Use your tools—don’t let them use you!

You are growing in a thumbs-up/thumbs-down world. Everywhere you look, someone is telling you whether something is “good” or not. And it’s not just movies and books—people have opinions about socks! cat breeds! earlobe shapes! pineapple on pizza! haircuts! superpowers! OK, you get the idea. The thing is, the world wasn’t always like this. Before the Internet, people spent more time talking face-to-face, and conversations would have been pretty darn short if people just talked in thumbs-up/thumbs-down language. What can … Read the rest! The post Avoid Value Judgments! first appeared on KidsLearn.

Have you noticed that people around you are having some BIG feelings these days? Have you been having some yourself? Here’s the first and most important thing I want to say about feelings: Feelings—even uncomfortable ones—are good. Feelings are part of being human and part of how we humans learn. Feelings can feel fabulous or they can feel awful, but they are all natural and not something you should try to avoid. But there’s another side to feelings: Sometimes feelings, … Read the rest! The post Dealing with feelings first appeared on KidsLearn.

You got feedback on your writing. Now what? Good writing creates a complete little world on the page. Whether it’s a story, a poem, or an essay, you want your readers to be engaged throughout and leave satisfied. The best way to get your writing to that point is to give it to others to read. But what do you do with comments that you get from teachers or other students? Good writing creates a complete little world on the … Read the rest! The post Revision = seeing again first appeared on KidsLearn.

Most kids in the US now have access to an Internet-connected device—a phone, a tablet, or a laptop. And they are really amazing! Your device allows you to do things your parents wouldn’t have dreamed of: You can find out the answer to pretty much any question you can think of You can create music, videos, and art easily You can talk to any of your friends anywhere in the world You have access to powerful tools, all contained in … Read the rest! The post Use your tools—don’t let them use you! first appeared on KidsLearn.

Maybe your parent or a teacher has said this to you: “You need to have a positive attitude!” And maybe that seemed wrong to you. If it did, here’s some food for thought: Yes, life can be difficult. I agree with you that there are lots of things to be negative about. This may be a small comfort, but there have always been a lot of things you could be negative about! Imagine being a kid during medieval times when … Read the rest! The post Why is ‘stay positive’ good advice? first appeared on KidsLearn.

I teach writing classes to kids, so it’s not surprising that I like kids’ writing. But what do I like about it? Why should you compose your own writing when an AI tool can do it in seconds? What makes kid writing beautiful? Here are my thoughts: Your writing expresses your youness Yup, “youness” is not a word. Ask me if I care….. I don’t! I don’t care because when people say that people express themselves in writing, they really … Read the rest! The post Kid writing is beautiful—don’t use AI! first appeared on KidsLearn.

Recently I read a Young Adult novel that one of my students recommended. There were many good aspects of the story, but one thing bothered me: The end of the story led me to feel like the future was hopeless. In the far past, kids’ books could sometimes be too happy, so happy that they seem ridiculous to us now. But for many years, although kids’ books took on challenging problems, they were almost required by publishers to have a … Read the rest! The post Are your books bumming you out? first appeared on KidsLearn.

Do you have writer’s block? Do you know what writer’s block is? Well, first I want to say that I don’t really believe in it, then I’ll tell you what it is, then I’ll tell you why I’ve chosen not to believe in it! What is writer’s block? Writer’s block is simply when a writer sits down and realizes they can’t write. Maybe they feel like there’s just a big blank in their head. Maybe they feel like everything they … Read the rest! The post Break the block! first appeared on KidsLearn.

A common problem I hear from students is that they’re too busy to be organized. They know that being organized can help them do their work more efficiently and give them more free time, but they feel too busy even to start! Being too busy means we often leave things in various states of chaos, never having enough time to organize, think ahead, or finish things. So here is a tip: Consider setting a “reflection and planning” time each week.… Read the rest! The post How to organize your busy life first appeared on KidsLearn.

In our world, there’s a lot of emphasis on the end goal: We have to take tests We have to turn in projects and present them We have to show that we’ve read a certain number of pages, written a certain number of words, or memorized a certain amount of information All of these are examples of “products” of our learning, and they can be important. But even more important is your learning “process.” Process is the actual experience … Read the rest! The post Process, not product first appeared on KidsLearn.