Learn how to increase students' skills as writers and storytellers with an innovative, inclusive, and empowering framework for teaching writing that centers student voice. Tell Your Story: Teaching Students to Become World-Changing Thinkers and Writers explores how to help students see themselves as writers and storytellers who are developing the skills and techniques to communicate in ways that resonate with various audiences. When students make that shift and see themselves as active and valued participants in their own communities, cultures, and literary journeys, they become powerful writers eager to explore and share ideas.With the strategies in this book, you can Create an environment of belonging that fosters creativity and confidence. Demonstrate the value of oral and visual storytelling. Teach story structure, both old and new and in a variety of genres. Offer a variety of role models and exemplars through mentor texts. Assess and confer with student writers to help them improve their skills. Value students' voices as future agents of change. When you help students unlock the stories they want to tell, you'll see writing anxieties and resistance fade as students come alive to the multitude of ways in which they can make their voices heard. Storytelling can be a wellness practice, a tool for empowerment, and a method for self-understanding and self-expression. For all students, storytelling is a path to lifelong learning and to realizing the full power of their voice and their potential to change the world.

Read Pam Allyn's posts on the Penguin Blog
The books to read aloud to children at the important moments in their lives.
In "What to Read When," award-winning educator Pam Allyn celebrates the power of reading aloud with children. In many ways, books provide the first opportunity for children to begin to reflectively engage with and understand the world around them. Not only can parents entertain their child and convey the beauty of language through books, they can also share their values and create lasting connections.
Here, Allyn offers parents and caregivers essential advice on choosing appropriate titles for their children--taking into account a child's age, attention ability, gender, and interests-- along with techniques for reading aloud effectively. But what sets this book apart is the extraordinary, annotated list of more than three hundred titles suitable for the pivotal moments in a child's life. With category themes ranging from friendship and journeys to thankfulness, separations, silliness, and spirituality, "What to Read When" is a one-of-a-kind guide to how parents can best inspire children through reading together. In addition, Pam Allyn includes an indispensable "Reader's Ladder" section, with recommendations for children at every stage from birth to age ten. With the author's warm and engaging voice throughout, discussion questions to encourage in-depth conversations, as well as advice on helping kids make the transition to independent reading, this book will help shape thoughtful, creative, and curious children, imparting a love of reading that will last a lifetime.
These Penguin Young Reader's Books are referenced in "What to Read When"
"Sylvia Jean: Drama Queen " by Lisa Campbell Ernst (Penguin Young Reader's Group: 2005)"Two Is For Twins," by Wendy Cheyette Lewison, illustrations by Hiroe Nakata (Penguin Young Readers: 2006)"Remember Grandma? " by Laura Langston (Penguin Group (USA): May 2004)"Soul Looks Back in Wonder" compiled by Tom Feelings (Puffin Books)"Time of Wonder " by Robert McCloskey (Penguin Books USA, Incorporated: December 1957)"When I was Young in the Mountains"by Cynthia Rylant illustrated by Diane Goode (Penguin Young Readers Group: January 1993)"Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs" by Tomie DePaola (Puffin Books, an imprint of Penguin Books, Inc.:1973)"Good Night, Good Knight" by Shelly Moore Thomas, illustrations by Jennifer Plecas (Penguin Young Readers Group: 2002)

An illuminating, first-of-its-kind resource to help parents foster a love of writing in their child's life.

New educational research reveals that writing is as fundamental to a child's development as reading. But though there are books that promote literacy, no book guides parents in helping their child cultivate a love of writing. In this book, Pam Allyn, a nationally recognized educator and literacy expert, reminds us that writing is not only a key skill but also an essential part of self-discovery and critical to success later in life. Allyn offers the "the five keys" to help kids WRITE-Word Power, Ritual, Independence, Time, and Environment-along with fun, imaginative prompts to inspire and empower children to put their thoughts on the page.

A groundbreaking blueprint for developing every child's abilities, "Your Child's Writing Life" teaches parents how to give a gift that will last a lifetime.