7/1/10
TEACHER GUIDES
Ahhh. 2 weeks of bliss. Everyone needs to take a vacation every now and then, and I have had mine.
However, now it's time to get back to work. And yes, I actually took 2 full weeks off and that included writing. No
articles. No stories. No website stuff. Nothing. It is something I believe all writers should do every now and then.
However, when that time is over it is definitely time to get BACK TO WORK!!!!
Before I went on my much needed and deserved break, I began working on a companion to High School
Heroes. Some people, including some of my fellow authors at SCBWI,seem to think that doing a teacher guide
is a good idea because it will help get my book into the hands of teachers, who will hopefully then order some
for their class. I wasn't going to do one at first because I said to myself, "What possible literary value does my
book have?" But then, looking back on my story, I actually saw that there is plenty in there that a teacher
would find of value for a class. I have foreshadowing, alliteration, several strong themes, shifts in tone, well
rounded characters, and some complex vocabulary - all of which I teach in my own classroom, and usually
make up my own materials in order to do so.
So, then I said to myself, "I can easily make a booklet of lessons, questions and graphic organizers for High
School Heroes. So, I gave it a shot, and it was easier than I thought it would be. Being both a teacher and a
writer, putting together such a teacher's guide came naturally.
I won't go into detail as to how to do this, because most of you who aren't teachers probably wouldn't
understand a lot of what I'm writing about. However, if you have the opportunity, and would like to try and get
your book into schools, I suggest coming up with some lesson plans for it, or allowing someone else to do it for
you. Getting some lessons, especially those that conform to any of the states teaching standards for English,
will better your chances of having a teacher become interested in your book. I will say from experience, I love
having lessons handed to me on a silver platter so that I don't have to do them myself, and I know a good
number of teachers feel the same.
So, especially if you have a middle-grade or young adult novel, if you want to sell to schools, I sugeest looking
at some lesson plans online, and then creating your own for your novel.
Until Next Time: Well, there you have it.
TEACHER GUIDES
Ahhh. 2 weeks of bliss. Everyone needs to take a vacation every now and then, and I have had mine.
However, now it's time to get back to work. And yes, I actually took 2 full weeks off and that included writing. No
articles. No stories. No website stuff. Nothing. It is something I believe all writers should do every now and then.
However, when that time is over it is definitely time to get BACK TO WORK!!!!
Before I went on my much needed and deserved break, I began working on a companion to High School
Heroes. Some people, including some of my fellow authors at SCBWI,seem to think that doing a teacher guide
is a good idea because it will help get my book into the hands of teachers, who will hopefully then order some
for their class. I wasn't going to do one at first because I said to myself, "What possible literary value does my
book have?" But then, looking back on my story, I actually saw that there is plenty in there that a teacher
would find of value for a class. I have foreshadowing, alliteration, several strong themes, shifts in tone, well
rounded characters, and some complex vocabulary - all of which I teach in my own classroom, and usually
make up my own materials in order to do so.
So, then I said to myself, "I can easily make a booklet of lessons, questions and graphic organizers for High
School Heroes. So, I gave it a shot, and it was easier than I thought it would be. Being both a teacher and a
writer, putting together such a teacher's guide came naturally.
I won't go into detail as to how to do this, because most of you who aren't teachers probably wouldn't
understand a lot of what I'm writing about. However, if you have the opportunity, and would like to try and get
your book into schools, I suggest coming up with some lesson plans for it, or allowing someone else to do it for
you. Getting some lessons, especially those that conform to any of the states teaching standards for English,
will better your chances of having a teacher become interested in your book. I will say from experience, I love
having lessons handed to me on a silver platter so that I don't have to do them myself, and I know a good
number of teachers feel the same.
So, especially if you have a middle-grade or young adult novel, if you want to sell to schools, I sugeest looking
at some lesson plans online, and then creating your own for your novel.
Until Next Time: Well, there you have it.
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