very cool quotes about reading, writing, and grace

Anyone who tells a story speaks a new world into being.
-Michael Williams

I need to learn to take risks in my writing.
-Andrea, Drake Middle School student

I recently read an interview in which the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison was asked why she had become a great writer, what books she had read, what method she had used to structure her practice. She laughed and said, “Oh, no, that is not why I am a great writer. I am a great writer because when I was a little girl and walked into a room where my father was sitting, his eyes would light up. That is why I am a great writer. That is why. There isn’t any other reason.”
-Don Miller-Searching For God Knows What, pg 128

"Writing -- or at least, going for Natalie Goldberg's "jugular" -- requires a degree of fearlessness. Sometimes I feel like I should be wearing a helmet."
-Megan Freeman

modification ideas

I've been working with a team of teachers to come up with some concrete ways to modify tests for struggling students. Here's a few basic points of modification we came up with:
1. Use larger print (14 or even 16 pt font, and absolutely no smaller than 12 pt).
2. Helvetica, Arial or Times New Roman is the easiest to read for most students.
3. Use double- instead of a single-spacing between test items.
4. Limit short answer and essay-type questions. #1, 2, and 3 all create a lighter, more breathable test that is less intimidating for those students that experience test anxiety or struggle with the material.
5. Keep categories together (T/F, mult choice, short answers, etc).
6. Include a section for purpose/learning goals below the title of the test.
7. Keep it short--i.e. be purposeful. Stick to questions that show learning most effectively, and eliminate duplicate and confusing questions.
8. For espeically struggling students, allow them to draw their answers instead of writing them, when appropriate.
9. Before handing it to the students, take the test in the persona of those students. Step into their shoes. This is humbling, revealing, and instructive for us as test designers...and as people.
10. Other thoughts?