Posts Tagged homeschooling

STEM Tuesday– Amphibians– Author Interview with Annette Whipple

By STEM Tuesday on April 28, 2026 / Amphibians, Animals, Conservation, For Kids, Nonfiction, Nonfiction Titles, STEM, STEM Tuesday / 1 Comment

Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview, a repeating feature for the last Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math!

Today, we’re interviewing Annette Whipple, author of Ribbit! The Truth About Frogs. The book investigates some of the more than 7,000 frogs around the world and invites readers to take an active interest in their preservation.

The Truth About the Writing Process

By Ann McCallum Staats

Ann: There’s a great mix of facts, incredible photography, and just-for-fun jokes and asides (which are TOAD-ally awesome to quote you!) in this book. Can you share how this all came together?

Annette: Ribbit! The Truth About Frogs is part of The Truth About series with Reycraft Books. I had already written about owls, dogs, and spiders—and I was ready to write about an animal familiar to me that I still didn’t know a lot about. (My favorite topics to write about are the ones I’m already curious about!) I suggested to my editor the next book be about frogs, and the whole team was on board!

Ann: I was fascinated by all the information packed into Ribbit!—who knew that over a 100 new species of frogs are discovered each year, for example? I’m curious; what is your research process like?

Annette: It absolutely amazes me that for the past twenty years (and probably longer) more than a hundred NEW species of amphibians have been found every year—and most of those are frogs! In the first two months of 2026, seven new kinds of frogs have been identified. I think that’s incredible.

Before I begin my official research for The Truth About books, I read general articles online for the topic. At this point, I really just want a good understanding. I’m not taking notes yet. After a bit of general information-gathering, I brainstorm a bit using a topic web (also called the bubble method or mind-mapping) to come up with different ideas I may want to research.

From there I plan my research. For topics like these animal books where I know many of the ideas I’ll research (diet, habitat, reproduction…), I use a spiral notebook as my research notebook. That’s where I take notes! I create a table of contents and number the pages. I also use it to keep track of my sources. For some of my books I use multiple 3-ring binders as well as folders in my file cabinet. I also save articles I’ve read online—either printed or saved as a digital PDF file.

My sources begin with scientific books, online journals, and research articles. (During the information-gathering phase, I’m not fussy about my sources. Once I’m taking notes, I must choose my sources very carefully.) I contact experts I can interview—and often meet. Often university professors are happy to share their knowledge with me—or point me in the right direction to another expert. Sometimes I consult with an expert online and meet with a different expert in person to get as much feedback and information as possible.

When I met with my frog expert, I heard wood frogs quack and the very loud (nearly painful) calls of spring peepers! If we had met a month or two later, we would have found different frog species in the same area.

I wrote an article about using a topic web here. https://www.annettewhipple.com/2021/07/how-to-brainstorm-nonfiction-writing.html

I wrote an article about my research notebooks here. https://www.annettewhipple.com/2021/09/how-to-set-up-research-notebook.html

Ann: What did you especially enjoy about writing this book? What was challenging for you?

Annette: I loved researching and learning so much more about frogs, because really my knowledge was fairly limited until then. My own knowledge was also my biggest challenge because I had so much to learn!

Ann: I’m impressed by the design and format of the book. Sections start with a question like “How do frogs eat?” followed by text, stunning photos, and an illustrated aside. How much of the design of the book did you participate in?

Annette: When I pitched the first book in the series, Whooo Knew? The Truth About Owls, I stated that I wanted the book to be photo illustrated in addition to art sidebars where I add humor. With that pattern established early on, there weren’t many surprises with Ribbit! The Truth About Frogs. Other than an occasional suggestion to include a photograph of a certain frog species, my design support was minimal.

Ann: You’ve written a lot of books! What is your writing routine like and how do you stay motivated?

Annette: Yes! By the end of this year I will have written more than 40 books. (The longest was 50,000 words. The shortest 250 words.) I don’t write every day, but I do write most days! When I have a hard time staying focused, I set aside a day to just focus on my writing process. So on those days, I don’t want to answer email, fold laundry, or post on social media. On Writing Days, I hunker down and just write!

Ann: What’s your origin story? How did you become a children’s book author?

I began blogging to share my child’s progress overcoming a speech disorder called apraxia. Before long, I realized I wanted to write more, so I took some writing classes and had a few published articles. A few years later I was reading The Chronicles of Narnia with my kids. We had a companion guide called Roar! to go with it. That’s when I realized I wanted to write a book like that: A book about a book—for kids. Soon I was working on The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion: A Chapter-by-Chapter Guide and attending writing conferences.

Ann: What’s next for you? What do your fans (me included!) have to look forward to next?

This year I have a few more state books in the Who HQ series that will release including Where Is Missouri?, Where Is Minnesota?, and Where Is Wisconsin? I’m also working on a proposal for a historic nonfiction book—but I don’t have a contract yet!

Maybe I’ll have more news to share soon! I think facts are fun, so that’s my big focus. You can keep up with me with my monthly newsletter at https://substack.com/@annettewhipple. I also use social media! On Facebook and Instagram, find me @AnnetteWhippleBooks. At Twitter/X and BluSky, I’m @AnnetteWhipple. My website is full of articles for curious teachers, families, and writers. https://www.annettewhipple.com/

Ann McCallum Staats is a former teacher and award-winning author. Her latest books are Fantastic Flora: The World’s Biggest, Baddest, and Smelliest Plants illustrated by Zoë Ingram and A Quilt of Stars, co-written with astronaut Karen Nyberg and illustrated by Alida Massari. Ann loves to follow her curiosity and share what she finds with others. Find out more at www.annmccallumbooks.com

Read-Alouds for Middle Grades: An Rx for Reading Success in Today’s Fast-Paced World

By Landra Jennings on April 22, 2026 / Articles, For Teachers / Leave a comment

Read-alouds aren’t just for younger students! Research shows that reading aloud—even for just a few minutes a day—is just as effective for intermediate grades, middle schoolers, and even high schoolers.

Whether at home or during dedicated time in class, reading aloud to students demonstrates that reading is not merely a difficult task required for testing. It transforms book discussions into opportunities for students to open up about complex topics and signals the true importance of literacy. “Never underestimate the power of a well chosen read-aloud. Even students who swear they don’t like books can be drawn in by a great story,” says Kinla Nelson, a Georgia-based educator with twenty-five years of classroom teaching under her belt.

Photo by Horia Varlan

Thirteen fabulous reasons why you should read aloud to your older students:

1. Unlock higher-level thinking.

Students can often listen and comprehend at a higher level than they can read independently.

2. Let students escape into the story.

They can experience the magic of the narrative without the struggle of decoding text.

3. Bridge spoken and written language.

Read-alouds connect oral fluency with literacy skills.

4. Model fluent reading.

Show students how a reader’s voice gives meaning to words, demonstrating how punctuation, sentence structure, pauses, and inflection shape understanding.

5. Demonstrate expressive reading.

Bring characters’ emotional states to life through tone and pacing.

6. Build active listening skills.

Students learn to concentrate on both the sounds words make and their meanings simultaneously.

7. Grow vocabulary and correct pronunciation.

Hearing words in context reinforces proper usage and articulation.

8. Improve working memory.

As students make connections between different parts of the story, they flex their memory and retention muscles.

9. Boost comprehension.

Especially for struggling readers, listening allows them to focus on the story rather than getting bogged down by reading mechanics.

10. Build classroom community.

Shared experiences level the playing field between students of all reading levels. Listeners can ask questions and feel fully part of the story, just like any other reader.

11. Create memorable experiences.

A well-told story leaves a lasting impression on the listener. And this experience is something the whole class can share.

12. Decrease stress.

Numerous studies highlight the social and therapeutic benefits for both the listener and the reader. Through the phenomenon of “Narrative Transportation,” listeners can momentarily forget their surroundings.

13. Increase joy.

As Jim Trelease noted, “Every time we read aloud to a child, we send a ‘pleasure message’ to their brain.” This reaction is triggered by feelings of happiness and self-worth when someone takes the time to invest in our enjoyment.

Why Read-Alouds Are More Important Than Ever:

Attention is fragmenting. In an age where digital media pulls focus, read-alouds recenter collective attention, prompting students to pause, listen, and engage deeply with language.
Equity gaps are widening. Frequent adult read-alouds boost vocabulary for historically underserved learners and, when structured inclusively, help close those gaps.
Standards demand higher-order thinking. Interactive read-alouds naturally embed inquiry, inference, and synthesis, aligning with Common Core and Next Generation Science expectations.
Teacher workload is growing. Measurable gains can be achieved in just a few minutes without adding to grading loads.

Find an engaging, vocabulary-rich novel (bonus points for STEM ties!) and start your read-aloud program today.

Let us know in the comments below which books you’ve found particularly great for read-alouds for older students!

STEM Tuesday– Amphibians– Writing Tips & Resources

By STEM Tuesday on April 21, 2026 / Amphibians, STEM Tuesday / Leave a comment

Hello! Welcome back to STEM Tuesday’s Writing Tips and Resources. I’m Stephanie.

Did you know that axolotls are amphibians? I hadn’t really thought about it before, but it’s true; they’re salamanders. And actually, they’re strange ones, since they don’t fully grow up, but instead stay in their “tadpole” stage, keeping their gills and living underwater completely. Very rarely, they can spontaneously morph into terrestrial animals. When this happens, their gills recede and they depend on their lungs to breathe.

Anyway, happy poetry month! If you’ve read last week’s post, you’re familiar with poems about frogs, like the informative ones found in Amphibian Acrobats. Today I’m excited to share two writerly resources with surprisingly relevant titles. The first, by a Utah poet and professor, is Real Toads, Imaginary Gardens: On Reading and Writing Poetry Forensically (2024). Its title references American poet Marianne Moore, who said that a poem is “an imaginary garden with real toads in them.” Elaborating on that, Rekdal states that a poem is “an artificial structure, yes, but one in which something genuine can live” (5). That definition sings—and croaks, and ribbits—for me. More on frog calls to come. We’ve got one long exercise today. Let’s hop to it.

Part 1 | Gathering Raw Materials

Rekdal writes that, “When it comes to reading or writing poetry, we have to balance between the forensic and the creative, between staying within the bounds of definition and fact and moving into the realm of the interpretive” (35).

Thus, the first step is to gather interesting details for your imaginary garden: nickel-sized glass frogs, perhaps. You’re free to depart from the theme of amphibians, but if you like a good challenge, start there. Think “forensically,” gathering precise words as rhetorical evidence. Imaginary gardens are curated… this is your flowery language, your favorite nature facts rearranged into poetic phrasings. With every additional noun, you’re populating the garden, constructing the banks of the pond. Give yourself at least 15 minutes to brainstorm.

After assembling a motley group of characters, setting details, and imagery, it’s time to begin considering interpretation. How will you make meaning(s) of these things? Rekdal offers this insight, “If anything, poems offer me patterns of expectation and then disregard them in ways I find either delightful, annoying, instructive, or baffling” (3). How can you invite readers to feel those emotions? What might your metaphorical toad be—your something real? Aside from lyrical language, what’s the second layer to the poem? How can you take it from not-story to story? Let’s let those thoughts percolate while we try the next part.

Part 2 | Finding and Shaping Story

The second writerly resource for today is A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Sanders. This book addresses structure through several guided readings of Russian short stories. He writes, “We’re always asking, of a work we’re reading (even if it’s one of our own): ‘Is it story yet?’ That’s the moment we’re seeking as we write. We’re revising and revising until we write the text up, so to speak, and it produces that ‘now it’s a story’ feeling” (50). But what is a story? He answers, “We could understand a story as simply a series of…expectation/resolution moments” (12). Isn’t that interesting? That’s also what Paisley Rekdal said about pattern, expectation, surprise. A story, or in our case, poem, has a call-and-response structure. What must come first? What details are essential? What will change? How does the poem end? How can the beginning enhance the end?

Choose an existing poem. If you’re feeling stuck, here are some suggestions: “[rain frog thorn bug bat tent], “Naming the Heartbeats,” or “Amphibians.” Before you’re tempted to read the poem in its entirety, cover up the last 2-6 lines. Read the first portion, then ask yourself these questions. What energy has the poem built up? How do you expect it to end? What ending feels so obvious that it would be disappointing? Now read the rest of the poem. What helps the poem land with a satisfying feeling?

Using your materials from part one, construct a poem that “responds alertly to itself” (Saunders, 29), that makes energy and then uses it (35), “advanc[ing] the story in a non-trivial way” (42). This is much easier said than done, but as Saunders teaches, “That’s really all a story is: a limited set of elements that we read against one another” (48). Tend your imaginary garden. Hide some toads. Find your voice, whether that frog-song is a cro-qui or a different onomatopoeia altogether. (They make lots of different calls!)

Remember that your poem, though it may turn toward a surprising resolution, doesn’t need to answer questions or conclude anything. Its power is the shared journey between writer and reader: sensing and thinking together. Poems can never avoid being situated, being about something, whether or not the author intends it. But as Paisley Rekdal wrote, “If we can all agree on the exact meaning of a poem, doesn’t that suggest the poem itself may be too narrow, even lifeless?” (Kidlit poems are the exception, in which we routinely opt for clarity and conclusions. But write this one for yourself! Poetry-joy is contagious.)

For themed writing prompts geared toward kids, check out Amazing Amphibians from our book list, specifically pages 49 (“Write a Slimy Story”) and 85 (“Write an Amphibian Haiku”). And of course, I’d love it if you clicked over to visit me at StephanieWritesForKids.com for more writerly tips and book recommendations.

Happy writing,

Stephanie

Stephanie Jackson is a mother of four kiddos ages 5-14. Her kidlit work has been published in Cricket magazine, Dirigible Balloon, and elsewhere. She holds an English creative writing degree and writes from her book-glutted home in northern Utah.

Posts Tagged homeschooling

STEM Tuesday– Amphibians– Author Interview with Annette Whipple

The Truth About the Writing Process

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Read-Alouds for Middle Grades: An Rx for Reading Success in Today’s Fast-Paced World