Highlights from NCTE25

This past weekend, I served on two author panels during the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) 2025 Conference. I also had a booth in the exhibit hall, where I had the opportunity to chat with educators about decodable books and the foundational components of reading (phonological awareness, morphology, vocabulary, sentence structure, and more). More and more educators are embracing the power of Structured Literacy to create lifelong readers. 

One of the highlights of the conference was catching up with old friends and acquaintances.

The activities I presented for my two panels may be found at the links below.

During my panel for "Poetry Clubs: Reading and Writing Poetry to Promote Inclusion and Improve Writing Skills," I shared an analysis of the structure of "The Raven" along with tips for creating POE POETRY SPOOFS.  Lesley Roessing, who has a Chapter in my book Story Frames for Teaching Literacy, invited me to join the panel. Other children's authors included Jo Hackl, Landra Jennings, and Laura Shovan.

My second panel, "Threads of Possibility: Author/Educator Panel for Dream Weavers," focused on using picture books for students of all ages. I shared how to write HAIKU STORY SUMMARIES, an activity from Chapter 10 of Story Frames entitled "Poetry: Exploring the Power of Language and Story Through Verse." Other panelists included Colorado authors Beth Anderson and Jolene Gutierrez, author/illustrator Dow Phumiruk, and New Mexico author Laurel Goodluck.

The most exciting announcement at the conference was the list of 2026 Notable Children's Verse Novels. I had the chance to read Radiant by my old New Mexico friend, Vaunda Michaeux Nelson, this summer, and I highly recommend it, along with the other books on the list.

Last but not least, I just had to take the opportunity for a photo op with the Big Blue Bear outside of the Colorado Convention Center and my decodable book, Hank the Tank a chapter book about a real bear whose life was spared through DNA analysis.

In 2026, my newsletter will focus on sharing stories and activities from Story Frames for Teaching Literacy. Sign up for my newsletter HERE so you don't miss any fun freebies.

Poe Poetry Spoofs and NCTE

If you are at NCTE, check out my Friday morning poetry panel at 9:30 with Lesley Roessing, Jo Hackl, Landra Jennings, and Laura Shovan. We will be discussing using poetry clubs to promote writing skills. Below is a preview of one of my activities.  It's from my decodable book, The Raven Remix: A Mashup of Poe Titles. Try creating your own Raven-inspired spoof.

At 3:30 on Friday, I will have a session with Colorado and New Mexico Authors on "Threads of Possibility." Get details HERE. 

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.

COR - The Components of Reading and Writing - Part 7 - Creative Writing

Through our COR (Components of Reading) series, we have spent this year focusing on the building blocks of both reading and writing, starting with phonological awareness, morphology, and vocabulary, and moving on to sentence, paragraph, and story writing. These are categories found across the Activity Books I create for my Decodable Chapter Books in the HOT ROD series (Higher Order Thinking through the Reading Of Decodables). Read about HOT RODs on the website for Word Travel Press.

One of the most enjoyable activities I explore for each story are a creative writing projects based on the content of the book. Each activity is still highly structured, but it encourages students to use their imaginations. Here is a sample from each book:

The Raven Remix: A Mashup of Poe Titles. Last week's writing activity was on Writing Scary Stories. Find the activity HERE. Depending on the ages of your students, you may also enjoy reading about an Edgar Allan Poe Valentine Scandal and get tips for creating acrostic poems. Find that activity HERE.

Hank the Tank: Animal in the Spotlight is about a real bear accused of breaking into houses in Lake Tahoe. Find a description of the award-winning activity book HERE, along with a link to the mini Activity Guide that includes my Snack Attack Word Mashup writing activity.

Gods and Gifts: Three Greek Myths Retold features the Greek creation myth, including Pandora's Box. Download the FREE poetry writing PDF Activity called Pandora's Lunch Box. Learn how to write List Poems HERE.

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Haiku Story Summaries and NCTE

If you are attending the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) conference in Denver, check out my author panel entitled "Threads of Possibility." I'm honored to be presenting with Colorado authors Beth Anderson, Jolene Guitaerriez, and Dow Phumirik. Joining us from New Mexico is Laurel Goodluck. I will be sharing a poetry writing activity from my book, Story Frames for Teaching Literacy: Enhancing Student Learning through the Power of Storytelling. 

The activity is from Chapter 10: Poetry: Exploring the Power of Language and Story Through Verse. Here are two examples from the book that use poetry to create a mini-book summary.

Can you tell what these two poems have in common? 

1. They are both based on narrative non-fiction picture books that are biographies.

2. They are both haikus with a 5-7-5 syllable structure

But there is more. Each line follows a specific pattern. Use this pattern with your students to create Haiku Book Summaries.  The example below is based on Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille

Haiku Book Summary

Line 1: 5-syllable prepositional phrase

In a cold, damp school

Line 2: 7-syllable subject with adjectives out of order

Louis Braille, blind and alone

Line 3: 5-syllable verb phrase/predicate

Created a code

During the presentation, I will also share haiku based on the picture books of the other panelists. Here is one below from Beth Anderson's book, Hiding in Plain Sight: Kate Warne and the Race to Save Abraham Lincoln. This haiku is also a story summary. The book is illustrated by Sally Wern Comport and tells the story of a female detective who helped save President Lincoln from an assassination plot on his way to his inauguration. I always learn an interesting tidbit of history from Beth's books.

I will also be presenting on Friday morning at 9:30 on a panel discussing poetry clubs. Get more information HERE.

In 2026, the focus of my newsletter will be on sharing stories and activities from Story Frames. Sign up for my newsletter HERE so you don't miss any fun freebies.

COR The Components of Reading - Part 6 - Sentence Structure

We are continuing our series on COR Instruction by exploring sentence structure. I first used the icons below in my book, Story Frames for Teaching Literacy: Enhancing Student Learning through the Power of Storytelling, to help students build complex sentences through asking a series of WH-Questions. This month, I'm using these same questions for a fun fill-in-the-blank story starter.

The theme is Scary Stories. I have included a mini word matrix for the base element SPECT (as in specter). There is also a series of questions to help students build a complex sentence. To learn more about using the matrix for Structured Word Inquiry and morphology instruction, see my blog post HERE. Find the downloadable PDF for the Scary Story Starter HERE. It includes the three pages seen below.

And don't forget to check out The Raven Remix Activity Book. It is based on my decodable chapter book, The Raven Remix: A Mashup of Poe Titles. They may be found on Amazon or at my online STORE. The Activity Book contains 15 different activities for sentence construction.

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.