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Welcome to Scholastic Professional Author TalkAbout video interviews and watch noted authors answer questions on important issues in education—from reading, writing, and vocabulary instruction to topics of special interest to literacy leaders. Author TalkAbout video interviews are designed to keep you abreast of the most current thinking and best practices in education.

	Pam Allyn » Part 1: Preparing for standardized tests (2:18). How can teachers today prepare students for standardized tests without giving up their own teaching style? » Part 2: Optimize teaching and learning time (1:31). How can teachers optimize both their time and their students’ learning? » Part 3: Support for English language learners (2:10). How does The Complete 4 support English language learners as well as emerging readers and writers? » Part 4: Compatibility with other reading programs (1:18). Is The Complete 4 compatible with schools that use a scripted reading program? » Part 5: Preparing for one-on-one conversations (1:27). How do you prepare for five-minute, one-on-one conversations with students about their reading and writing? » Part 6: Advice for teachers (1:13). What is the most important piece of advice you have to offer both new and experienced teachers? Buy Pam Allyn's Scholastic Professional Book The Complete 4 for Literacy. Back to Top
	Janet Angelillo » Revision is Not Punishment (2:03). What advice do you give teachers who say the toughest thing about teaching writing is revision? » Study the Greats to Discover Great Writing Strategies (2:51). Why do you use mentor authors and mentor texts to help students learn to revise? » Give Students Ownership of Their Writing (4:46). Many students see revision as a chore, hard work that doesn’t have a point. How do you change this perception? » Write with Your Students (3:33). What can teachers do to help students understand that revision, according to Toni Morrison, is “the most delicious part?” » Punctuation is More Than Just Details (4:02). What do you suggest teachers do to get students to understand that punctuation matters? Buy Scholastic Professional Books by Janet Angelillo >Making Revision Matter >A Fresh Approach to Teaching Punctuation Back to Top
	Nancie Atwell In this TalkAbout series Nancie Atwell, discusses her book The Reading Zone, answers questions about reading comprehension, and shares advice on creating successful reading and writing workshops as well how to create passionate readers. » The Reading Zone (4:26). What core conditions are necessary for students to enter, and stay inside, the reading zone? » Comprehension (5:27). How do you know whether your students are understanding what they're reading? » Student Choice (4:19). Why is allowing students to choose their own books and topics fundamental to their success as readers and writers? » Reading & Writing Workshops (4:48). What is the best preparation for teachers who wish to teach reading and writing workshop-style? » Advice and Encouragement for New Teachers (3:30). Nancie shares advice based on her 30 years of teaching experience. » Creating Passionate Readers (4:27). Nancie tells about the childhood experience that helped her become a fluent, avid reader. » Buy The Reading Zone in The Teacher Store Now! Back to Top
	Jim Burke » New Series: Listen to Jim speak on some topics from his new series (3:26). Could you tell us a bit about the content and format of your new Teacher's Essential Guide series? » Advice for New Teachers: How to make a good impression on your students (2:51). Can you give us a little snippet of how to make a good impression on your first day-one piece of advice that you would give new teachers? » Buy The Teacher's Essential Guide Series: Classroom Management Now! Back to Top
	Ruth Culham Author Ruth Culham discusses how to teach and implement the Traits of Writing in primary classrooms. » Part 1: A writer's vocabulary: Traits are a foundation for young learners (2:25). » Part 2: Understanding what "good" looks like (2:05). » Part 3: The difference between the developmental scoring guide and the scoring guide for Grades 3 & Up (3:32). » Part 4: What the writing process looks like at the primary level and what the traits look like in action in a primary writing workshop (6:55). » Part 5: Empowering young writers (2:41). » Part 6: What advice would you give to new teachers? (1:37). » Buy Now: Inside the Writing Traits Classroom: K-2 Lessons on DVD Back to Top
	Roger Essley » Part 1: How can teachers use visual tools with their students? » Part 2: How do teachers use storyboarding to engage reluctant readers and writers? » Part 3: Roger, can you show us how you do a storyboard from beginning to end? » Part 4: How do you use storyboards for reading comprehension? » Buy Now: Visual Tools for Differentiating Reading & Writing Instruction by Scholastic Professional author Roger Essley. Back to Top
	Yvonne Freeman & David Freeman » Part 1: Why some ELLs succeed and others struggle (1:52). Why do some ELLs seem to succeed in school after only a short time while others struggle academically for years? » Part 2: Planning curriculum for ELLs (4:15). What are some things that teachers should consider when planning curriculum for both elementary and secondary ELLs? » Part 3: Why ELLs struggle in classroom discussions (3:48). Many ELLs seem to pick up English outside of school. They can speak English with their friends. But they still have trouble participating in classroom discussions and struggle with reading and writing in English. Why is that? » Part 4: Development of first language leads to success (4:24). Why does the development of students’ first languages help them succeed academically in English? How do teachers help students develop their first language, especially in schools that aren’t dual language? Buy Yvonne Freeman and David Freeman's Scholastic Professional Book English Language Learners. Back to Top
	Carol J. Fuhler & Maria P. Walther In this video series Fuhler and Walther discuss the importance of using quality literature in the classroom. » Introduction: How has children’s literature played a role in your lives and in your classrooms? (2:40). » Part 1: How to get quality literature into curricular mandated schools? (2:52). » Part 2: How do children’s books help writers? (2:59). » Part 3: How do you recognize a good book? (3:24). » Part 4: How can you fit everything into a busy teaching day? (3:25). » Part 5: What advice can you offer to new teachers? (1:58). » Buy Dr. Carol J. Fuhler and Dr. Maria P. Walther’s Scholastic Professional book Literature Is Back! Back to Top
	Richard Gentry » Three Powerful Breakthroughs in Beginning Reading and Writing (2:16). What do you consider to be the major breakthroughs in teaching and understanding beginning reading and writing? » Five Different Phases of Reading and Writing (2:28). What do you mean by phases and how does one recognize a particular phase in development? » Phase Observation has Immediate Applications (1:53). How does phase observation differ from other research-based stances in beginning literacy? » Phase Observation and Early Intervention (1:15). How does phase observation change our view of early intervention? » Phase Observation in Practice (1:17). What can teachers glean from the DVD that accompanies your book, Breakthrough in Beginning Reading and Writing? Buy Richard Gentry's Breakthrough in Beginning Reading & Writing Back to Top
	Barry Lane » Part 1: Humor in the classroom (3:41). You include many cartoons and humor in your book, what is the value of humor in the classroom? » Part 2: How to teach real writing (3:46). How do you teach real writing where students learn to use writing as a tool that serves multiple purposes while at the same time guarantee that students succeed on writing tests where they must write to the prompt. » Part 3: Why content area teachers need to teach writing (3:36). Why do content area teachers need to teach writing? » Part 4: How do you fit writing into a busy school day? (1:36). Buy Barry Lane's Scholastic Professional Book But How Do You Teach Writing?. Back to Top
	Lester Laminack, Cracking Open the Author's Craft » Author's Craft: Lester on audible and visual craft (2:12). » Saturdays and Teacakes: Lester reads aloud his book (8:50). » Buy Cracking Open the Author’s Craft Now! Back to Top
	Tim Rasinski & Nancy Padak » Part 1: Approach to reading assessment Both of you describe your approach to assessment as authentic and comprehensive. What does that mean? » Part 2: Retelling I’m curious about retelling, if you have one teacher with one student doing the retelling and then pull in a different teacher they may look at that student a little differently and maybe think that the comprehension is higher than the previous teacher, how do you deal with that? How do teachers get experience? The more they do with retelling the better they get? » Part 3: Fluency assessment How should an educator approach fluency assessment? What part does it play in the assessment process along with word recognition, vocabulary, and comprehension? » Part 4: Finding time for reading assessment It seems like we’re always assessing our students in different contents areas, but especially in reading and writing. How can teachers find time for your assessment? » Part 5: Using the reading assessment What suggestions do you offer teachers, principals, parents, and others in using the information gathered in assessment? » Part 6: How reading assessment empowers teachers You’ve mentioned that 3-minute reading assessments empower teachers. What do you mean by that? » Part 7: Advice to new teachers What advice do you offer new teachers entering the field? » Buy 3-Minute Reading Assessments: A Professional Development DVD and Study Guide by Scholastic Professional authors Tim Rasinski and Nancy Padak Back to Top
	Linda Rief » Motivation: Linda talks about what gets kids motivated to write (2:25). How do we get students to start writing, especially when they say, "I don't have anything to write about." Is it more a question of confidence rather than competence? » Revision: Why it shouldn't be the most difficult part of the writing process (3:27). Teachers as well as students view revision as the toughest part of writing. How do we motivate and encourage students to revise their writing? How do we get teachers involved in the revision process? » Buy 100 Quickwrites in The Teacher Store Now! Back to Top
	Jeff Wilhelm » Inquiry-Based Instruction: Jeff shares how to use inquiry in any subject you teach. (4:19). Are teachers using inquiry in classrooms now, or do they even know about it? » Using Inquiry in Language Arts. (3:13). With pressure now more than ever on test scores and grade competencies, how does inquiry and the use of questions promote reading and understanding in language arts? » Buy Engaging Readers & Writers With Inquiry and other Jeffrey Wilhelm Scholastic Professional books Now! Back to Top
	Michael Smith & Jeff Wilhelm » Part 1: Passion for grammar instruction (3:19). What made you so passionate about grammar instruction? » Part 2: A different approach (4:56). How is your approach to teaching grammar different from traditional methods? » Part 3: How to reach students (3:39). What do you do to reach students who don’t remember what they learned or are totally turned off by grammar instruction? » Part 4: Standardized tests (2:19). What about standardized tests? Buy Michael W. Smith & Jeffrey Wilhelm's Scholastic Professional Book Getting It Right: Fresh Approaches to Teaching Grammar, Usage, and Correctness. Back to Top