Another Great Resource for the National Day on Writing - Peter H. Reynolds' "Finding the Words That Feel 'Write'"

Do you sometimes feel "stuck" when it comes to writing? Download a PDF of this article by New York Times best-selling illustrator and author Peter H. Reynolds — he offers great advice on "finding the words that feel write" and reclaiming the joy of writing just for oneself.

Happy National Day on Writing! 8 Tips to Inspire Students to Write & Other Resources

In honor of the National Day on Writing (October 20), we are re-posting these helpful writing resources for you! Be sure to comment below and let us know how you're inspiring your students to write — we love hearing what creative educators are doing in the classroom.

Peter H. Reynolds' 8 Tips for Inspiring Students to Write

Celebrate-writing

In his post "The Brave Heart: Protecting the Passion, Keeping Wings Outstretched for a Daring Journey," NY Times best-selling author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds discusses how the pressure to write "correctly" can cause many beginning writers to pack up their creative wings. Encourage your students to write with wings outstretched! Here are a few quick tips from Peter to inspire bravery in your students.

1. Step off the path and write with your wings outstretched. Break a rule or two as you go.

2. Don't let a jumbled thought stop you — plant it and keep going.

3. Don't let a misspelled word slow you down. Go back and attend to it later.

4. Listen to your inner voice and transcribe what you hear without trying to edit it.

5. Try writing for yourself. Not for your audience. Try to ignore the critics' voices you may hear.

6. Invent a word.

7. Skip punctuation or invent your own ...__...> and see what it feels like.

8. Borrow an idea from your favorite author and twist it a few times. Turn it inside out. Make it your own!

What do you do to encourage your students to write? Let us know!

Animating Across the Curriculum

This film showcases some of the fantastic animations we've received from teachers and students using Animation-ish™, our easy-to-use animation software. It highlights how educators are inspiring students to "show what they know" and make more creative, meaningful connections with content in all subject areas!

Special thanks to all the teachers and students who have shared their work with us and contributed to this video! If you or your students are creating projects, we'd love to see them. Please email your creations with a brief description to info@FableVisionLearning.com.

NEW Animation-ish Tutorial & Challenge!

The Challenge :

Peter H. Reynolds’ 7th grade teacher inspired him to animate math concepts, and your students can animate what they are learning as well. Motivate your students to combine the art of animation with any concept they have been learning in class. We can't wait to see what they come up with, and we'll publish a selection of outstanding entries in an upcoming blog post!

How to do it :

New to animation? No problem! We’ve collected some quick, simple resources to turn you into a pro in no time.1. First, watch this video tutorial to get an overview of Animation-ish.2. Then visit our website to download your free software trial.3. Lastly, refer to this simple quick start guide as you explore the program.

Submission Information:

When your students have completed their animation, you may email the Animation-ish file to us, or use a program like YouSendIt if the file is too large to email. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions! If you added music or titles, please send us a QuickTime movie. Be sure to follow all student privacy and parental permission guidelines as specified by your school. In your submission for each student, please include:

• Your school name and state (and country, if outside the U.S.)
• The student's first name and grade level

Please email us if you have any questions. We can't wait to see your students' animations!

Using "The Grey Ghost" in the Classroom

Based on the book The Grey Ghost by children's author Julie Hahnke, this film demonstrates the potential for using animation to illustrate curriculum topics. A brief summary of The Grey Ghost:

When Black Duncan Campbell starts attacking his neighbors in 1526 Scotland, eleven-year-old Angus suddenly finds himself the sole survivor of Clan Macnab. Aided by a goshawk and a pine marten, and urged forward by a mysterious luna moth, Angus must uncover his clan’s heritage, reveal ancient secrets, and try to end the Campbells’ rampage.

This film highlights three curriculum topics from The Grey Ghost: navigation and map reading, the internal gearing of a Medieval grist mill, and the life cycle of a luna moth. The film was developed by interns at FableVision Learning who worked closely with Julie Hahnke to bring The Grey Ghost to life. All animations were created with FableVision Learning’s Animation-ish™ program, designed for grades K-12.