What makes a story interesting? Yes, it could be fun to read a story about a girl who spends two enjoyable weeks at summer camp, plays some archery, makes a few friends, and then goes home. But how much more interesting is it when those two weeks include a secret, two lies, a false accusation, […]
writing activity
Yes He Can! Challenging Stereotypes with Fiction
Can a boy dancer be cool? Yes he can! And yet Alex, the main character in “Standing Alone,” is teased mercilessly by his classmates because he likes to dance. They call him “ballerina,” even though he actually does contemporary dance, not ballet. They make his life miserable every chance they get. Nobody likes to be made […]
Writing Activity: using the power of analogy, with “Abigail’s Cove” by Brooke Hayes, 12
Analogy is a very powerful literary tool. It is hard to imagine what it feels like for someone else to have lots of competing thoughts in their head, but when we read this story it is easy to visualize the surf crashing against rocks and from this to understand, at the least, that Abigail has […]
