Today’s Friday Firstliner comes from Thanhha Lai’s Inside Out and Back Again.
“Part One, Saigon
1975 Year of the Cat
Today is Tet.
the first day
of the lunar calendar.”
The entire book is written in poems! What a discovery, and what a reading treat. I will write more about this book on Saturday Mornings for Kids, and then I will pass it on to a student I have this semester who is of Vietnamese background, and whose mother’s war experiences resemble this author’s.
This year (2019) finds me with 50 plus years of teaching "under my belt." I have taught all levels from pre-K "(library lady" or "book lady"--volunteer) to juniors, seniors, and graduate students enrolled in my Advanced Writing class at the university where I have just completed 30 years. My first paying teaching job was junior high, and I spent 13 years with ages 12-13, the "difficult years." I had some of the "funnest" experiences with this age group. When I was no longer the "young, fun teacher," I taught in an elementary school setting before sixth graders went on to junior high, teaching language arts blocs, an assignment that was a "dream-fit" for me. After completing graduate school in my 40s, I went on to community college, then university teaching.
Just as teaching is "in my blood," so is a passion for reading, writing, libraries, and everything bookish.
This blog will be open to anyone who loves books, promotes literacy and wants to "come out and play."
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2 thoughts on “FIRST LINE FRIDAYS”
Writing in this format allows children the feeling of reading a big book while actually reading what is essentially text similar to that of a picture book, I think.
powerfulwomenreaders 
Writing in this format allows children the feeling of reading a big book while actually reading what is essentially text similar to that of a picture book, I think.
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Good point!
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