Traveling Further In-Word

Lisa Bullard
As a fol­low-up to my last post, I want­ed to offer you a down­load­able ver­sion of one of the activ­i­ties I cre­at­ed for my day in the Alpha­bet For­est: ”Make Your Own ‘Sto­ry Wheel.’” The Sto­ry Wheel I brought for my day fea­tured State Fair ele­ments to fit my usu­al sug­gest­ed sto­ry-starter mix of char­ac­ters, set­tings, and con­flicts. But as the down­load shows, your stu­dents can cre­ate their own sim­ple Sto­ry Wheels to fit any­place they might trav­el (in real­i­ty or in their imag­i­na­tions): the beach, a ball­game, the back­yard, the school build­ing, the bot­tom of the ocean, even a black hole in out­er space… Check it out and see if it might work for your young writ­ers.… more

Skinny Dip with Debra Frasier

What is your favorite holiday tradition: When I was fourteen years old I assumed the role of Christmas Ambrosia Maker in my southern-novel of a family. I was the youngest appointee, ever, and surprising, as it requires welding a very sharp serrated knife, but I had a knack for it. We were a “fruit-rich” family due to a small, scraggly orange grove west of Vero Beach, FL.… more

Traveling In-Word

Lisa Bullard
For this week’s writ­ing road trip, I jour­neyed to the Alpha­bet For­est. For those who haven’t had the plea­sure of vis­it­ing, the Alpha­bet For­est is the remark­able cre­ation of author/illustrator/innovator Debra Frasi­er, who through pure pas­sion and per­sis­tence, man­aged to carve out an oasis for words in the midst of the con­sum­able crazi­ness that is the Min­neso­ta State Fair.… more