Today two of my intern teachers working toward their credentials who are in the final year of our program presented their portfolios. They spoke about their experience and the philosophy of teaching they have developed. I’ve worked for Fortune School of Education for over ten years as a field supervisor. I observe my interns teaching […]
Music and Memory
When I taught elementary school and special education classes, I used music in the background most of the day and rhythm music with the younger students to learn ABC’s, months of the year, math facts, etc. Research has shown that music helps memory. On Thanksgiving, we had lunch with a friend and her extended family. […]
Write with the Monitor Off
Gary, one of the members in my Dublin writing class also is taking an on-line course with Jessica Barksdale, who was one of my instructors when I started writing years ago. I continue to go on her retreats in summer and she is still an inspiration. Jessica’s assignment that Gary shared with me was to […]
More about Author Shannon Brown
In my previous post, I interviewed Shannon Brown who has two novel excerpts in my anthology, WRITTEN ACROSS THE GENRES. She attends our writers group in Dublin, CA. As the teacher, I give ten minute exercises to practice what we’ve discussed. Here is Shannon’s ideas about writing with some rhetorical devices. Disneyland is fun in […]
Gruelling Exercise for Writing Fitness
In my writing class, I presented an exercise to analyze a story that had won third prize in a university contest. The author had an unusual writing style that the students found confusing, as did I in the first read. It took me three reads to understand the possible goals the author had for the […]
Anadiplosis and When to Use It
Anadiplosis is a rhetorical device that repeats the last word of one phrase, clause, or sentence at, or very near, the beginning of the next sentence. The main point of the sentence becomes clear by repeating the same word twice in succession. An example from HADA’S FOG: “Hada’s immediate reaction to Lilli’s announcement wasn’t […]
Power of Three in Writing
“Writers Talk” is the monthly newsletter of the South Bay Branch of The California Writers Club. In the June issue, Marjorie Bicknell Johnson, the editor, wrote an article titled “Power of Three”. She explains that “Information presented in groups of three sticks in our heads better than other clusters of items”. The use of a […]