Dawn Drums wins Arizona Prize

 

Dawn Drums was recently awarded first place in the Arizona Authors Association’s 2014 literary contest.  The category was published fiction.  This competition has been conducted annually for several decades and its honorees are among the best writers in our country. I’m proud and pleased to have my book recognized by this year’s judges. Here’s the link:

http://www.azauthors.com/contest_winners.html

Joaquin’s Gold is on TPT

“Joaquin’s Gold” is a western adventure set in 19^th Century California. Its main character is Joaquin Murrieta, the famous bandit. It’s based on Central California legends and is set in Pinnacles National Park. I wrote it for my 8th grade students thirty years ago and have rewritten it many times since.  Beryl Belsky kindly published the story on her Writer’s Drawer website, but the link is no longer available

I’ve made both the story’s text and a common core short story unit for “Joaquin” available on the TPT site:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Joaquins-Gold-story-text-for-short-story-unit-1212090

Joaquin has become one of my favorite characters.  I’ve written eight stories for him and for California long before freeways.  I hope to make them all available for teachers in the next few years!

Reciprocal Teaching/Learning for “Trick or Treat”

Surface Question:  What was the bad man called?

Answer with a word or a phrase:

Deep Question:  Do you think the ending of this story was a surprise?

Answer with a complete sentence and explain your answer with several more sentences.  Refer to the story’s text to prove your answer: