Resources

“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.”

—John Muir

FOR TEACHERS

VIDEOS FOR RESEARCHING AND WRITING NONFICTION

THE FORT – Picture Book

 

BIOME EXPLORERS Picture Books

SPACE SCIENCE Picture Books

ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS Picture Books

OTHER LESSON PLANS

FOR AUTHORS

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators – www.scbwi.org (and if you are a registered member, login in and check out The Book: Essential Guide to Publishing for Children and the SCBWI Discussion Boards)

The Michelle Begley Mentor Program – https://rmc.scbwi.org/mentor-program/ (for author and illustrator members of the Rocky Mountain chapter of SCBWI interested in a one-on-one mentorship to take their work to the next level)

Evelyn B. Christensen’s site – http://evelynchristensen.com/writers.html (there are many links to resources for writers including a list of educational markets for children’s writers)

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) – https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ (information on grammar, punctuation, research and citation, and many other writing-related topics)

Generate a Writing Sample – Are you interested in writing for the education market but don’t have any published writing to submit as a sample? Click here for specs for a hypothetical education market assignment and use this to generate a writing sample!

Tools: 

  • Hooks and Layers are essential for every book. But what are they? Click on the link for my interpretation.
  • 5 Kinds of Nonfiction – created by Melissa Stewart
  • Literary Nonfiction Text Structures – this is a compilation of definitions of narrative nonfiction and expository literature (and the subcategories within) , as well as mentor text examples of each. Please note that others may disagree with some of the labeling and categorization…and that’s okay! This document is my way of making sense of terms and text structures.
  • Narrative Nonfiction – from the Nonfiction Ninjas, this post provides several excellent templates for plotting.
  • Nonfiction Brainstorming Template – this tool walks authors through the steps of conceptualizing a new nonfiction manuscript and incorporates both personal experience and advice from author Laura Purdie Salas
  • Save the Cat Beat Sheet Chart – an excellent plotting tool (for novels, chapter books, and picture books); it is based on Jessica Brody’s book Save the Cat Writes a Novel which explores the beats of a novel and provides a 15-step outline to help authors plot a story. Need an example of how to use the chart? Click here.
  • Storyboard Template (blank) – for standard 32-page picture book
  • Storyboard Template (traditional plot structure) – for standard 32-page picture book
  • Plot Graph (traditional plot structure) for picture books and novels
  • Plot Structures – this is an older resource, from “Story Skeletons: Teaching Plot Structure with Picture Books,” by S. Crum (Book Links, V. 15, #5, May 2006), but the visuals are excellent.

Print Resources for Authors

  • Writing Irresistible Kidlit (Mary Kole)
  • The Writer’s Little Helper (James V. Smith, Jr.)
  • Creating Character Emotions (Ann Hood)
  • The Emotion Thesaurus (Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi)

BIODIVERSITY RESOURCES

California Academy of Sciences: Biodiversity Course – https://www.calacademy.org/biodiversity-course

Center for Biological Diversity – https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/about/story/

E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation – https://eowilsonfoundation.org/

 

OTHER NATURE and ECOLOGY RESOURCES

nature – “the phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth”

ecology – “the branch of science concerned with the interrelationship of organisms and their environments”

Planet Earth and Planet Earth II Documentaries – Produced by BBC, Narrated by David Attenborough (available on DVD and on Netflix)

Smithsonian: Ocean – https://ocean.si.edu/

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species – http://www.iucnredlist.org/

The Photo Ark – https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/photo-ark/

NOAA Marine Debris Program – https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/

Algalita Marine Research and Education – http://www.algalita.org/

Ocean Conservancy – http://www.oceanconservancy.org

Water Education Foundation – http://www.watereducation.org/

The Global Water Crisis – http://water.org/water-crisis/

EXPLORING MOUNTAINS

NOVA Online Adventure: Everest – http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/

Climbing the Seven Summits – http://climbingthesevensummits.com/

ANIMAL RIGHTS

4961127Farm Animal Rights Movement – http://www.farmusa.org/

Mercy for Animals – http://www.mercyforanimals.org/

North American Vegetarian Society – https://www.navs-online.org/

Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows – http://www.carnism.org/carnism-presentations