Possible creative writing activities for first graders include using drawing and illustration in the writing process, making books for the children to write and encouraging pre-writing strategies. Have first grade writers work with peers to improve creative writing with ideas from a writing instructor and former classroom teacher in this free video on writing.
Teach classroom students about stereotypes with fun activities that have the children list adjectives about a certain stereotype, and then identify people who defy the stereotype. Have the class write about what they have done to counteract prejudice and stereotypes with advice from a writing instructor and former classroom teacher in this free video on stereotypes.
Make thesis findings by including lots of details within a paper, restating the thesis statement and summing up the points that support the thesis. Use a conclusion statement to amplify thesis findings with help from a writing instructor and former classroom teacher in this free video on writing.
The definition of primary education generally includes the early grades of education from kindergarten to fifth grade or those years spent with one classroom and teacher, as opposed to the multiple teachers in secondary school. Find out how primary education varies internationally with information from a writing instructor and former classroom teacher in this free video on education.
A progressive verb is defined as a verb that indicates an ongoing action in a sentence. Get examples of present-, past- and future-tense progressive verbs from a writing instructor and former classroom teacher in this free video on verbs.
The word "progressive" is defined as moving forward and often refers to politics that are more liberal. Learn about progressive education, and how it refers to more individualized study, with information from a writing instructor and former classroom teacher in this free video on education.
Qualify for a Pell Grant by gathering financial information, getting a pin number from the FAFSA Web site, respecting the deadlines and filling out the application online. Find out what you are qualified for in a Pell Grant after a few weeks with help from a writing instructor and former classroom teacher in this free video on scholarships and grants.
Pell Grant spending is not monitored, so it can be used in any way a student sees fit. However, it is often best to use it for educational expenses. Keep Pell Grant money in an emergency account with advice from a writing instructor and former classroom teacher in this free video on scholarships and grants.
Make reading fun for kids by using a group discussion format, doing a reader's theater activity, allowing students to choose their own books and making art projects about different books. Encourage children to have book-related accessories to make reading more fun with advice from a writing instructor and former classroom teacher in this free video on reading.
Progressive learning methodology emphasizes hands-on learning, de-emphasizes lecture and often revolves around group discussion. Use progressive learning methodology to focus education on the students with advice from a writing instructor and former classroom teacher in this free video on education.
Activities that help teach phonics include having students connect the sound of a letter to the shape, allowing the students to trace the shape of a letter and having students look at objects that all start with the same sound. Provide visual interest for students learning about phonics with advice from a writing instructor and former classroom teacher in this free video on education.
To make a research paper outline, start with a main idea, list details about the idea underneath, and put supporting details below that. Use standard Roman numerals, letters and numbers to organize a research paper outline with advice from a writing instructor and former classroom teacher in this free video on research papers.
Whether you are a public school teacher or are homeschooling your kids, coming up with new lesson plans can be a chore. Luckily, the Internet can be a teacher's best friend: There are several sites designed to help you teach a variety of subjects.
If you're thinking about becoming a teacher or are a teacher and are looking for a position, then Delaware may be the place for you. Whether your from the state or not, you may know that Delaware is filled with history, has many ocean beach towns, and shares its borders with Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The Delaware Public School System employs more than 8000 teachers and applying is made easy through their online application program.
Mail art is an excellent way to encourage students who are not interested in art to be active in the creative process. Because many "outsider art" or "unconventional" art techniques encompass a variety of these projects, students might be less likely to become bored or reject the learning process. This type of lesson plan is easily adaptable for classroom use as well as for homeschooling families.
Algebra teachers work in middle schools, high schools, colleges and technical schools. They use a variety of methods and teaching strategies to make sure their students understand the principles of algebra and can solve algebraic problems. Algebra teachers must have earned a bachelor's degree to teach at a public school. Most algebra teachers employed in post-secondary settings have earned a master's degree.
Title 1 teachers provide extra help for students who are working below grade level in math or reading. It is a government program that has strict guidelines, and each year a Title 1 school has to be audited to make sure they are using TItle 1 money correctly. Title 1 teachers keep track of students' records and the program records for the auditor as well as teach students remedial reading and math.
Team-building activities for kids are fun and enjoyable ways of developing cooperation and teamwork in children. Through hands-on, creative ways of opening communication, children learn how to share and play with others in a positive way. A few team-building activities for kids are presented here, as well as links to other team-building activity ideas.
Every year, teachers and counselors are faced with the task of writing evaluation letters for their students. This narrative assessment of a student's progress can be used in lieu of a letter grade, in conjunction with standard grading systems or as a mid-term or end-of-year report, depending on the school. It is a way to reflect the student's progress in a manner that is both more thorough and more informative than the traditional grading methods.
Pre Algebra printable worksheets are very easy to find if you know where to look. Pre Algebra printable worksheets can be found online and are available to everyone including teachers, tutors and home-schooling parents. If you are looking to get pre Algebra printable worksheet to help your students mathematical skills, read on and find out how.
Christmas brings a new challenge to teachers in planning activities when students are beginning to focus on the upcoming holiday. Activities appropriate for Christmas are listed below. All these activities can be done as written, or teachers can adapt them based on the needs of their students. Depending on grade level and parental involvement, more or less preparation may be required on the teacher's part.
The lesson traditionally taught the first day of school in middle school science includes "steps of the scientific method." These steps are usually divided into 1) question, 2) hypothesis, 3) test, 4) analysis and 5) reporting. Several activities can meet the requirements for teaching the steps of the scientific method. Since the activity you do will depend on the field of science you are teaching, there are several options below.
Writing convincing dialogue is challenging at any age level. Dialogue can contribute significantly to the content and quality of written passages if applied well. Poorly written dialogue can confuse the reader about details and characters. Younger students often encounter difficulties with writing mechanics such as dialogue tagging and stylistic elements such as maintaining consistent tone for different characters. Teaching dialogue in writing to younger students can drastically improve their overall writing ability.
Unit plans outline what students will learn during an extended period of time. They dictate how individual lesson plans will relate and build upon one other to teach a specific set of skills. Teachers generally plan units at the beginning of the school year and issue a course outline to students and their families. Unit planning demands that teachers draw upon a combination of research and experience to make sure that required learning objectives are met as the result of cohesive, balanced instruction.
Ever thought about making a difference in a child's life? Teaching is considered by many to be a noble profession, and most school districts nationwide are in need of quality teachers to instruct and inspire today's youth. Elementary education is just one of several teaching paths that include specific preparation and coursework.
Children love holidays, so get into the holiday spirit with these classroom activities. Take advantage during holiday seasons of their natural excitement and enthusiasm for the event, and turn it into an educational experience. They can be so much fun, your students probably won't even realize they've learned something in the process.
Social Studies is a subject in elementary school that often gets pushed off the schedule when there's not enough time in the school day. But it is an important and interesting subject. Social Studies lessons can teach students how to use a map, to read critically, to learn from historical events and to understand the country they live in. Social Studies can be taught in combination with other subjects or by itself.
The first day of school is one of the hardest days for both teachers and students. Many times, the teachers don't know many of the students and the students don't know each other. Thus, teachers should be ready to break the ice so that everyone will feel more comfortable in their environment. Here are a few classroom icebreaker activities to use during the first few days of school.
Teaching a week's worth of classes can be a hectic affair. The key to keeping your teaching schedule organized is to use a lesson plan that helps you see a week's worth of material at a glance. Making a lesson plan can be time-consuming, so to save time, create a well-designed template that can be filled in repeatedly for each week's schedule.
Being a teacher's aide in Arizona requires more than just a love of children and a desire to help them learn. Arizona has clear qualifications for its teacher's aides, based on federal requirements.
If you have a passion for music and the desire to change lives, a career in music education may be for you. Music education refers to the teaching and learning of all things musical. Education and training for music education include both specialized knowledge of music and educational pedagogy.
The job of a high school chemistry teacher includes many responsibilities. The majority of the teacher's time will be spent with students in the classroom, with a smaller percentage spent in planning periods and meetings with other staff and parents. Chemistry teachers are expected to implement the provided curriculum and facilitate learning through effective lesson implementation. They must also examine and report student learning and progress through regular assessments, some of which may be state-mandated. Additionally, chemistry teachers must also maintain student attendance records and other data. Chemistry teachers are generally expected to participate in ongoing professional development and stay…
If your students have messy desks and nowhere to store their materials, then creating homemade pack organizers may be the perfect solution! Also called Desk Back Sacks and Chair Pockets, these handy little organizers can be made fairly easily and with little expense. Best of all, they can be customized to the exact dimensions of your chairs and be designed to hold the specific supplies you'd like your students to store. Think carefully about what materials you'd like the pack organizers to hold, then construct the exact product you want using these directions.
Popular in the field of education, Bloom's Taxonomy was created by Benjamin Bloom in 1956. One of the key assertions supporting Bloom's educational theories is that learning is a multi-layered process, consisting of more than just information recall. Indeed, the Taxonomy is comprised of 6 categories, which are often represented as tiers on a pyramid. In order to teach these categories, an instructor must learn how they are each used in real world situations.
Magnets are known for their ability to attract certain metals, but they can also repel. Magnets have a north and a south pole. If two north poles or two south poles face each other, the magnets will repel. You can use this repulsion to make one magnet float above another.
One theory of student learning suggests that students learn better in a peer-based group environment as opposed to one in which they work individually and listen to a lecture. Cooperative learning improves students' problem solving and creative thinking skills, as well as interpersonal and communication skills, all of which help them to become team players. As groups are rearranged between lessons, students can practice and benefit from acting in various group roles and interacting with all students.
Private schools generally do not receive government funding and are established for a wide variety of reasons. These include the desire to provide grounding in a specific religion or to adhere to a precise set of principles. Employment in a private school setting has both advantages and disadvantages.
A certification in English as a Second Language (ESL) is one of the most common ways in which educators who teach English to people of different languages establish their credentials. Many ESL teachers work in elementary and secondary schools, while others teach English overseas.
If you are teaching a child with cerebral palsy, it can take an extra amount of patience and strength, because he has extra needs that other children may not have. Children with cerebral palsy may have mental difficulties, as well as physical and speech delays. In order to teach them effectively, teachers must often work together with a team of educators and therapists.
Locomotor skills are the basic foundation of human movement. They include walking, running, skipping, hopping, galloping, leaping, jumping and sliding. By extension, both throwing and dribbling skills may be included under the locomotor label. Most children are ready to practice walking around 12 months, running/hopping/jumping at 24 months and galloping/sliding/skipping at 36 months. Proficiency in these areas is critical to developing a confident and agile child. Fortunately, the movements often come naturally to children and can be incorporated into the context of play. The key to teaching locomotor skills is proper modeling and repeated guided practice. The steps below explain…
A thermometer is an instrument that measures temperature. The temperature may be recorded in degrees Fahrenheit (as typically used in America) or degrees Celsius (which is commonly used around the world). Making a simple thermometer is an easy, fun, and quick project to teach children more about measuring temperature. The thermometer you will learn how to build in this article does not measure exact degrees, but will demonstrate how a thermometer is affected by changes in temperature. Your thermometer will also provide an effective way to understand how mercury travels up or down a traditional thermometer based on how cold…
An increasing number of schools and teachers are using video cameras in the classroom. Whether it's recording a lesson to monitor student behavior, or assigning students to watch a podcast, video helps students learn. This article details some of the advantages of having a video camera in the classroom.
Early childhood education is paramount for future success in higher learning. It also serves as a foundation for achieving goals later in life, whether or not they have a strong verbal or reading component. Promoting literacy with preschoolers is not simply teaching them how to read, but engaging them in the learning processes necessary for everyday living.
Pocket charts can be used for many activities in an elementary classroom. Teachers use them for reading and language activities such as vocabulary games, sentence building or sequencing practice. In math, a class may use a pocket chart to solve a word problem or display known multiplication facts. Teachers also use pocket charts to keep track of behavior, homework or which children are using the restroom. You can buy a pocket chart at many teachers' stores or online teacher supply sites. But you can also easily make a pocket chart for your classroom.
Whether you've just received your teaching credential or are updating your resume to search for a new K-12 teaching position, it's important to create a document that not only lists your qualifications, but also helps your enthusiasm for teaching leap off the page. By studying sample teacher resumes and cover letters that suit the type of position or school that you're interested in, you'll be able to tailor your resume accordingly. Consider these tips to help you find sample teacher resumes that can help you land the teaching job you want.
Planetariums have curved ceilings so as not to create a distorted image. The ceiling is the same distance in every direction and always at a right angle from the projector, allowing it to create an extremely realistic image of the night sky. Because most people don't have access to a room with a curved ceiling, they usually come away with an image that becomes more distorted the further it gets from the center of the ceiling. One way to combat this distortion is to make several mini projectors, each portraying a single constellation. Together, they make a single star projector.
Starting a Christian school is a process that usually takes about 6 months to a year. It can be a relatively painless process, especially if there is a collective effort involving fellow parents, community leaders and a church body. There will likely be some hurdles, but you and your team can probably clear them and establish your school with the proper planning.
Awarding certificates for good sportsmanship is an effective way to motivate and recognize respectful and proper behavior among student athletes. When students receive tangible rewards for the behavior and actions that are desired, this helps to encourage more of this behavior in the future. If you have a working knowledge of a graphics program, making your own certificates for sportsmanship is a project that will take very little time or effort. You can personalize these certificates for each athlete that has earned special recognition and print them out for presentation.
Teaching integers, much like understanding integers, can be very challenging. Teaching integers to special education students can be even more challenging---and also even more rewarding, especially if you keep certain strategies in mind.
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is legislation that was enacted by the Bush Administration during his first term as President in 2001. It was passed in an effort to increase federal funding for education reform and to increase accountability at all levels.
Creating business lesson plans is increasingly important in the 21st century. All students need to be prepared for, and aware of, basic business practices. Teaching these skills to all students will help us create healthier economy.
While it's possible to come up with physical examples of a geometric cone such as, two dunce caps placed point to point; a geometric cone isn't something that you construct in the literal sense. It is, instead, a mathematical construct defined by a specific set of mathematical rules. It's also the fundamental building block used to construct another set of mathematical constructs called the "conic sections", most of which have familiar names: Circle, ellipse, parabola and hyperbola.
A great way to learn about your community while enhancing your illustrating skills is to draw a community map. This is a great activity for younger students to evolve as artists, but adults can also get a lot out of creating their own personal layout of the community in which they live.
Contests are a great way for children to get started writing. Many contests offer cash prizes, copies of books or even help pay for higher education. In some cases, contests may offer free attendance at workshops or conferences. Most contests repeat on a yearly basis, so while you may have missed one this year, check it out again in few months--you may be able to enter next time around.
Creating an authentic-looking American Indian vest can be a fun supplemental activity when studying Native American cultures. Not all American Indians wore vests, but men and women in many plains and woodland tribes did. The Sioux Indians, who lived in the western plains of the United States, made vests of deerskin that often were fringed at the bottom. Making Sioux Indian vests from paper bags can be a fun way to commemorate American Indian heritage.
Master's degrees are becoming more and more common, especially in education. There are many different types of programs and options for study, all of which can help an educator's career.
Whether lecturing in the classroom or just giving a presentation, transparencies on an overhead projector can help explain complicated subjects or give you a way to help those you are presenting to a way of following along with the content. The only difference between creating a transparency and a normal printout is the type of paper used.
Teaching music to children can be incredibly rewarding. Music, the universal language, can be taught to children of almost any age. However, there are objective requirements that must be met if you want to be a music teacher. These standards--educational and practical--mean that not just anyone can become a music teacher, especially in a school environment. If you do not want to go through the time and effort to meet these requirements, you can still teach music to children privately.
Every student with a special education ruling must have a new Individualized Education Plan (IEP) written by a special education teacher for each new school year. An integral part of this IEP is the section which contains goals and objectives for the upcoming school year. Goals and objectives should be individualized to meet each student's specific needs. Also, goals and objectives should be measurable and attainable. In addition, goals and objectives should take into consideration the student's current placement, whether it is in the general education classroom or in a self-contained classroom.
Palm trees add tropical fun to a classroom. Construct them from discarded materials and common school or crafting supplies. Use this design for either a wall-attached tree or a three dimensional, free-standing tree. Palm trees work well as a fun classroom addition or as a learning tool for a unit on the tropics or plants and trees. You will have no trouble completing several in an afternoon from this design.
Teaching is one of the most satisfying, most exciting and most frustrating occupations you will ever attempt. No matter what level, grade or topics you teach, you will need to make lesson plans and develop strategies for your students to learn and integrate the knowledge. Teaching strategies are plans you make for individual types of students with different needs. Some strategies will work for all, some will work for only one student at a time. This article will give you some tips on how to develop teaching strategies for your students.
Many schools have wonderful programs, yet some schools' programs expand while others close. Much of that has to do with advertising. If no one knows about the programs, then there won't be enough students to keep them going.
Children should learn more than just book knowledge in school. Often schools don't have a budget for extra courses, such as cooking, that would benefit children. If your school doesn't offer a children's cooking class, you should consider starting one.
Motivating children seems daunting for today's teachers--who compete with the Internet, video games and countless other electronic gadgets for kids' attention. However, by using fun and different techniques to teach traditional concepts, we can continue to motivate 21st century children.
Teachers need management strategies for regaining classroom control in order to keep the pace and flow of a lesson. The trick is to deal with discipline problems on a class level rather than confronting individual students.
When learning a new subject, the basic material must be learned before it becomes possible to understand more complicated information. The simplest information is how we talk about a topic, or the vocabulary needed to discuss it. Once that is mastered, it becomes easier to build upon the information to talk about more complex ideas and think more critically about what is being taught. However, because this is the first step, it can be difficult if you don't have any prior knowledge of the topic. Therefore, it is important to make the learning process fun so the knowledge is maintained.
There are all sorts of chemicals, soaps, and other products that can make your blackboard cleaner than ever. However, these products can damage blackboards. When it comes to cleaning a typical blackboard, nothing works better than the old standby--plain water. In more desperate cases, there are some simple ways to clean a blackboard that seems like it is beyond repair.
Phonics is the relationship between written language and sound---recognition of the sounds of written words increases verbal and nonverbal communication skills. Students in kindergarten through second grade learn the basics of sounds; however, a student in middle or high school can also require assistance. One method used to teach both vowel and consonant sounds is in context, through literature. Students learn appropriate pronunciations of sounds, which leads them to become more efficient readers.
Fertilized eggs have to be kept warm for quite a while while the embryo inside develops. Most of us are too busy and too heavy to play mother hen and sit on the eggs the way nature intended. Instead, we can use incubators to keep the temperature at just the right level to hatch the chicks.
For children with disabilities, everyday tasks can be difficult. Things most people take for granted, such as getting dressed or learning simple academic skills, can be extremely challenging for these children. However, just because things may be difficult does not mean they are impossible. Children with disabilities may take more time to learn concepts, or learn things in a different way, but they can still learn. If you're interested in teaching math to children with disabilities, here are some tips to help you.
A classroom personality bulletin board is a great way to get kids to identify with a variety of personalities and relate to positive personality traits that they would personally like to incorporate into themselves. The activity of creating the bulletin board offers a unique bonding experience for the classmates that goes beyond regular classroom bonding that is often limited by cliques or gender. A classroom personality bulletin board also encourages students to focus on positive personality traits and establishes a base concept for acceptable classroom behavior.
Reading comprehension is a required component of all middle school language arts curriculum. Middle school students should have adequate decoding skills by the time they reach middle school. However, many will not fully and accurately understand what they read. Reading comprehension skills are necessary for success in all academic subjects in middle school and beyond. Thus, reading comprehension strategies should be taught and practiced diligently.
Reading comprehension is a key factor in academic success and fourth grade is the year when students really begin concentrating on it. There are many ways to engage students in reading that will improve their comprehension.
Articles are adjectives. The articles "a" and "an" are called indefinite articles and the article "the" is called a definite article. "A" is used before consonant sounds, and "an" is used before vowel sounds. These two articles refer to any one of a type of person, place, or thing. "The" refers to a specific person, place or thing.
Corrective reading is used to find and close gaps in a student's reading skills. Corrective reading is characterized by a series of systematic and intensive intervention lessons which provide direct instruction in weak skill areas. The goal of corrective reading is to diagnose and correct a reading deficiency so that readers will become proficient in decoding unknown words, reading texts fluently and successfully comprehending what they read. Corrective reading strategies can be used both with children who have a special education ruling in reading disabilities and also with children who are struggling in reading, but do not receive special education…
Students with learning disabilities present a challenge to teachers in that the traditional methods of reading instruction may not be as effective as alternative ones. The key is finding what skills are lacking, which skills are due to the learning problem and developing techniques that best address them.
Reading fluency is achieved when a student can read accurately. This involves not only reading the words correctly but reading with smoothness and proper expression while acknowledging sentence punctuation. Fluency is a combination of skills that come together to reinforce reading comprehension. A nonfluent reader will not comprehend what he or she is reading. The steps below give a simple outline of how to improve reading fluency and comprehension.
School districts often employ school psychologists to work in individual schools. School psychologists have many responsibilities. They will have direct contact with students and parents. In addition, they will be responsible for a large amount of paperwork.
Teaching can be a very fun and rewarding career. To teach at an elementary school level, you must obtain a degree in Liberal Arts, which covers all of the subjects, but if you want to teach at a level beyond elementary school, you must obtain a degree in a specific subject. The requirements for becoming a teacher of a single subject, such as History, are clearly stated by school districts.
Special education students are children who have a disability that interferes with their learning. These children require special adjustments for learning and receive services at school through federal programs. There are some cases where special education students are on the edge of needing services and progress by placement in a general education classroom. In these cases, mainstreaming the student--putting him in a regular classroom--is in everyone's best interest.
Math is a great subject to teach because it's challenging and you can see immediate results. You have the joy of seeing children learn concepts and put them into practice and application. But math can be frustrating for you and your students when there are procedures that require multiple steps, but there is great satisfaction for you both when the skill is mastered. Math doesn't have to be boring for you or your students. You can become a good math teacher and help reinvigorate yourself for the classroom.
In addition to the three R's, lessons in life skills are important for children. Life-skills programs, such as cooking programs, may not already be in place in your area. You can organize such a program yourself and set it up so that children in your area can learn to cook. Not only will the children be able to help prepare food for themselves and their families, but some children may also find that they want to pursue careers in food preparation.
The key to successfully educating students with physical disabilities is making the classroom environment accessible. A well-planned classroom design and the right technology greatly enhance the learning environment for the physically disabled student. The teacher, parents, doctors and school counselors should work together as a team to design an individual education plan for each disabled student.
Draw concept maps to help teach your students. Concept maps help tie ideas together into a hierarchy and reveal the way the student thinks about the concept and envisions the connections between prior knowledge and the information in the textbook.
An ode is a poem in praise of a person, place or object that is usually identified in the title. It describes a scene, focuses on a problem or a situation and arrives at a conclusion that returns to the original scene or statement. Originally, the ode was a serious poetic form, but modern odes often are written in praise of the ordinary.
A career in education requires much study, training and strong interpersonal skills. Careers in the field of education are available for working with people of all ages, from preschoolers to retirees. A career in education can be rewarding and challenging. The number of jobs in education is expected to grow for years to come, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The importance of reading comprehension in the third grade cannot be emphasized enough. Research proves that children who are struggling in reading at the end of third grade will have academic problems throughout the rest of school. Third grade has been identified as the grade in which children arrive at a crossroads regarding learning in general and reading in particular. The steps below will help you improve reading comprehension in your class.
Crafting an effective English syllabus is one of the most important but underrated tasks for an English teacher. Not only is the syllabus a binding contract between teacher and student, but it sets the tone for the entire semester. It is one of the biggest factors in creating a positive or negative impression on your students. A specific, detailed and well-thought syllabus will not only benefit them, but will make your job easier and more efficient as the semester progresses.
School districts are often struggling with budget cuts and inadequate funding for newer and better materials. However, many corporations and agencies offer assistance to school districts through the awarding of educational grants. Obtaining a grant can be complicated, but if the guidelines are followed precisely and the rationale for needing additional funds is convincing, schools may be successful in securing grant funding. The first document reviewed by the entity offering the grant is the cover letter. Below are some guidelines for writing a quality grant letter.
Students may feel reluctant and threatened by a blank piece of paper and a request to write a story about a given topic. However, with some inspiration and fun activities, reluctant writers gain confidence and eager writers gain the skills to create higher quality writing. Use these activities as building blocks to improving student writing and as tools to help you teach creative writing skills. Once learned, the activities serve as tools that your students can keep using as they write in the future.
In terms of pure prestige, few publications match being published in a journal. Journals offer a forum for experts in specific fields to expound upon new theories and practices. The word journal means "material published in regular and separate parts," but a less esoteric definition would be "uniquely written information that's of particular interest to a public body or a section of learned society." While every journal has a distinct mission, each offers contributors a chance to expose original, often pioneering research to industry peers. If you've been offered a chance to contribute to a children's literature journal, congratulations. It's…