answering questions as a form of your blog content, is going to help elevate your opportunity to be found in the search engines.   Conducting Interviews:   It's no different than a podcast but you could do a written interview, like if you were interviewing someone for a written publication of sorts. The beauty of doing this is one it gives you a lot of content that you don't need to really polish up because you can simply transcribe the conversation. Also if you have a guest that you are interviewing or you're highlighting someone else's expertise, they're likely going to share that content with their audience, which extends the reach of your blog, on your site.   The 80-20 Rule:   80% of the content that you create should be considered evergreen content. What that means is, it is a value to your audience today and tomorrow, and it was valuable yesterday. So it has a longer shelf life. Referencing that blog post that I talked about when I opened up, it was written in 2014, it is still relevant content today, therefore it is still providing value, it is still bringing visitors to our website. So identifying information, that is your expertise that will work for a long time, as opposed to saying, "Hey, we've got a special going on that ends on Friday," that is considered time-sensitive content.   Leveraging your Team and Partners:   If it's more than just you or even if you have resources, partners that you work with, they all have different areas of expertise. Ask them what types of questions they're being asked, and understand their expertise a little bit. Maybe you take the approach of answering the questions that are being asked, but taking the interview approach and interviewing your team and partners to get the solid answers   Identify what your Core Offering is:   Identify what your core offering is, and then make a list of the eight types of questions that people could potentially ask related to that offering. So, for example, we offer website design services, website design, and development. So that would be my core offering that I'd put here and then I'm going to look at the who question. Who am I going to be working with? Who's my main point of contact? Who's actually designing the site? Who on my team needs to be involved in this project? Then you look at the what questions. What kind of features am I going to have on my website? What kind of training Am I going to get with my website? What kind of materials do you need from me? Then look at the why questions. Why should we use WordPress content management system? Why should we have our site on Squarespace? Why should I renew my domain name for 10 years? Next up are the when questions. When is my site can be done? When do you need me to learn to sign off on things? Then come the where questions. We'll look at how questions. How do I make edits to my sites? How do I know that the site is safe and secure? Next up are the which questions. Which image is going to be better? Which color palettes? Which fines should I be using? Which content management system should I have? Which hosting provider? Then the last question is a yes or no question. So you identify that core offering product service, whatever it is, you look at the eight questions types of questions, then you just kind of brainstorm and map out what types of questions that people ask related to this offering. Every one of those 8 questions could be made into a blog post.    5 Best Practices:   Easy to Read: When you're looking at a blog or an article, it needs to include visual components that are going to help relay your message and break up the heaviness of the text. Bulleted or numbered lists, images, larger fonts to break up segments, and embedded videos are all great ways to improve the readability of a blog.  Evaluate the Strength of your Title: What you want is to make sure that it's easy for the reader to know what it is that they are clicking on. You don't want to write the blog title to be “Read our Blog,” or anything along those lines. At the end of the day, people decide to click on something because it's connecting with them on an intellectual or emotional level. A great tool to determine the strength of your blog title is the Google Headline Analyzer which will analyze the emotional marketing value of the words that are used in your title, which will give a score to that strength related to the intellectual or emotional strength. Target More Words: A best practice that we really strive for is a minimum of 800 words. You want to use words that are going to connect with your audience which means not using heavy industry jargon. Most importantly, you need to know what your audience is searching for and that's where understanding your keywords is going to be beneficial. Optimize your Posts: Your keywords should live in your title, in the body content, in the URL, in the alt tags or meta description tags, and in any links that you have embedded in your site.  Be Consistent: You have to have a plan and consistently publish content in order to maximize that exposure and maintain the trust with your audience.   Have any questions about blogging? Reach out and I’d be happy to help!   Email: lori@socialcapital.com    Join our Facebook Group: Social Capital - A Community of Trust, Reciprocity, and Relationships   Facebook Page: Social Capital with Lori Highby

90 Day Known Expert Week 2. Day 13: What to Write About.   Episode Resources Connect with Mike Whelan https://www.lawyerforward.com/ https://www.lawyerforward.com/support-for-known-experts/

How to Start an Ecommerce Blog - 5 Pro Tips I've written Content for Brands and Ecommerce Stores + I've Developed a Lot of Ecommerce Stores Myself, and These Tips are very helpful for Any New Ecommerce Website and For Bloggers too. From my 2 Years of Experience in Content Writing, I've Learnt a lot about Brands, Customers/Reader Psychology and How to Grab their Attention and Create User-generated Content. Check My Personal Sample Reference Blog - https://basketballtrial.wordpress.com/ 5 Pro Tips for Starting an E-Commerce Blog — 1. Write About your Customer's Wants / Needs (Including their Problems too) 2. Keyword Research (Use Tools Mentioned in this Episode) 3. Storytelling (Add An Emotions) 4. Give your Blog a Personal Touch (UGC) 5. Email Marketing Implement these Simple but Effective Techniques in your Blog Articles and See the Results yourself. My Fiverr Profile - http://bit.ly/dhavalfiverr Black is Pride Clothing Store - https://bit.ly/blackispride Halloween Special Clothing Store - https://bit.ly/spooktoberisback --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/behindthebrains/message

In this episode, Liz, Nicole, and a special guest talk about blogging in the classroom. They go through a top ten list of reasons to try blogging with your students, plus they give recommendations, tips, and more! Mentioned in this episode/resources: 1. Accompanying slides2. Classroom Flex - Toni Rose's blog! 3. Nicole's blog4. 100 Word Challenge5. Edublogs Student Blogging Challenge6. Edublogs Bloggins with Students Course7. Kidblog8. Seesaw9. Write About

Episode #216 is up- This week Matt sits down with Nick Canuel to talk about his new CD “A Look at a Fool”. Recorded at Jersey Lilly Saloon in Prescott & brought to you by  Big Daddy E's BBQ in Chino Valley- The best BBQ in the State- Hands Down! Also sponsored by The Mile High Comedy Theater, performing at the Prescott Elks Theater on Oct 5, featuring stand up comedy by Kevin Rose, and Alvarez Tire in Chino Valley- just because they gave us a FANTASTIC deal on tires for our mobile studio. We are pleased to announce Our New Partnership with BarkBox- Delivering 4 to 6 natural treats and super fun toys built around a surprise theme each month. Use our LINK or go to getbarkbox.com/milehigh and get a FREE MONTH of treats! The Mile High Show is brought to you by Amazon- use the Mile High Show link to do all of your online shopping & also support the show, and Audible.com – use the code MILEHIGH  at check out for your FREE audio download & FREE 30-day subscription- Code MILEHIGH for FREE STUFF! Intro/Outro music is “Somebody to Write About” from Nick's new CD “A Look at a Fool”.

Gen and Jette talk about journalling daily and why it is important for writers. Show Notes: Journals/Diaries we've read - David Sedaris, Sylvia Plath, Guy Maddin, Jedidiah Jenkins, Patti Smith, Joan Didion, Travis Barker. Moleskines are life. Boston is a great city for notebooks (Trident Booksellers, Harvard Bookstore) Did you hear Gen being wistful about notebooks? #ywadedicate What is a cracker? No really... 642 Things to Write About

Paul Shirley played professional basketball for eight years for such teams as the Atlanta Hawks and the UNICS of Kazan, Russia. He is also the author of two memoirs, 'Can I Keep My Jersey?', which chronicles his years on the court, and 'Stories I Tell On Dates', which chronicles his life on the court of love. The latter is now a hilarious new podcast of the same name. On this episode of Write About, Paul talks about what basketball taught him about writing. He also tells some classic stories about dodging bottle rockets on a Greek basketball court and enduring his mother's sex-ed classes at his middle school. 

John Milton (1608 - 1674) was a revolutionary, a republican, an iconoclast, a reformer, and a brilliant polemicist, who fearlessly took on both church and king. And he ranks among the greatest poets of all time, a peer of Shakespeare and Homer. Philip Pullman, the author who named his trilogy (His Dark Materials) after a Miltonic phrase, said, “No one, not even Shakespeare, surpasses him in his command of the sound, the music, the weight and taste and texture of English words.” In this episode of the History of Literature, we look at the life and works of one of the seventeenth-century's greatest individuals. For more on Satan as a runaway character in Milton's masterpiece Paradise Lost, try Episode 132 - Top 10 Literary Villains. We covered the OG blind bard Homer all the way back in Episode 3 - Homer. For another seventeenth-century writer (who isn't Shakespeare), try Episode 91 In Which John Donne Decides to Write About a Flea.  Support the show at patreon.com/literature. Find out more at historyofliterature.com, jackewilson.com, or by following Jacke and Mike on Twitter at @thejackewilson and @literatureSC. Or send an email to jackewilsonauthor@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“This isn’t about what I want to say or what I think, the song has to be about what people want to hear”   In Episode 74, John Chisum sits down with veteran songwriter, Sue C. Smith. Sue has written 15 #1 songs, including "Mourning Into Dancing" (The Bowlings) in March 2017, and "I Choose Christ" (Karen Peck and New River) in July 2017.  In 2017 she was named Absolutely Gospel Music Songwriter of the Year. She is deeply involved in writing music for the church and for church choirs, having written over 80 musicals which are presented in churches around the world.   “As a songwriter, you have to have the courage to persist with an idea until you find the person that God wants you to write it with”   Sue is a five-time Dove award winning songwriter who has had cuts by Avalon, Jason Crabb, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Crabb Family, Sandi Patty, Guy Penrod, Travis Cottrell, Mark Harris, Larnelle Harris, Steve Green, Janet Paschal, Pure NRG, Triumphant Quartet, Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, Brian Free and Assurance, The Hoppers, and many others. Sue shares her insight into the process of songwriting and gives practical tips that will help you become the songwriter you were always meant to be.   “If we’re going to worship God for all of eternity, we’re going to be writing new songs to sing, so there will be new things to say and new ways to say it”   She and her late husband, John, founded The Write About Jesus Workshop in 2000 and have hosted it each year since then. The workshop has been the launch pad for the songwriting of dozens of fresh voices in Christian music. Write About jesus is also actively engaged in encouraging and training songwriters around the world, and Sue has made visits to Myanmar, India and Uganda in that effort.   To find out more about Sue, visit www.suecsmithsongwriter.com and www.writeaboutjesus.com   Also, here’s a link to the Youtube Video that John mentions in the episode of a song written at the “Write About Jesus” Conference by two 12 year old boys - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojdzjsF37FI   Some topics we talk about in this episode:   Introduction // Sue C. Smith - 2:10 Sue’s Journey Into Songwriting - 10:08 15 Number One Songs and 93 Musicals - 18:22 The Challenge of Writing a “New” Idea - 22:24 The Vulnerability and Benefits of Co-Writing - 25:02 Bettering Your Craft As a Songwriter - 32:15 Utilizing the Power of Language in Your Songwriting - 43:15 How Sue Approaches the Process of Songwring - 51:22 Wrap Up - 61:15 How to get involved Join the Successful Christian Songwriters Group on Facebook and continue the discussion! https://www.facebook.com/groups/SuccessfulChristianSongwriters/ Check out all of the resources for you to become the songwriter you were meant to be at www.nashvillechristiansongwriters.com   If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a quick review on iTunes. It would mean the world to hear your feedback and we’d love for you to help us spread the word!

Some of these books are old favorites, some are new, some of actual books, and others are digital. Some we have read and a few we are planning to read. 1. Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Year by Tavis Smiley and David Ritz 2. My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire by Maurice White and Herb Powell 3. Herbie Hancock: Possibilities by Herbie Hancock and Lisa Dickey 4. Bird By Bird by Anne Lamonte 5. I Would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became an Icon by Toure 6. Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares 7. The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp and Mark Reiter 8. The Collaborative Habit: Life Lessons for Working Together by Twyla Tharp and Jesse Kornbluth 9. Making Michael: Inside the Career ofMichael Jackson by Mike Smallcombe 10. Life is a Verb by Patti Digh 11. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson  12. The Forward Book of Poetry (2003) 13. 642 Things to Write About by The San Francisco Writers’ Grotto 14. 1 Page at a Time by Adam J. Kurtz 15. 1001 Ideas to Create Retail Excitement by Edgar A. Falk 16. Evolving Bassist by Rufus Reid Who did we miss? If you disagree with our lists, let us know who and why. If you have a book that you think we should read, be sure to drop it into the comments. *WORN: Chuck Taylor sneakers: http://amzn.to/2urZ9At NASA T-shirt: http://amzn.to/2wLyISO EQUIPMENT USED: Shure Microphones: http://amzn.to/2fuHmBW Canon T6i: http://amzn.to/2fvC20X GoPro Hero 5: http://amzn.to/2hMmHd8 Adobe Premiere Elements: http://amzn.to/2vIxz1r Neewer Ring Light: http://amzn.to/2vIaEU7 Sonus Speaker System: http://amzn.to/2vI4WBG *There are affiliate links in this list. If you make a purchase using the link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale at no cost to you. To see the entire blog post, click here: https://goo.gl/RB648y To listen to the podcast, click here: https://goo.gl/FPT4VC *WORN: • Chuck Taylor sneakers: http://amzn.to/2urZ9At • Oppo Suit http://amzn.to/2xNy5Nw EQUIPMENT USED: • Shure Microphones: http://amzn.to/2fuHmBW • Canon T6i: http://amzn.to/2fvC20X • GoPro Hero 5: http://amzn.to/2hMmHd8 • Adobe Premiere Elements: http://amzn.to/2vIxz1r • Neewer Ring Light: http://amzn.to/2vIaEU7 • Sonus Speaker System: http://amzn.to/2vI4WBG • Fodera Bass *There are affiliate links in this list. If you make a purchase using the link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale at no cost to you. MORE: • Music is from PMG Cool and Quirky Custom Music: https://goo.gl/v3WrHK MORE: Gearfest 2017: • Video at https://youtu.be/rtqZWUbdc68 • Blog at https://goo.gl/uaWCcM YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/EzSkVn Oh, and dude, don't neglect your muse! Subscribe: http://www.bloomingprejippie.com/subscribe

Intro Hi everyone and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect kids between 8-12 to books they will love. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of two and a teacher of 23. And last weekend, I had the huge pleasure of meeting and having lunch with Amy Skelding from the KidLit Drink Night Podcast! We had apple cider martinis and spent hours chatting about Parks & Rec and Harry Potter and Wegmans and everything we’ve been reading and everything we want to read. So if you haven’t yet had the chance to check out her show, Alan Gratz - the author of Refugee and Ban This Book, is her most recent guest and he is just phenomenal. So make sure you subscribe to Kid Lit Drink Night. This is Episode #37 and today I am welcoming author Orli Zuravicky to the show to chat about her paranormal middle grade series Happily Ever After, and then I am sharing with you three new books about the power and perils of friendship. Before we start today’s interview, I am excited to tell you that this month’s episodes are sponsored by WriteAbout.com - a writing community and digital platform that is perfect for classrooms.  And their school platform can connect every child in your school to build that community of writers. Write About for Schools makes it really easy for kids to read and respond to each other’s published writing.  So, if you or someone you know is looking for a way to bring your school together by celebrating student authors, definitely check out WriteAbout.com. And at the end of the show, I’ll share with you the fall themed creative writing that my students are writing about. Main Topic - A Conversation with Orli Zuravichy Today I am so happy to welcome Orli Zuravicky to the podcast. She is a senior editor at Scholastic and the author of several books including the recently published middle grade series Happily Ever Afterlife. Take a listen. Happily Ever After Series Your new middle grade series Happily Ever Afterlife was released last year and now has two new books coming out this fall. For those listening who aren’t familiar with the series, can you tell us a bit about it?   One of the reasons that I love paranormal stories is that phase of figuring out the rules of the world the story is set in. For example, there is no interaction between the ghost world and the previous world, once someone becomes a ghost, they stay that age forever…. How did you decide on the parameters of the afterlife in this book? With a book that is essentially about a middle school girl dying, it could have gone very dark. But it’s an upbeat and fun read. How did you strike that balance to avoid having the story be too morbid? What is next for Lucy and the others students at Limbo Central Middle School?   Scholastic So you work at Scholastic! What do you do there? What is your day like? So I follow you on Instagram - which I recommend everyone do - and I have a couple questions: What amazing polish do you have on your nails right now?   I notice you have a lot of Parks & Rec references on there - Who is your favorite character?   Your Writing Life You previously wrote a couple of board books.. What made you decide to try a paranormal middle grade? Right now my 5th graders have been working on writing narratives - personal narratives and stories. What is one piece of advice you would give them about how to make their stories come alive?   What are you working on now? Your Reading Life What were some of your favorite books as a child? What have you been reading lately that you’ve liked?   Thank You!   Episode Links: Orli Zurvicky’s website Books We Chatted About: Lyle, Lyle Crocodile by Bernard Waber Corduroy by Don Freeman Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans Eloise by Kay Thompson & Hilary Knight The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace Baby-Sitters Club Series Sweet Valley High Series Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood The Diary of Anne Frank Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds   Book Talk - Three Novels about the Power and Perils of Friendship In this section of the show, I share with you three books centered around a theme and discuss three things to love about each book. This week I am featuring three books about the power and perils of friendship. They are Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker by Shelley Johannes, Brave by Svetlana Chmakova, and Real Friends by Shannon Hale.   Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker   Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker is the first in a new series by debut author Shelley Johannes. It’s about a unique middle child who climbs out of every box imposed on her, loves the word WOW, and has a knack for seeing the positive possibilities in any situation.  Beatrice has big plans for her first day of 3rd grade, but…. those plans get derailed when her best friend Lenny shows up to school NOT wearing the black ninja outfit to match Beatrice’s AND with a new friend, Chloe. Suddenly, Lenny seems less interested in their top-secret playground mission and more interested in sparkly clothes and playing veterinarian with her cool new friend.  Here are three things to love about Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker: The playful language!  Johannes really gets the tone right here.  There’s light touches of rhyme and alliteration and it’s just fun to read!  Here’s a bit from the beginning to give you a taste:  “Beatrice Zinker always did her best thinking upside down. It worked like magic, and she never questioned it. It worked like poof. It worked like presto. It worked like shazam - on every problem, every pickle, and each and every jam.” The illustrations!  I just love the movement and the shapes and the orange tints throughout. There’s long-legged Beatrice suspending from trees, her strict triangular teacher, Mrs. Tamarack and cute wide-stanced Lenny. There are pictures on just about every page! Beatrice’s attitude!  When we first learn of her super secret spying mission, it’s not entirely clear what her plans are.  But, the way that plays out and how that ties in with the situation with the new girl, Chloe… I don’t want to say too much and spoil it for you, but…I love it! And I think you and your students will, too.   This book about an upside down zany girl who has a knack for seeing the upside in everything would be a great read aloud and perfect for kids in about grades 2-5.   Brave   Another new book touching on the themes of fraught friendships is Brave by Svetlana Chmakova. This graphic novel is set in the same universe at Chmakova’s debut middle grade graphic novel Awkward, but this novel focuses on the character Jensen. In his daydreams, Jensen is a swashbuckling hero with dreams of becoming an astronaut or saving his schoolmates from the zombie apocalypse! But, in real life, he’s having a tough time in middle school - math class is hard, his art club friends seem to be ditching him, and he’s being harassed by two boys at school. Here are three reasons to love Brave:   The diversity of characters! Throughout the pages there is a huge range of skin tones and hairstyles. One of the trio of friends who run the school newspaper, Akilah, wears a hijab. She is absolutely my favorite character aside from Jensen. (And I really hope she gets her own book someday!) She’s bold and wants to be a voice for justice. And she also handles her friend and vlog co-host, Jenny, very well. Jenny can be, umm… a little intense. I also love the diversity of body types all throughout. Our main guy, Jensen, is overweight and some of the bullies call him cruel names because of that. Or rather - I should say - because they’re jerks and the insults just reference that. And I love how the story is not about Jensen wanting to lose weight to attempt to fit in. And characters that you think are going to fill a stereotype surprise you! Like Jorge - Jensen’s partner in English class who at first glance, seems like a big jock who just wants to do a project on baseball. But the sports part is actually not what he wants to focus on! The depth in the minor characters in this book are really remarkable. How this book really sheds light on the fact that friends can be some of the biggest harassers! And I think the author does a deft job of helping readers reflect on bullying through the survey Jensen takes as part of the social studies project Jenny is working on called The Lizard Brain Culture in Middle School. In a very accessible way, it brings forth ideas like normalized behavior and in our society where cultural norms and gender norms and political norms are changing quickly, I think the reflecting that happens in this book is a good thing. The small thread in this book about the dress code. At one point, Felicity gets suspended for wearing a skirt deemed too short. So, the school is in an uproar and they put together a petition to get her back. Personally, I loved that several of the teachers were just as upset and used the opportunity to have their class discuss it and discuss the long history of controlling what women wear.   Brave  warms your heart, makes you laugh, and gets you thinking about what you want to see in the world. The call-backs to the first book, Awkward, are fun if you’ve read it, but kids absolutely don’t have to have read Awkward at all to enjoy this book. If you have a child who loves to draw or one who has trouble finding that group to fit into or a child who has been a target of bullies, Brave would be a perfect story to share with them. And - I just saw the other day that the third book will be out next fall. It features Jorge and is called Crush. Can’t wait for that one! Real Friends And finally - THE hot graphic novel read of this summer (the one that my daughter was up half the night reading with her flashlight) was the autobiographical novel Real Friends written by Shannon Hale with artwork by LeUyen Pham. This book tells the story of young elementary school Shannon as she struggles to break out of her middle child loneliness and make good friends at school and at home. This book is about the power of friendship - in both a positive and a negative way.  Here are three things to love about Real Friends: How Shannon Hale understands those seemingly small but socially HUGE details that happen in the lives of friends. Such as who sits next to who at lunch, who gets invited to whose house, the intentional but unseen by teachers jabs in gym class, the ranking, and the lying… ugh… After Shannon’s first Kindergarten friend Adrienne moves and then comes back, she gets attached to what’s called The Group - these popular girls lead by Jen and her friend Jennifer.  Adrienne is clearly IN, but Shannon is sometimes OUT.   How this book is not just about Shannon learning how to make good friends, but also about her learning how to BE a good friend. Early on after her first real friend Adrienne, moves away, she makes friends with Tammy. A girl that I think is in foster care and there’s hints about how challenging her life is. Tammy joins Shannon’s class and they become friends but Tammy is FAR more attached to Shannon while Shannon is still pining for Adrienne and is cold to her and makes her feel bad when they say good-bye for that last time. I appreciated that this book was honest with her own mistakes. And when I was finished reading, I wondered a lot about Tammy. The Wendy section. The final chapter is about Shannon’s older sister Wendy who can be amazing but who also has this incredible mean streak - hitting and scaring and forced tickling. Shannon feels like there’s this wild bear unleashed in their home that no one else sees. And that doesn’t exactly change but evolves in a way that I think a lot of children can relate to who have complicated relationships with their siblings. That piece of the story reminded me a lot of Swing It, Sunny so if you have fans of that book, this would be another great title to have them check out.   So if you are looking for some great new books to introduce to your readers that have the universal and timeless theme of friendship absolutely check out Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker, Brave, and Real Friends.   Closing Alright  - that wraps up our show this week. We have some great interviews and book talks coming up this fall on topics like the Anne of Green Gables graphic novel and the timeless appeal of The Baby-Sitters Club. And our Q&A section will be back next episode! Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews, and a transcript of all the other parts of this show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com.  And, if you like the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher. And thanks again to WriteAbout.com for supporting the podcast this month - when you visit their website you’ll find fantastic ideas to get your students excited about writing. Tomorrow I am surprising my students by bringing in 6 pumpkins - one for each group. Their goal - to write a story featuring that pumpkin. It could be spooky, it could be funny and it includes my students who don’t celebrate Halloween. We’ll have some special guest judges and the winner of each group gets to keep the pumpkin.   See you in two weeks!  Bye!

Intro Hi and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect kids between 8-12 to books they will love. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of two daughters and a 5th grade teacher in Central New York. My goal is to help you find fabulous books for your kids and help create a community where we all can support each other as we build those readers. This is Episode #36 and today is all about graphic novels! Before we start the show today, I am excited to tell you that this month’s episodes are sponsored by WriteAbout.com - a writing community and digital platform that is tailor made for students of all ages.  Their school platform can connect all your classrooms for shared writing topics. So if your school is like mine and has certain themes for each week, Write About for Schools makes it really easy for every class to read and respond to each other’s published writing.  So, if you or someone you know is looking for a way to bring your school together by celebrating student authors, definitely check out WriteAbout.com. And at the end of the show, I’ll share with you what my class plans to write about this week. Main Topic - CYBILS Before we jump into the book talks for the show - a little bit of news. I am so excited to be a round one judge for the CYBILS this year in the graphic novels category, so I am taking a deep dive into as many middle grade graphic novels published in the last year as I can get my hands on. Phew! So if you are not familiar, the CYBILS are the Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards.  This award started in 2006 and aims to recognize the children’s and young adult authors and illustrators whose books combine the highest literary merit and popular appeal. There are about a dozen categories and subcategories within Picture Books to Middle Grade to Young Adult.  Nominations take place from October 1st - October 15th so you still have time to go to cybils.com and nominate your favorite books. Finalists in each category are announced on January 1st and winners are revealed on February 14th. So be on the lookout for those. Last year’s middle grade winners included Ghost by Jason Reynolds, The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary by Laura Shovan, Shadow Magic by Joshua Khan, and Lowriders to the Center of the Earth, Book 2 by Cathy Camper and Raul the Third. So, some pretty fabulous choices. I’ve been following the CYBILS for a long time and using their lists as a resource, but this is my first time participating as a judge, and I’m honored to be working alongside a great team, including our very own Mel Shuit from All the Wonders! So, in other words, expect to be hearing a lot more about the great graphic novels of the past year. Starting…. now. Book Talk - Three Fresh New Graphic Novels In this section of the show, I share with you three books centered around a theme and discuss three things to love about each book. This week - as promised - it’s all about graphic novels! And since my aim is to keep you up to date on what’s new and fresh and really good in the world of middle grade, here are three new graphic novels to introduce to your readers.  They are Swing It, Sunny by Jennifer & Matthew Holm, Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson, and All’s Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson. Swing It, Sunny First up is Swing It, Sunny - the much-awaited sequel to Jennifer & Matthew Holm’s Sunny, Side Up. This book picks up with Sunny’s life in September 1976 - right after the summer she spent with her grandfather down in Florida in the first book. This story is all about Sunny’s life back at home, her complicated feelings about her brother Dale, who is now in boarding school, and the challenges of middle school. Here are three things to love about Swing It, Sunny: Seasonal Slice of Life stories. Unlike the first book which was set just in the summer, here we have Sunny starting school, getting fall allergies, reluctantly dressing up as nurse for Halloween, making loom potholders for Christmas gifts…. And small but poignant moments of that year in her life. My 10 year old was wishing for bigger events with a stronger resolution at the end. And for that reason she said she prefered the first book. But, personally, I liked the rhythm and pacing of this book with small moments told over the course of a year. How it explores a complicated relationship between siblings, and the impact that has on the rest of the family. After her older brother, Dale, ends up in a military boarding school for doing drugs and getting into big trouble - at one point Sunny says to her mom, “I miss him. But I don’t miss what it’s like when he’s here.” And I think a lot of kids - in some way or other - can connect to that. I LOVED all the 1970s details!!  I will out my age here and say that I was born in November 1976, a bicentennial baby, so this book felt like stepping back into the avocado green and rust brown and orangey yellow shades of my childhood. When having a TV dinner (cooked in the oven by the way!) was cause for excitement. I’m sure that qualifies this book for “Historical Fiction” status, and kids are obviously not going to have that nostalgic feeling that I had, but I loved all the TV shows referenced - Six Million Dollar Man and Gilligan’s Island and The Brady Bunch and General Hospital… there are so many tiny little details from the antennas on the tvs to the Jiffy Pop pan, to the vintage Golden Grahams cereal box…  Ahhhh….. There’s so much more. But I’ll let you discover all of it. Swing It Sunny is absolutely a must-have graphic novel for kids 8-12.  And they don’t have to have read Sunny, Side Up to enjoy this one, but if you have the first book on hand, I’d recommend starting there so you have the background about what happened the summer before. Invisible Emmie Another great new book is Invisible Emmie by debut author Terri Libenson. This book tells the story of the quiet, un-noticed, hero-in-waiting Emmie Douglass who is trying to deal with the challenges of seventh grade. Things like finding time to go to the bathroom between classes, the awkwardness of changing for PE class, not having a cell phone and feeling left out of things, and…. being completely embarrassed in front of your crush.  Here are three reasons to love Invisible Emmie:   How relatable Emmie is - especially for girls! From the frustration with your curly hair to that anger at yourself for not speaking up in your own defense. I think most girls (and boys!) feel that pressure of fitting in and comparing yourself to your peers, your friends, and to that perfect version of yourself that you wish you were. How this book alternates between the main narrative of Emmie and the story of Katie. And I loved how Emmie’s parts are text with lots of illustrations in softer blues, and tans, and mauves. And the sections from Katie’s point of view are a more traditional graphic novel format with panels and done in brighter yellows and pinks and greens. The blend of those two styles is really well done. How Emmie’s and Katie’s stories come together in the end! As I was reading, I kept theorizing how they were going to connect, and then I started to notice some of the same characters show up in both sections.  That ending and the message of that ending was powerful. Loved it! Terri Libenson’s  Invisible Emmie is funny, heartfelt, and great for kids who love books like Raina Telgemeier’s Drama or Bubbles by Abby Cooper. And I can’t wait to see what this author does next! All’s Faire in Middle School Our final graphic novel is one that my students and I have been anticipating for a long time - and oh was it worth that wait!. It’s All’s Faire in Middle School - by Victoria Jamieson. You might know Ms. Jamieson from her incredible Newbery Honor book - Roller Girl.  This novel is about Imogene - an eleven-year-old girl who has grown up and been schooled at the Florida Renaissance Festival where her father works as a knight and she helps her mother run their family’s arts and crafts store. But - this year two things are changing. One - she starts her training as a squire, which mean more responsibility at the faire. And two - she’s going to public school for the first time and starting middle school. I loved this book so much I am completely breaking my rule of three things. So, here are six things to love about All’s Faire in Middle School: The behind-the-scenes look at the renaissance festival. The jousting, the human chess game, the mud pit, the juggling, and the sword play.   And how Imogene is taught by the other actors to do what’s called “street” -  how to walk and talk and pull visitors into the fun as though they were all REALLY living in a Renaissance village filled with colorful characters. The Elizabethan flavored talk at the fair is so much fun to read. Here, let me give you a sample for you.. This is from page 27. This is when Cussy, an actor who plays a hermit, is teaching Imogene how to interact with the shopkeepers as she walks around the faire. “Good Morrow, and well met, baker! Prithee, hast thou any fresh loaves this morning?” The gorgeous chapter introductions that are in the style of an illuminated manuscript. They are so beautiful!   How this is a story about a family that is poor. Imogene is always a bit torn between her pride in her Ren Faire lifestyle and embarrassment that her family is picking her up in a beat-up old car. Or that she gets dropped of at the shabby apartment complex. Or that they can’t really afford those cool shoes and jeans that would help her blend in more at school. Yeah - relatable. For many many kids. The nuanced struggles and mistakes that Imogene deals with in middle school and at home. She makes BIG mistakes. At one point she harnesses her talent of drawing to be cruel in order to make others laugh. And has to deal with how much she hurt people.  At point she lies to her parents about school work, and gets in huge trouble.  And then - she does something so mean to her little brother that overcoming that one rash act is going to take a lot. But, you know - I see sibling conflict and peer conflict up close every day. And Jamieson gets it right. The small thread about the romance novel. There’s a scene where Imogene and her new friends sneak read part of a romance novel and later she writes the word sex in her journal and then quickly crosses it out. The words from the novel aren’t explicit at all but the context of that thread is so relatable for a lot of preteen and teenaged kids. That impulse to want to know more and yet not feeling really ready for that is handled so well here with a light touch that I’d say would probably be appropriate for most kids in grades 5 and above.   Honestly, I could go on and on about all the reasons I loved All’s Faire in Middle School but instead I think that time would be better spent having YOU just go get it and read it and put it into the hands of kids who are going to love it. And if you ever have the chance to go to a Renaissance Festival - please do it!!  My family always attends the Sterling Renaissance Festival in northern New York, and it is such a blast. We get our hair braided, enjoy a giant turkey leg, and just have fun transporting yourself to another era.  And make sure you check out Matthew Winner’s interview with Victoria Jamieson on episode 386 of the All the Wonders podcast where they talk about All’s Faire and her inspirations for this story. It’s so good! Closing Okay - that wraps up our show this week. We have some great interviews and book talks coming up this fall.  I’ll also be chatting about flexible seating, Shelley Johannes’ Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker, Shannon Hale’s Real Friends - and of course - even more great new graphic novels. Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get find a transcript of this show and all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com.  And, if you like the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher. And thanks again to WriteAbout.com for supporting the podcast this month - when you visit their website you’ll find fantastic ideas to get your students excited about writing. My school is doing the Positivity Project this year where each week we focus on one character strength. So my students will be writing about how they and others show Perspective. See you in two weeks!  Bye!

Your time is extremely valuable. Every minute you spend writing should be as profitable as possible. Don't waste time writing on the wrong topic. You can give your audience EXACTLY what they want....The post SNM153: Find the Perfect Topic to Write About appeared first on Serve No Master.

Kelly interviews John Spencer the author of Launch: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student. John is the co-author of Launch with A.J. Juliani. John Spencer is a former middle school journalism and computer-programming teacher who is now a full-time professor of instructional technology in Oregon. He is passionate about seeing students embrace creativity and design thinking. His work has been featured in Kappan Magazine, Edutopia, Slate, and The Washington Post and he had the honor of delivering a speech at the White House on the future of education. Spencer is the co-author of several education books, including Launch: Using the Design Thinking Process to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student. He is also the co-founder of two educational technology startups, Write About and Blend Education. Mentioned in this podcast: • John's book: Launch: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student • John's new book with A.J. Juliani: Empower.  • John's website: http://www.spencerauthor.com • John's most influential read: Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull. • John's Startups: Write About and Blend Education. • Seth Godin's Linchpin • Voxer: cool communication app for the iPhone.  • Trello: cool app to organize ideas and projects.  • Miracles by C.S. Lewis • Global Read About  

Note: you can listen to this episode above or load it up in iTunes. We Answer Your Questions About How to Create Great Blog Content Today's episode is all about answering your questions about how to create great content for your blog. Don't be shy about asking us questions in the comments below! Your question could be featured next time. So Many Questions That Answers My School by Alice Zed on 500px In This Episode You can listen to today's episode above or in iTunes or Stitcher (where we'd also LOVE to get your reviews on those platforms if you have a moment). Today we answer these listener questions: Should I share personal posts on my business blog? How often should I be posting on my blog? How do you develop compelling content? What days of week/time of day are best to post? How did you come to have the great writing skills that you use to blog? Did you ever get any formal training? What have been your most effective techniques for engaging readers? What types of posts have generated lots of authentic comments from your readers? Where do you get your ideas for content? Do you have any techniques/tips to share? Further Reading and Resources for Creating Great Blog Content How Many Posts Should a Blogger Post? [Pros and Cons of Daily Posting] How I Generated Over 6000 Ideas to Write About on My Blog in 15 Minutes Full Transcript Expand to view full transcript Compress to smaller transcript view Hi. This is Darren from ProBlogger. Welcome to episode 41 of the ProBlogger Podcast where today, we're going to do something a little different. I'm going to answer some questions I asked on our Facebook page at facebook.com/problogger a few days ago for people to submit questions that they'd like me to answer on today's show. I had quite a few questions submitted but also had a number of people email me questions as well. I want to tackle some of those today, particularly, questions around content. There were quite a few questions on other areas that I'll tackle on the future show, but today, I want to focus on the content creation side of blogging. You can find today's show notes where I'll include some further reading on each of the questions where I can find it at problogger.com/podcast/41. Today's first question comes from Stephanie Hammond from the Motherhood and Sex blog. I haven't checked that one out yet—it sounds interesting—but the question Stephanie asked is, "How often should I be posting on my blog?" There's no one answer to this. Really, it will depend upon your situation, the topic that you have, and a whole heap of other factors. There are a few things that I would say. There are certainly some pros and cons of different frequencies. Quite often I'm asked, "Should I be posting daily?" That seems to be the most common question that I get. There are definitely some benefits to doing that. Daily or even more than daily can help you get into the groove with your writing. If you're writing or posting frequently, you'll be needing to write frequently. That can help you certainly to get into that groove. I personally find that if I go away for a couple of weeks and don't post for a few weeks, I find it a little bit hard to get back into that groove. Regular posting means regular writing which is good for you as a writer. It also means that you're producing more content. Hopefully, because you're practicing more, you'll improve in your writing. I also find that more regular posting helps you with reader engagement and reader expectations. If a reader knows that every day, for instance, that there'll be something new on the blog or every weekdays—Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays—they begin to show up at those times. That can help with engagement. Also, the more you post, the more doorways you have into your blog over time. If you're posting everyday,

John Spencer is a teacher in Phoenix, Arizona. He is also the cofounder of Write About and the author of the popular book of Wendel the World’s Worst Wizard.