Tom Newkirk, lifetime educator and bestselling author of Minds Made for Stories, discusses eight powerful literacy practices—and the democratic values that connect them. Newkirk argues that “the house of literacy has a thousand doors, and our job is to help students find one that will let them in.” Yet for many students reading and writing is made unnecessarily difficult and uninviting. We need to tell a better story. Literacy’s Democratic Roots celebrates eight door-opening ideas that can help us make room for all students.
Thomas Newkirk is the bestselling author of Minds Made for Stories along with numerous other Heinemann titles. He taught writing at the University of New Hampshire for thirty-nine years, and founded the New Hampshire Literacy Institutes, a summer program for teachers. In addition to working as a teacher, writer, and editor, he has served as the chair of his local school board for seven years.View all by Thomas Newkirk