Authentic Writing Experience for May - The Great Outdoors

As we all prepare for summer, the authentic writing experience for May centers on the Great Outdoors. Summer is a time for fun, but that doesn't mean kids stop learning. Summer provides a great opportunity to build background knowledge by exploring special interests and activities through books. If families are traveling to unfamiliar locations, make a list of things to learn about and explore them at the library or search for information on the internet. 

For example, if you are camping or just happen to live in bear country, read up on bears and learn how to keep your home and campsite safe from furry intruders. Check out my decodable book, Hank the Tank: Animal in the Spotlight, and other books like Backyard Bears: Conservation, Habitat, and the Rise of Urban Wildlife by Amy Cherrix. Have kids take notes from the books on practical things the family can do to stay safe. Use that list to create a safety poster. You can also read both books and talk about comparing a story with a traditional non-fiction book. Hank the Tank contains a fictionalized story and a background section filled with non-fiction facts.

By the way, my Hank the Tank Activity Book was just named a Next Generation Indie Book Award Winner Finalist! Read about it on Last Week's Blog Post and find a free downloadable PDF full of fun activities. 

The page below is an excerpt from the Hank the Tank Activity Book that gives directions for creating an Information Poster full of Bear Tips. There are 50+ Activities in the Activity Book and connections to online games to work on everything from phonological awareness to cognitive flexibility.

Sign up for my newsletter HERE and receive a free copy of my first decodable book, No Gift for Man. Don't miss any of the fun-filled activities coming up for A Year of AWE: Authentic Writing Experiences.

Next Generation Indie Book Award Winner

My Hank the Tank Activity Book has just been named a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Awards in the category of Activity Books. The awards banquet will be June 28th in San Diego at the same time as the American Library Association (ALA) Conference. Speaking of ALA, if you happen to be attending, stop by the IBPA (Independent Book Publishers of America) Booth # 1837. The Hank the Tank Activity Book will be on display and so will the decodable book upon which it is based, Hank the Tank: Animal in the Spotlight.  Many other unique books by independent publishers will also be available. 

It's exciting that decodable books and the materials that support those resources are getting more and more attention from the larger book industry. If you'd like information about decodable books, see my web page entitled Choosing the Right Decodable Books for Your Students. I talk about what decodable books are and where to find them. For information about how to set up literacy hubs and acquire decodable books for your school or local library, visit Teach My Kid to Read. 

The Hank the Tank Activity Book (available at Amazon & Barnes and Noble) is based on Hank the Tank: Animal in the Spotlight, a decodable chapter book, available now in hardcover, paperback, audiobook, and e-book formats at  Amazon.  You can even read it for free on Kindle Unlimited if you have a membership. You may also find the hardcover and paperback versions at Barnes & Noble or you may order them from your favorite local bookstore. Read more about how to credit local bookstores with online purchases HERE. In addition, Many of the games from the Activity Book are available as digital Boom Cards. See the Hank the Tank Bundle. It includes 15 decks/games and several are FREE.

Preview the first part of the story as well as some of the activities in this FREE ACTIVITY GUIDE PDF DOWNLOAD.

Sign up for my newsletter HERE and receive a free copy of my first decodable book, No Gift for Man. Don't miss any of the fun-filled activities I'm creating for A Year of AWE: Authentic Writing Experiences.