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Why Are Short Texts So Powerful?

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Reading competes with so many things for kids' attention these days, says Nancy Steineke in the video below.

With coauthor Harvey "Smokey" Daniels, she talks through why their new Texts and Lessons for Content-Area Writing emphasizes short, high-interest pieces of writing to keep students engaged.

 
 
 
 
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In the new T&L, there are 50 "one-page wonders." These are high-interest articles from NASA, the New York Times, and National Geographic. "There isn't a single piece of text in this book," says Nancy, "that Smokey and I did not find intriguing, surprising, shocking, or just plain fun."

The above has been adapted from Texts and Lessons for Content-Area Writing. For more information visit Heinemann.com


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Nancy Steineke consults nationally as a keynote speaker, workshop presenter, webinar leader, and literacy coach for K–12 teachers. She specializes in content-area literacy, nonfiction writing, purposeful close reading, literature circles, and student engagement. Using her experiences teaching English, history, and vocational education, Nancy keeps the focus on research-supported manageable strategies that help teachers get the job done in ways that best benefit students. She is the author/co-author of seven professional books, her most recent being Texts and Lessons for Content-Area Writing, a collaboration with Harvey “Smokey” Daniels. Nancy is active on Twitter, posting links and ideas useful to educators as well as retweeting posts that deserve curation. Find her on Twitter: @nsteineke.

Harvey "Smokey" Daniels works with elementary and secondary teachers throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, offering demonstration lessons, workshops, and consulting, with a special focus on creating, sustaining, and renewing student-centered inquiries and discussions of all kinds. Smokey shows colleagues how to simultaneously build students' reading strategies, balance their reading diets, and strengthen the social skills they need to become genuine lifelong readers. Find him on Twitter: @smokeylit.