Are you a member of the #classroombookaday Facebook group? If not, click the link and join right now. Seriously, do it. I’ll stop and wait until you’re done. Okay, now that you have access to an amazing resource that’s going to change the way you think about and share picture books with your students, check […]
Tag Archives: Melissa Stewart
July
30
How Colby Sharp, nErDcamp, and the Nerdy Book Club Inspired a Book by Melissa Stewart
posted by CBethM
Back in 2012, I was feeling frustrated. The manuscripts I was writing received good feedback from my critique group, but editors just weren’t interested. In an effort to better understand the wide world of nonfiction children’s books and determine what kinds of manuscripts publishers would be most likely to acquire, I began thinking about ways […]
November
16
How a Makerspace Project Inspired a Book by Melissa Stewart
posted by CBethM
Back in 2018, I had a dream, and while attending a makerspace workshop led by educators Dana Kramroff and Rabecca Hester at the Keystone State Literacy Association conference in Pennsylvania, I decided to create a 3-D representation of it. What exactly was my dream? I wanted to help educators understand a critical part of […]
October
26
How Young Nonfiction Writers Can Dig Deep by Melissa Stewart
posted by CBethM
If your students’ nonfiction writing seems dull and lifeless, it’s probably because they aren’t personally invested. If your students copy their research sources even though they know plagiarism is wrong and can have severe consequences, it’s probably because they haven’t taken the time to assimilate and synthesize their research, so they can make their […]
August
03
New Resources for Teaching Nonfiction by Melissa Stewart
posted by CBethM
In July, I was lucky enough to attend nErDcampMI for the very first time. And all I can say is WowOhWowOhWowOhWow! I met so many dedicated educators and had so many great conversations that sometimes it felt like my brain was about to explode—in a good way. I’d been connected with many of these folks […]
September
12
A Tool for Teaching Text Structures and Revision by Melissa Stewart
posted by CBethM
Back in 2013, when No Monkeys, No Chocolate was published, I created this Revision Timeline. Educators love it because in just 15 minutes students can watch the videos and see for themselves how much a professional writer revises. Students can also view three rejected manuscripts and do a text-to-text comparison. What they’ll discover is […]
March
07
A Look at Expository Literature by Melissa Stewart
posted by CBethM
Let’s start with a quick activity. Make a list of five nonfiction children’s books you love. Place an N next to the books with a narrative writing style. These books tell a true story. Place an E next to the books with an expository writing style. These titles inform, describe, or explain. Look at your […]
October
28
Perfect Pairs by Melissa Stewart
posted by CBethM
After writing more than 150 science books for kids, I finally decided to try something a little different—a book for teachers that brings together science and ELA instruction. My co-author Nancy Chelsey and I worked on Perfect Pairs: Using Fiction & Nonfiction Picture Books to Teach Life Science, K-2 for three long years, writing and testing […]
The Time It Takes by Melissa Stewart
posted by CBethM
When I visit schools, kids seem stunned by how much time it takes to create a book and how many people are involved in the process. My new picture book, No Monkeys, No Chocolate, is an extreme example. It took 10 years, 56 revisions, and 2 fresh starts. In this case, dumping everything and […]
What do the kids think? by Melissa Stewart
posted by CBethM
A couple of weeks ago, I posted this open letter to John Schu, Colby Sharp, Donalyn Miller, and Travis Jonker on my website. And Donalyn kindly invited me to post here, too. My letter was inspired by my general frustration with the kidlit community’s current focus on narrative nonfiction. Now I openly admit that I, […]
Nerdy Book Club 