2022 MG/YA Book Recommendations Month-by-Month (Part 2) by Lesley Roessing

 2022 MG/YA Book Recommendations Month-by-Month (Part 2)

by Lesley Roessing

When invited to write a blog about MG/YA books that I would recommend to read through the year, I immediately thought about suggesting books to read through themes related to each month. I wanted to share recently-published novels/memoirs of different reading and interest levels, featuring culturally diverse authors or characters and settings, written at a variety of reading and interest levels, in a variety of formats: prose, verse, graphic, or multi-formatted. Because of all the advantages to reading in book clubs outlined in Part 1 of this blog (posted in January 2022), I strongly advocate for employing these books in topic (or character, setting, genre, or format) book clubs whenever possible. 

Part 1 of this guest blog took readers through the first half of the year with suggested texts for each month that could be employed for book club or for independent, self-selected reading choices on a topic. Each month presents choices of novels or memoirs that book clubs or individual readers can read. Choice has been found to be a prime motivator in turning adolescents into readers. A meta-analysis of 41 studies examined the effect of choice on intrinsic motivation and related outcomes in a variety of settings with both child and adult samples. Results indicated that providing choice enhanced intrinsic motivation, effort, task performance, and perceived competence, among other outcomes (U.S. National Library of Medicine). The lists presented for each month are only examples from books I have read, but teachers should provide enough books or titles to allow for choice. See Part 1 with my reading suggestions from January through June: https://wpcte.blogspot.com/2022/01/2022-mgya-book-recommendations-month-by.html.

Summaries of all these novels are available on Goodreads, and my review of many are available on my Goodreads account or my Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/lesley.roessing) under #TalkingTexts or #BooksThatGenerateImportantConversations.

I will begin this Part 2 with some ideas about Summer Reading. If you or your school require(s) a summer reading, you may consider offering a choice of novels on a topic or theme, letting readers choose novels based on their own reading comfort levels from a variety of authors, characters, settings, and formats—prose, verse, and graphic. When students return to school, they can group themselves into book clubs to discuss their novels and prepare presentations to the rest of the class, thereby creating a Reading Community at the very beginning of the year. Students who transfer into the school on the first days can read a short story and conduct some light research on the topic to add to a club’s presentation.

* * *

It is important that readers see their lives and cultures reflected in story as well as learning about others’ lives and cultures through books. In February I suggested books for the African-American Read-In and, in May, books written by authors and /or featuring characters for Asian Pacific American Heritage and Jewish American Heritage Month.

JULY 

Books Of Summer

While readers are experiencing summer they can be reading about characters who are doing the same (although most characters will be experiencing more conflict than, hopefully, our readers).

Books for readers of grades 4-8:

• Crashing in Love

• Shouting at the Rain

• From the Desk of Zoe Washington

• Chirp

• One Crazy Summer

• Consider the Octopus

• The House That Lou Built

• Silver Meadows Summer

• All of Me

• The Summer of Owen Todd

• Somewhere Among

• Olive’s Ocean

• Orchards

• The Season of Styx Malone

• The Summer Before Boys

• To Night Owl from Dogfish

Books for YA Readers:

• Your Heart; My Sky

• Exit, Pursued by a Bear

• Paradise on Fire

• When Dimple Met Rashi

• Hope Was Here

• The Summer of Letting Go

• Honor Girl

South Asian Heritage Month (celebrated July 18—August 17 in the UK; in May in US)

South Asia is composed of eight countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan.

Some novels I would suggest with characters of South Asian heritage are

• Unsettled

• Amina’s Voice and Amina’s Song

• Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun

• More to the Story

• Omar Rising 

• Amal Unbound

• A Place at the Table

• Mud City (The Bread Winner #3)

• A Time to Dance

• Born Behind Bars

• The Night Diary

• Save Me a Seat

• Love, Hate & Other Filters

• Internment

• Shooting Kabul

• The Breadwinner and Parvana’s Journey

July 4 United State Independence Day: Another appropriate topic for July would be American independence or choosing a historical fiction novel relating to the Revolutionary War, such as 

• Chains, Forge, and Ashes

• The Fighting Ground

• Sophia’s War

or, as a twist, any novels that readers choose and interpret as relating to any type of independence.

AUGUST

August 26 National Dog Day: reading books that feature dogs

August 30 National Grief Awareness Day: 

These are some novels I would suggest for grade 4-8 readers. Teachers can divide this list among grade levels, based on the ages of the main characters.

• The Stars Beneath Our Feet

• Free Verse

• The Incredible Journey of Coyote Sunrise

• Mockingbird

• Maybe a Fox

• Denis Ever After

• The Shape of Thunder

• Planet Earth is Blue

• The Summer of Letting Go

• Counting by 7s

• Locomotion

• Pieces of Georgia

• When You Trap a Tiger

• A Home for Goddesses and Dogs

• Give and Take

• In Your Shoes

• A Comb of Wishes

• Isaiah Dunn is My Hero

• Red, White and Whole

• Sweeping the Heart

• Miracle’s Boys’

• The Someday Suitcase

• Seven Clues to Home

• The Thing about Jellyfish

• The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle

• The Dollar Kids

• Bridge to Terabithia

These are some novels I would suggest for High School readers that educators could divide into Book Clubs based on the type of loss:

• Coaltown Jesus

• How to Build a Heart

• All We Have Left

• Long Way Down

• The Secrets We Keep

• All the Bright Places

• I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

• Sadie

• Bang

• A List of Cages

• Up from the Sea

• The Boy in the Black Suit

• Seeing Red

• The Usual Rules

• Rebound

• Fanboy and Goth Girl

• Clap When You Land

• Hope and Other Punch Lines

• Boy 21

• In Sight of Stars

• Paradise on Fire

• Parkland Speaks

• Patron Saints of Nothing

• The Fault in Our Stars

• The Hate U Give

• After the Death of Anna Gonzalez

• Monday’s Not Coming

• Wintergirls

SEPTEMBER

September 11:

No historical event may be as unique and complicated to discuss and teach as the events of September 11, 2001, the day terrorists crashed planes into, and destroyed, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. At the time of this event, no child in our present K-12 educational system was yet born, but, in most cases, their parents and educators would have been old enough to have some knowledge of, and even personal experience with, these events, making this a very difficult historic event for many to teach. However, with the devastation and impact of these events on our past, present, and future and as ingrained a part of history these events are, they need to be discussed and understood as much as possible. 

I have found the most effective way to confront difficult topics while still presenting a variety of perspectives and differentiated reading experiences for our diverse readers is through reading in book clubs. It has been eye-opening—and rewarding—to visit schools and facilitate book clubs using novels written about the events of 9/11 from differing perspectives. I have reviewed most of the novels, memoirs, and graphica pictured below in a guest-blog for YA Wednesday: http://www.drbickmoresyawednesday.com/weekly-posts/20-mgya-novels-1-graphics-collection-to-commemorate-the-20th-anniversary-of-911-by-lesley-roessing

September 15-October 15 Hispanic Heritage Month: 

Here is a list of novels and memoirs in a range of reading levels with a diversity of Hispanic/Latinx characters and settings, written and formatted in prose, verse, and graphics, written by a variety of authors, many of which are of Hispanic/Latinx heritage themselves.

For late elementary and middle-grade readers:

• Tree Girl

• The First Rule of Punk

• Mario’s Notebook

• Merci Suarez Changes Gears and Merci Suarez Can’t Dance

• Silver Meadows Summer

• Big Apple Diaries (memoir)

• Enchanted Air  (memoir)

• Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish

• The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora

• Lucky Girl

• Gabby Garcia’s Ultimate Playbook

• The Moon Within

• Each Tiny Spark

And YA novels:

• On the Hook

• Far from the Tree

• I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

• American Street

• My Family Divided (memoir)

• Soaring Earth (memoir)

• The Wild Book

• Jazz Owls: A Novel of Zoot Suit Riots

• What If It’s Us

• How to Build a Heart

• Disappeared and  Illegal

• Gringolandia

• Yaqui Delgado Want to Kick Your Ass

• Clap When You Land

• With the Fire on High

• The Poet X

OCTOBER 

National Bullying Prevention Month

Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. A type of youth violence that threatens young people’s well-being, bullying can result in physical injuries, social and emotional problems, and academic problems. According to the National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics, 28% of U.S. students in grades 6–12 experienced bullying. In surveys, 30% of young people admit to bullying others. In one large study, about 49% of children in grades 4–12 reported being bullied by other students at school at least once during the previous month, whereas 30.8% reported bullying others during that time.

It is imperative that teachers and especially students discuss bullying more in schools, especially in the middle grades where research shows that the most bullying takes place, and especially because many bullies and victims of bullying do not even recognize that bullying is occurring. These conversations occur more effectively though the reading of novels and memoirs. Students are more inclined to talk about how characters handled or mishandled situations than to analyze their own actions or those of their peers. 

There are many well-written novels that feature bullying and can generate these conversations. Some middle grade novels that feature bullies, bystanders, and upstanders that I recommend for Book Club reading are

• Restart

• Lily’s Promise

• Orchards

• The Revealers

• Squint

• Say It Out Loud

And a few YA novels

• Winning

• Forget Me Not

• How We Roll

• Junk Boy

• Stick

• October Mourning: A Song for Mathew Shepard

Filipino American History Month 

While there is not a Filipino Heritage Month, readers can celebrate their culture or learn about the culture of those who live in or emigrated from the Philippine Islands in honor of Filipino-American History Month. Most of these novels—written by Erin Entrada Kelly, Chris Baron, and Mae Respicio—are recommended for grades 4-8 while Randy Ribay writes YA novels; Shelly Brown and Chad Morris’ Squint includes a Filipino-American support character.

NOVEMBER presents multiple opportunities for reading on a whole class topic. 

Native American Heritage Month

• Indian No More

• Apple in the Middle

• Code Talkers

• I Can Make This Promise

• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

• The Pumpkin War

• Walk Two Moons

• The Sea in Winter

• Rain is Not My Indian Name

• Rez Dogs

• Hearts Unbroken

• Dreaming in Indian,  an anthology

Family Story Month – Memoir

For reading-writing memoir and reading-like-a-writer, see BRIDGING THE GAP: Reading Critically & Writing Meaningfully to Get to the Core. For strategies for reading memoirs in Book Clubs, see TALKING TEXTS: A Teachers’ Guide to Book Clubs.

To read reviews of many of these memoirs, see my guest-blog for YA Wednesday, “Memoirs for Reading and Writing”: http://www.drbickmoresyawednesday.com/weekly-posts/memoirs-for-reading-and-writing-by-lesley-roessing

November 8 – STEM Day

There is a value for novels in many disciplines. As readers can learn history from reading historical fiction novels, and they can learn science and math, including how science and math fits in the real world, through reading novels and memoirs. Students can read in science and math classes or in ELA classes or with the collaboration of both sets of teachers across the curriculum.

“Although many disciplinary teachers may feel that there is not enough time to cover state standards and read novels in their classes, they may be surprised how much content students learn and how many standards they meet through novel book club reading and the ensuing discussions. And when students in each club read and present on a different novel, feasibly on a different topic covered in the curriculum, the class as a whole learns from the reading of all the novels” (The Write to Read, Ch 9).

MATH

Grades 4-8:

• The Phantom Tollbooth 

• Solving for M 

• Miscalculations of Lightning Girl 

• The Numbers Devil: A Mathematical Adventure 

• Seven Clues to Home 

• Girls Who Code series 

• All of the Above 

MG and YA editions:

• Hidden Figures 

Grades 9-12:

• An Abundance of Katherines 

• Secrets, Lies, and Algebra 

• Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions 

SCIENCE

Grades 4-8:

• Fever, 1793 (Yellow Fever epidemic)

• The Pumpkin War (farming)

• The Infinite Lives of Masie Day 

• Song for a Whale (cetology)

• The Fourteenth Goldfish (mortality)

• The Thing about Jellyfish 

• The Someday Suitcase (symbiosis)

• Saving Wonder (coal mining) 

• Counting by 7s (nature)

• Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe (environment) 

• The Incredible Magic of Being (astronomy) 

• Beyond Me (tsunami aftershocks)

• The Someday Birds (ornithology)

• Consider the Octopus (Great Pacific Garbage Patch)

• Rocket Boys, memoir (rockets) 

• Chomp (animals)

• Hoot (environment)

• Flush (sewage dumping)

• Scat (swamp ecology)

• Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science (metamorphosis, fossils, astronomy) 

• Chasing Secrets (plague)

• Anyone Here Seen Frenchie?(geology) 

• The Star Outside My Window (astronomy) 

• Planet Earth is Blue (astronomy)

• A Swirl of Ocean 

• Code Orange (viruses)

• Your Heart; My Sky 

Grades 9-12:

• Paradise on Fire (fire)

• A Civil Action (water contamination)

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lack (cell research)

• Up from the Sea (tsunami) 

• Ringside, 1925 (Scopes Trial) 

• A Death-Struck Year (1918 Influenza Pandemic)

DECEMBER 

Winter Holidays

“There are many winter holidays that are celebrated around the time of the Christian Christmas, and there are many ways that holidays and the spirit of celebrations can be acknowledged in a nondenominational and secular fashion. When students read stories about holidays with which they may be unfamiliar, reading books, adding research, decorating the classroom, making presentations, creating puppet shows, performing skits, or otherwise sharing their research, everyone is valued.” (No More “Us” and “Them”: Classroom Lessons & Activities to Promote Peer Respect,  Ch.7)

Universal Human Rights Month: Ending the Year with a study of Social Justice and Human Rights

There are countless novels recently written on this theme under a variety of topics. These are samples of some of my favorite MG/YA Social Justice novels.

• March 1, 2, and 3 – graphic novels

• Monster – graphic novel

• Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty– graphic novel

• House Arrest– verse novel

• Loving vs Virginia– verse novel

• Kent State– verse novel

• Long Way Down– verse novel

Middle Grades – grades 4-8

• Born Behind Bars

• A Good Kind of Trouble

• All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook

• From the Desk of Zoe Washington

• Front Desk and Three Keys

• Blended

• Omar Rising

• Fast Pitch

• Ghost Boys

• You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!

• I Can Make This Promise

Human Rights 

I taught an 8th grade Humanities class centering on the theme of Human Rights and Issues of Intolerance. We began with the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” and read novels about human right issues and violations such as the Holocaust, Apartheid, Native American rights, rights of citizens with disabilities, rights of free speech, etc., through whole-class, book clubs, and individual self-selected readings. Novels can be read in Social Studies/History classes with each book club reading a different novel about the same issue (Apartheid) or with each book club reading a novel about a different Human Rights issue.

* * *

There are many ways to employ books in a classroom setting to read as a community, whether reading a whole-class novel or reading in book clubs or individually on a topic such as those shared in this 2-part guest-blog as readers read through the year. It is important that readers be encouraged to read diversely whether by topic, characters, setting, authors, genre, or writing format.

For strategies and lessons for reading and discussing not only novels/memoirs, but short stories, poetry, nonfiction books and articles, and textbooks, in book clubs, see Talking Texts: A Teachers’ Guide to Book Clubs across the Curriculum. 

* * *

A middle school and high school teacher for twenty years, Lesley Roessing was the Founding Director of the Coastal Savannah Writing Project at Georgia Southern University (formerly Armstrong State University) where she was also a Senior Lecturer in the College of Education. In 2018-19 she served as a Literacy Consultant with a K-8 school. Lesley served as past editor of Connections, the award-winning journal of the Georgia Council of Teachers of English. As a columnist for AMLE Magazine, she shared before, during, and after-reading response strategies across the curriculum through ten “Writing to Learn” columns. She now works independently, writing, providing professional development in literacy to schools, and visiting classrooms to facilitate reading and writing lessons. Lesley is the author of

• Bridging the Gap: Reading Critically & Writing Meaningfully to Get to the Core 

• Comma Quest: The Rules They Followed. The Sentences They Saved 

• No More “Us” & “Them: Classroom Lessons and Activities to Promote Peer Respect 

• The Write to Read: Response Journals That Increase Comprehension

• Talking Texts: A Teachers’ Guide to Book Clubs across the Curriculum

• and has contributed chapters to

• Young Adult Literature in a Digital World: Textual Engagement though Visual Literacy

• Queer Adolescent Literature as a Complement to the English Language Arts Curriculum

• Story Frames for Teaching Literacy: Enhancing Student Learning through the Power of Storytelling

• ​Fostering Mental Health Literacy through Adolescent Literature

                       

Lesley can be contacted at lesleyroessing@gmail.com.

Reflections on the Get Connected ELA Conference by Carol Frow, Amy Bouch, and Conference Attendees

 Reflections on the Get Connected ELA Conference 

by Carol Frow, Amy Bouch, and Conference Attendees

WPCTE had the pleasure of partnering with Saint Vincent College’s Education and Communications Departments for the very successful Get Connected ELA Conference held March 30, 2022 at the lovely Fred Rogers Center on Saint Vincent’s campus. The conference began with an uplifting keynote address from Dr. Matt Skillen who is a professor at Elizabethtown College in central PA and a co-editor of the NCTE Journal Voices from the Middle. Dr. Skillen was able to join our conference through the partnership with NCTE’s Cosponsored Speaker Program. Attendees then enjoyed three sets of sessions and several vendor tables as well as a tasty lunch before the day had to wrap up. During the closing, attendees reflected anonymously on a Padlet on several topics, which inspired plenty to share in this blog!

What was the best part of today?

Attendees at the conference ranged from teachers who have been around for quite some time to those in the very early and even pre-teaching stages. That blend of old and new also best summed up the best parts of the day! From the difficulties of the past few years, many people reflected on how energized they now felt: “My love for teaching was reinvigorated!” Comments also centered on best practices from such passionate and inspiring professionals, whether those were the sharing of older successful teaching strategies or those concepts new to many attendees. Being back together in person also brought joy to us all! How wonderful it felt to actually see people and talk with them in person whether that was at the vendor tables, before or after sessions, or lingering at the luncheon. By far, this response encapsulated the best part of the day: “Reconnecting with old colleagues from different networks. It was rewarding to see people from different chapters in my life all together in one place… all pursuing the same goal: to educate.”

What is one new thing you learned today?

The theme of the conference centered around connecting: connecting with other teachers, connecting with organizations, connecting with new ideas, and more. Conferences always provide numerous new resources, but attendees made exciting connections while learning and became enthused about the following topics: literary circles for higher grades, how to begin to work with project-based learning (PBL), writing workshop strategies, mindfulness concepts, National Geographic learning framework, publishing ideas for student work, and more. In reference to pecha kucha, one attendee stated, “I learned a great new approach to getting students to public speak in a way that doesn’t feel boring, hard, scary, or produces a monotonous presentation with a busy PowerPoint presentation.”  In the session about Lit Circles, students spoke about what they did during their novel studies, which inspired the following reflection, “Lit Circles and Book Chats are an awesome tool to encourage accountability and creativity.”  Writing was a central topic of the day, so naturally educators commented on new concepts in writing such as publishing which led to an attendee saying, “Wattpad is a great way to publish electronically that can create authentic writing experiences for students.”  Several sessions focused on the much-needed topic of social and emotional learning which resulted in such an important reflection that we all can relate to: “I learned how to create a safe and welcoming environment for students.”  With these take-aways, our students will soon be benefitting from all that was learned at this exciting day of professional development.

Finally, when posed with the question “What do I want to learn about at an upcoming conference?” one of the attendees so perfectly responded: “When is it?? Ready to do this again!” We have great news to share! WPCTE will be hosting another conference in the future. However, all details are still in the very preliminary brainstorming stages.

Carol Aten Frow is the president of WPCTE. She is an educator at Belle Vernon Area Middle School where she instructs Reading 7, Reading 8, and English 8A. In addition to her work with WPCTE, Carol is a former finalist for PA Teacher of the Year, a KTI star, and a teacher-consultant for the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project. When not immersed in all things school, such as currently directing the musical Schoolhouse Rock Live! JR. and finalizing a yearbook, Carol enjoys reading, traveling, scrapbooking, and being amused by her four cats—Emily (Bronte), (John) Milton, Leo (Tolstoy), and (John) Keats.

Amy Bouch is the Vice President of WPCTE. She is also the 2022 Grammar Teacher of the Year, a Teacher-Consultant for the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project (WPWP), and a reading-obsessed 8th grade English teacher at Chartiers Valley Middle School. When she isn’t teaching, she is making her way through all of the U.S. National Parks and traveling the world with her husband. Connect with her at abouch@cvsd.net.

Pictured: Amy Bouch (left) and Carol Frow (right) at the Get Connected ELA Conference on March 30, 2022

Flash Fiction at Deer Lakes Middle School: Big Benefits from Little Stories by Tammy McQueen

Flash Fiction at Deer Lakes Middle School: Big Benefits from Little Stories

The WPCTE Flash Fiction Writing Contest is one of my favorite events of the year!  As a gifted/enrichment support teacher for students in grades K - 8, I appreciate that this event gives students of all ages the opportunity to experiment with this fascinating medium.  Students get to learn about a genre that is recognizable in its early forms (fables and parables) and relatable in its modern forms (Twitterature, dribble and drabble, sudden fiction).   

I work in tandem with our elementary and middle school literacy teachers, who have taught strong foundational writing skills. Students who would benefit from writing enrichment projects are made aware of the WPCTE contest. I teach a lesson or series of mini-lessons on flash fiction to individuals, small groups, or as a co-taught, push-in lesson in advanced literacy classes. The lesson includes a brief history of flash fiction, distinguishes flash fiction from short stories, shows some of the modern subgenres of flash fiction, presents the basic characteristics of flash, and features a few popular examples. As we dig deeply into this genre, the lesson emphasizes important elements of flash fiction: use of strong imagery, focus on one moment in time, work with one or two well-developed characters, write in the first person point of view, use the title to help tell the story, and incorporate the element of surprise through word play, plot twists, or unexpected outcomes (from Neil Gaiman’s Master Class on Flash Fiction). Whenever possible, I have students from the previous year’s contest share their work with the new participants.

Students begin their drafts in a Google doc, which they may share with me and/or their classroom literacy teacher. We use the “comments” feature to ask questions or offer suggestions. We are also available for one-on-one writing conferences to coach our young writers through the process. This digital and in-person contact gives our students the opportunity to  seek advice on character or plot development, learn about ways to sharpen word choice for more concise writing, and get tips for smoothing out the rough places with regards to the organization and structure. These coaching opportunities are also about affirming a student’s personal experiences, perspective, ideas, and interests. Throughout the project, students are encouraged to experiment with the genre, take risks with their writing, discover something new about themselves, and have fun with the project! I have observed that the idea of competing with other students creates a lot of enthusiasm and entices students to try their hardest, helping them to maximize their writing strengths and creativity.  DLMS Advanced Language Arts 7 teacher, Lisa Huerbin, who uses this flash fiction activity as a classroom assignment stated, “Written expression evolves when students are given the ability to engage in creative writing. I am always pleased with the writing of our students. It is always fun to read their ideas as they come alive on paper. Flash fiction writing is the perfect opportunity to allow our students to get their creative juices flowing."

Deer Lakes students and staff are always eager to hear from contest judges. The WPCTE Flash Fiction Awards Ceremony is an exciting event, and it gives our young writers the opportunity to celebrate self-expression through writing. We enjoy hearing stories written by students in other schools and have found the variety of ideas and quality of writing to be both impressive and inspiring. One of my young writers stated, “I enjoyed writing flash fiction because anything that comes to mind can happen. If you can think of it, it’s possible! That’s also what makes flash fiction writing fun to read!”

In fact, our enthusiastic young writers wanted MORE flash fiction! DLMS Advanced English Language Arts 8 teacher Charlena Welteroth and I pulled together our first annual Flash Fiction Festival just before Christmas break. We invited a Pittsburgh-based flash fiction writer to open the day with a peek into the writer’s process and to lead a flash writing activity.   Students visited writing stations with task cards (containing directions and examples) and relevant materials. Writing tasks ranged from the six-word story, to dribble/drabble, to twitterature, pocket fiction, postcard fiction, and more! We hope to publish an in-house anthology of work produced by the nearly 75 student participants.  

Here, at Deer Lakes, flash fiction has proven to be a popular form of writing. Not only is flash fiction an engaging genre to write and share, it will stretch student creativity and strengthen important writing skills.  

Tammy McQueen is the K - 8 Gifted & Enrichment Support teacher at Deer Lakes School District. She enjoys creating and facilitating experiential and project based learning experiences for students. In her free time, Ms. McQueen loves sharing stories and creating memories with her six young grandchildren.