If you are writing a trilogy, or a longer series, there is one important thing you need to know about plotting a series of books.

Welcome back to The Wailing Writer series and today it is all about fantasy worldbuilding. A step I love to hate, apparently. It is very fiddley and potentially endless, so here is my guide to make…

Yesterday, I shared a great video resource for kids and teachers about choosing good fit books. Although, I have used the analogy of finding good fit books using shoes, I seem to always come back to The Goldilocks Rule. I learned about this for the first time when I started at my current school. Here is how I set it up in my classroom. First, I read Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Many of my students are familiar with the story. Afterwards, we talk about Goldilocks choosing items that were "just right" for her. I use that analogy to help students understand what it means to read and select Just Right books. We compare how Papa Bear's items were "too big" for him, just like sometimes we may read books that are "too hard" for us. We discuss what it means as a reader when the book is too hard. Then, we talk about what it means as a reader when a book is "too easy." Like it was too easy for Goldilocks to enter into the Bears' home. Finally, we discuss the purpose of reading. Why reading and comprehending matter. I do not do all this in one sitting. Depending on the grade level, students, and time of year, this could be an entire week's worth of lessons. I had created a wonderful poster to use but I have been without it all year since our Librarian has it in our library to help students there. How do you help students select "just right" books? Happy Teaching and Learning!

Internships are effectively an immersion in the work and lifestyle associated with your dream job. They are usually voluntary (or low paid), entry level and can involve living on site. Sometimes internships can help you work towards a qualification. But the bottom line: internships are great - and they look GREAT on your CV and

The Writing Strategies Book is the one book you need to meet your learners wherever they are. With over 300 strategies organized by writing goals, you'll find what your K-8 students need in this book.

We have LOTS of LGBTQ+ reading recommendations for you! Get them all right here! What other books would you add to this list?

If you've ever wondered how to write a story that simply works and that your readers will love, you have to start with your character's goals and needs.

When spending so much time working on our stories, it can be difficult to see the forest through the trees. This is a phenomenon we discussed in our recent article on the importance of gaining objectivity as we edit. When we're in the thick of revising our stories, we may find

These 10 simple plot exercises will help you plan your novel if you're just getting started or help you push forward if you find yourself stuck.

What really happens when our characters don't get the sleep they need? Find out the physiological and psychological effects of sleep deprivation here.

If you've ever wondered how to write a story that simply works and that your readers will love, you have to start with your character's goals and needs.

WHAT IS AN EMPATH? Empaths have an extremely reactive neurological system. We don’t have the same filters that other people do to block out

Help students learn 21st-century media literacy skills with these lesson ideas. Check out this blog post.

Discover the power of a balanced diet for asperger's syndrome, and a personal narrative of how a mother improved her son's perception of food, and mealtime habits.

Let’s state the obvious first: Finding passion is hard If anyone told they know what their calling is within a few moments, either they are lying or they are a superhero who gets cryptic mess…

Maybe I'm a nerd, but I love the editing process. I love recasting sentences to make them stronger, choosing specific words to make dialogue sing, correcting grammar until it's fit to print and drawing little squibblies all over the page (mainly because I like the way squibblies look). Honestly, I use editing marks so much that sometimes I get bored with the usual suspects and make up my own.

As told by "The Big Bang Theory"

A Tarot spread to help you clear blocks, connect and work with your spirit guide or spirit animal.

If you currently feel stuck and unsure how to map out a life you truly want, let me introduce you to core values. Core values are your fundamental beliefs...

So much Twitter love from my post about my walls this year. Y’all know how to make a girl feel good! I don’t have my lesson plans ready, and am not entirely sure what I’m doing on…

In this blog post today I'm answering one of the most common questions I get.. How to make adapted books. I LOVE to use them with my students.. And I've been using them now for over 8 years. They're hands on, engaging, easily differentiated and they work for a range of themes, subjects, skills, ages

In my quest to find a flipbook template that I can use to insert information for my class, I came up with nothing that was free... I didn't think I should pay for a template and then still complete with the relevant information. Therefore, I made my own! It is simple. This means, when you download it, you can fully customize it to suit your needs. It comes in color and black and white. PLEASE NOTE: the MLA Formatting resource is not included here. It is shown as an example of how the product can be used. Please Enjoy this Freebie!

What is a rising sign and why do you need to know your birth chart? This is your Astrology 101 complete guide for Astrology beginners. Everything you need to know to get started!

Those Shoes activities support the understanding of 'wants' and 'needs' through character traits, inference, and making connections.

This activity is an inversed Clue game where SS need to find the person who was murdered, where was heshe murdered and what was heshe doing when it happened using Past Continuous. Suggested

Good beta readers can be like gold dust, giving you critical feedback on your book & helping you to improve your story. This article explains how to find them.

Kids love creating their own comics! We'll show you how to draw comic strips in seven easy steps. Includes templates, story line ideas, and video tutorials.

Learn how to start a spiritual journey to higher consciousness, inner peace, and fuller awareness and what to expect on the path!

What Are Story Arcs? “The Oxford English Dictionary defines a story arc as (in a novel, play, or film) the development or resolution of the narrative or principal theme. A story arc is the shape of your story. The shape can be described as rises and falls on a graph. This shape is created by characters who encounter […]

Looking for books for developing intuition? These six intuition books are perfect for helping you harness your gut instinct and follow your heart.

The first step into making the hollow book is to select a book. Make sure this is a book your own, and not one belonging to the library, or your family. I suggest rummaging through books at yard/garage sales. Make sure it is a hardback; otherwise you will cut all the way through the other side when you are cutting out the insides. You'll also need: Elmer's white glue a container to hold glue solution (I've chosen a film canister) X-acto knife, and/or box cutter. Both if you have them brush to apply glue solution pencil/pen ruler, or other rigid straight edge Select a page that you want to be the first one cut out, and save that page to be cut out at the end. (I'll explain later) Even if you don't want to save any pages at the beginning of the book, you must set one aside for a later step. Mix a solution of white glue and water. Just enough for the glue to be runny, and absorbed by the edge of the book's pages. 50% to 70% glue (30% to 50% water) worked well for me. - Half a film canister full was enough for this book. Holding the remaining pages together, brush the edges with the glue solution - enough to soak in pretty well, but not too drippy. Allow this to dry, but use a spacer so the first couple pages, and the front cover don't get stuck. I spaced mine with post-it notes, and used some old hard disk platters to apply pressure. It dries quickly- about 15 to 30 min When dry, open the book to the first glued page. Draw out a half-inch boarder around the edge on all four sides. (Don't forget along the spine too.) Using a strait edge and knife, cut out along the inside of the line. Try to make the cut as vertical as possible, or else try to tilt so the hole will narrow as you go down. Continue cutting down through the layers. I found that a box cutter was easier to keep straight. This part takes a long time. I recommend listening to music while you work. Watching TV though could be distracting, and you could also cut a page out of your finger. (no, I didn't.) The longer you spend on it, the smoother and straighter the inside edges of your book will be. My first attempts at this yielded rough edges, but the fuzz flattens down a little when glued (later). After a while, you can store some of your tools in it while you take breaks. I did this book in 2 evenings. When you get to the back of the book, and through the last page, stop. Dump out all the little paper fuzz that inevitably comes from the cutting. Next, brush the glue solution on the inside edges of the pages. Give it a bit to soak in. A little bit of drippiness is okay, as the glue dries clear. This is also a good time to apply a second coat to the outside of the pages with the excess glue. Brush the rim of the book with a light coat of glue. This will affix it to that one page we saved earlier (and will cut through later). Close the book again, this time without any spacers. Give it another 15-30 minutes to dry. Clean up any glue that drips on your desk, like it did mine. Remember that first page we saved? It’s now glued to the rest of the book. Lets all turn there now. Cut through this first page with your knife to open it. The insides of the book may still be a little gooey since there was no air inside to let it dry. -So let it dry now. When it’s dry, you're done! Fill it with whatever treasured items (or contraband) you choose. Happy hiding. Reproduced with permission from the author: Aud1073cH

Everybody loves a good riddle once in a while and solving hard word searches on a regular basis can even improve your problem-solving skills and logical thinking. It makes your brain cells go wild while trying to come with the answer and when you do solve it, the feeling of accomplishment is more than gratifying. This time, we have prepared some word searches for you - simple yet very satisfying hidden words puzzles for you to solve.

Visual processing is an important cognitive skill for students to master. It assists with the encoding of information into the brain, and it helps students make sense of the learning content. This skill often needs to be developed and exercised, and there are many engaging activities that can help. What is Visual Processing? Visual processing is a cognitive skill that allows us to process, interpret and find meaning from visual images. In other words, it is how we make sense of what we see. Why is Visual Processing Important? Visual processing is vital because it plays a key role in learning visual information from our environment. It is a fundamental skill for reading, math, and spelling. What Are the Different Types of Visual Processing? Visual processing involves a number of cognitive processing skills: Visual Construction Skills: organizing and manually manipulating spatial information to make a design. Visual Processing Speed: processing visual information at a certain pace or speed. Visual Scanning: looking at and absorbing all parts of a visual field or text document. Visual-Spatial Skills: manipulating 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional figures in one's mind. Visual-Spatial Reasoning: perceiving the spatial relationships between objects. Visual Memory: remembering what is seen. Visual-Motor Integration: translating visual perception into a motor response. Visual Synthesis: uniting visual information into a coherent whole. Visual Sequencing: determining or remembering the order of symbols, words, or objects. Visual Closure: making sense of visual information when some of the images are missing. Visual Reasoning: finding meaning and making sense out of visual information. 5 Free Ways to Improve Visual Processing for Weak Readers: Help students improve and strengthen their visual tracking skills so they can read in a fast and fluid manner. Click here to learn some free strategies. Exercise and improve visual processing skills by playing key games. Click here to get a comprehensive list of games. Go to Eye Can Learn and do eye exercises to strengthen tracking, visual discrimination visual memory, visual sequencing, visual-spatial skills, visual closure, and more... Use text-to-voice Apps like Voice Dream Reader that highlight the words while it reads the text aloud. This helps with both visual and auditory processing as well as sound/symbol association. You can also use their "Pac Man mode" that erases the words as they are read aloud. This helps the brain to process without getting visually overloaded. Read aloud to yourself or someone else. This helps the eyes and brain to work in sync. Watch my Youtube Video: What are Some Ready-Made Materials that Strengthen Visual Tracking and Processing? Visual Tracking Exercises: Visual Reasoning and Tracking Activities Visual Tracking Assessment and Activities for Improved Learning Building Peripheral Vision, Visual Tracking, and Visual Attention for Improved Reading and Scanning Visual Processing Exercises: At Good Sensory Learning we now offer a series of visual processing exercises! You can choose from the following publications. You can click on the following links to learn more. Visual Synthesis and Figure-Ground Visual-Spatial and Closure Activities Visual Discrimination and Directionality Activities Visual-Motor Activities Following Directions Primary: Following Directions Primary offers fun activities that develop visual processing, listening skills, linguistic abilities, and the core cognitive skills needed for reading. The 49-page download offers coloring and process of elimination activities. Cute animals and aliens as well as numbers, letters, shapes, and arrows are used in these enjoyable brain breaks. If you are interested in learning more about this publication and would like to download FREE ACTIVITIES CLICK HERE. Reversing Reversals Primary: Reversing Reversals Primary strengthens the foundational cognitive skills needed for reading and math. It also develops visual processing and perception such as reversals that impact students with dyslexia. This publication is available as a download, and it offers 72 pages of activities as well as a game. If you would like to learn more about this publication and also get FREE ACTIVITIES CLICK HERE. I hope you found this helpful. If you found this helpful, you might also like my blog titled: 10 Free Ways to Improve Visual Tracking for Weak Readers.If you know of other sites, materials, or games that you find benefit visual processing, please share them below. Cheers, Erica Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning. She is also the director of Learning to Learn, and Learning Specialist Courses.· Blog: https://goodsensorylearning.com/blogs/news· YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/warrenerica1· Executive Function Podcast: https://goodsensorylearning.com/pages/the-personal-brain-trainer-podcast-with-dr-erica-warren· Store: http://www.Goodsensorylearning.com/ · Courses: http://www.learningspecialistcourses.com/ · Newsletter Sign-up: https://app.convertkit.com/landing_pages/694000

Were you or one of your ancestors adopted? Are you interested in finding out about the bio family or health history? These are some methods to use.

Explore our guide to understanding Wiccan deities! From who they are to how to invoke them, you'll find the secrets of Wiccan divinity!

Sometimes it’s difficult to decide where to begin telling a story, and “begin at the beginning” isn’t always the best advice. Click here to download this writing worksheet (PDF) The beginning of your story need not take place in your opening scene! The opening scene can be used to… Capture the reader’s attention with an…