Dear Friend,

What does escape artist Harry Houdini have to do with a new year?

This new beginning is a special time when your students can look back on their past year and cherish their hopes and dreams for the future. But do they know how to express those?

Here are five new prompts geared to help them express their ideas through opinion, personal narrative, personification, and so on, as they think about and evaluate their lives. And read about a crazy skill of Harry Houdini's.

Suitable for students in grades 5 - 12.

52-Week Reading Challenge for Teens + a Giveaway

Would you like an inventive way to get your teens to read more this year?

And would you like to enter for a chance to win a Kindle Paperwhite Giveaway + a $25 Amazon gift card?

Friend and blogger Marcy Crabtree and her son, of Ben and Me, have compiled a fun list of types of books your teens can choose from. Here's a sample of her clever list:

5.Read a book recommended by a friend.
6.Read a classic book, not required for homeschool (or school).
7.Read a book with a one-word title.
8.Read a book whose author was younger than 25 when they wrote it.
9.Read a book of historical fiction.
10.Read an autobiography written by someone you’ve never heard of.
11.Read a book that is a travel journal.
12.Read a book in which the main character is an animal.
13.Read a book in which animals speak.
14.Read a book with a giant in it.

Here's the complete, FREE list of creative ways to select a book. >>

Don't wait to enter the giveaway. It ends January 16!

Yours for more vibrant writing and literature,

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