Tag Archives: Lost Secret of Fairies novel study

Mar5

Free Children’s Ebook During “Read An Ebook Week!”

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I hope you’re having a wonderful start to March. If you’re like me, you’re having crazy winter weather. Between the snow and rain, I’m finding a lot of time to read and get some writing in. If you have children or home school, I’m sure you’re looking for activities during this indoor times.

Fear not! To help celebrate “Read an Ebook Week”, I’ve put on sale my first children’s fantasy adventure on Smashwords for this week. It’s been a tradition now for over 10 years that Smashwords helps to promote ebooks and reading during the first full week of March. So, I’m offering “The Lost Secret of Fairies” free for this week only during the promotion. Also, I have provided online, since during the lockdowns for the pandemic, a FREE novel study that goes along with the book. So, for all you parents and home schoolers looking for a great reading activity during the indoor hours, here’s your chance to grab it. For teachers, I taught and developed it while I was teaching in the classroom. It’s a novel study that I used during reading time and will fulfill a lot of Common Core Reading and Language Arts standards.

Here are the links for you to get started:

Button for Smashwords Free Ebook Download

(This is a safe download. Not a pirated copy. Please be careful and only download books from official retailers supported by the author.)

Free Ebook

Here is the link to the blog post that lists all the parts of the novel study.

Novel Study Link

There’s also a lot of free books to choose from for parents and teachers. Here’s the link to the general promo page for you to look over. Hopefully you’ll find a good read.

Smashwords Free Ebooks

I hope you enjoy your raining, snowy weather with a good book, a nice roaring fire and/or cup of tea or soda.

-Tiffany Turner

Editor and Head Writer for

The Indie Children’s Authors Connection

Mar24

Isolation & Psychological Fallout During Corona Virus Pandemic: Poem and Journal Activity

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I want to thank everyone that has been following along in my blog for the last week. I started self isolating on March 12 due to the fact I’m over 50, and have a heart condition. I went through a battle to get back to health through most of 2015, and I really don’t want to go back there. I’ve been through an induced coma, pneumonia, septic shock, all due to my heart blood clot. But I’m not sure if my body could survive COVID-19. So, I isolated or how it feels to me, am hiding from getting this disease.

Then, I saw this poem today on Facebook being passed around. So many people are sharing their art. I would like to share it with you.

“History will remember when the world stopped.

And the flights stayed on the ground.

And the cars parked on the street.

And the trains didn’t run.

 

History will remember when the schools closed.

And the children stayed indoors.

And the medical staff walked towards the fire.

And they didn’t run.

 

History will remember when the people fought.

For their old and their weak.

Protected by the vulnerable.

By doing nothing at all.

 

History will remember when the virus left.

And the houses opened.

And the people came out.

And hugged and kissed.

And started again.

 

Kinder than before.”

By Donna Ashworth

The poem above helped me this morning. Creating art, blogging and writing,  is helping me. But I also feel like I’m waking up in the middle of a dystopian novel each day, and it’s making all the zombie shows and apocalyptic shows more real. I guess this is because I live a lot of the time in my imagination which really helps my writing self. But for a real pandemic, it is creating a fear that I have to face daily.

But now, reality is partially like fiction these days. That makes it kind of weird. Like expecting the vampires and zombies to show up next. I’m sure marshal law is just around the corner like in the Handmaid’s Tale, and too many things in fiction are making an appearance in real life. Maybe the jokes on me, because I imagine all this and write stuff down. Some of it has go to come true, right?

I’d like to give credit to Donna Ashworth and say thank you for the use of her poem. I contacted her on Facebook after I read it, and can see the story of how her poem is spreading and helping others. I’d like to present you with some journaling questions for parents and children in use with the poem to help with journaling on this subject:

  • How are you feeling about being in isolation or the soon to come shelter in place for your area?
  • Write down some of how you’re feeling about the corona virus in your journal. How are you feeling? What fears do you have? What experiences have you had over the past few weeks?
  • How does art help you?
  • What kind of art can you create to express your feelings or experiences about being in isolation or fears of the corona virus?

Feel free to comment below. If you like, you can talk with your children and see if they would like to use the poem above as an inspiration to write in their journals today or create some art. They can paint, write a poem, story, a song, dance, or create what they feel is right.  I taught on 9/11/01 and the days that followed, and I had my students journal their feelings as that disaster in our nation’s history unfolded. This is another time where journaling our feelings can be helpful.

Feel free to use the questions above or even add questions below in the comments. This can be a discussion for my blog community following along with my novel study and homeschooling activities. I’d love to hear how you are feeling.

Take care, and be kind to each other.

-Tiffany Turner

(Mrs. Turner)

For more information on Donna Ashworth, please visit her website/blog:

Ladies Pass It On.

 

Mar15

Day 1: Online Novel Study for The Lost Secret of Fairies

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Free novel study to go along with The Lost Secret of Fairies.

Greetings and welcome to Day 1 of the Online Novel Study for my book, The Lost Secret of Fairies. I am posting an online novel study to help and support the parents that are looking for activities for their children at home for the next few weeks because of the pandemic break due to the corona virus. Over the next few weeks, I will be posting activities, questions and online resources that will be offered for FREE to go along with my first book in my children’s fantasy adventure series, The Lost Secret of Fairies. 

I have been an elementary teacher for over 20 years. I’ve taught in the US school system in the state of California for 18 years, and I’m a credentialed teacher. Due to health issues, I had to retire from the classroom, but do work part time now in a local tutoring center, which all has shut down due to my county being a hot spot for corona virus.

So, in the spirit of trying to help with this crisis, I’m putting up some of the novel study unit I developed in the classroom for my book. I taught the unit twice before I became ill, and am happy to offer it now to teachers, parents and others that would like to teach my book, The Lost Secret of Fairies, at home, as a home school project, or in the classroom later when, hopefully, we return to normal.

Here’s the book trailer so your child can get excited about the story. I made it myself, and wrote and play the harp music in the trailer.

To begin with, here are the links to the ebook, The Lost Secret of Fairies. Paperback covers can also be purchased and used for the novel study. I have made the ebook available at a deep discount of only $0.99. Most of my books are available at $1.99 or $2.99 later in the series. So, if your child or students wish to continue in the series, copies for all the books are available online. I always kept additional copies of later books in the series in my classroom library and in the school library so any child could continue if they wish. I self published these books myself over the course of twelve years. So, they are part of my life’s work. So, please understand that I still need to keep them at a reasonable price to recoop some of my costs in editing and publishing them.

**Note: These lessons can also be used if you already have a copy of the book.

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The Lost Secret of Fairies is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Links to The Lost Secret of Fairies:

Reading Level is AR 4.6. Children that are high readers in third and up can read this themselves. Children younger will need it read to them. Recommended for 3rd grade and up.

Ebook Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1425146716

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lost-secret-of-fairies-tiffany-turner/1019317884

Apple/iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1503006160

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-lost-secret-of-fairies-1

-Paperback edition also available at above Amazon listing.

Paperback Links:

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lost-secret-of-fairies-tiffany-turner/1019317884

***Note: I am currently publishing an updated edition with new formatting for the ebook editions. When they become available, I will post them in this section.

When you have the book available, you are ready to begin the study. Just download the official journal entry master page to begin. You can print or make copies of this original master to create a journal to keep while your child/student reads the book. The pages can be put in a three ring binder or stapled together to form a journal. You can attach a blank page to create a journal cover, and your child can decorate it.

PDF link to copy of master below:

Journal Entry Form

After the journal is put together and a copy of the book has been achieved, begin the novel study by reading a chapter a day or in sections of 2-3 chapters a day. This will depend on their reading and grade level. I would start with one chapter a day and see how they do with that. If they can handle 1 or 2 a day, change to that.

I will be posting discussion and response question worksheets for 3 chapters at a time. I will also have additional activities to go along with the novel study which will include reading from other blog posts on my blog.

It will be a fun and engaging couple of weeks for any child or student that finds themselves at home due to the corona virus. Or in the future, any child being schooled at home or later for teachers in the classroom to use.

I will also be including links along the way to past activities I have posted, such as my Spooky Story online unit, and to other children’s authors that are making activities and lessons to go along with their books.

Please feel free to post comments and questions below on how the novel study is going for you.

***Please follow my blog to make sure you receive all the info about activities and lesson plan links. Look for the next post with study and response questions with additional activities in the next few days.

UPDATE April 4, 2020:

So folks, to help you out even further, I have managed to find a way to get the ebook for my book, FREE, for a limited time. From now until the end of the month, The Lost Secret of Fairies ebook is FREE. Yes, you heard that right. I’m giving it to you as a gift, along with the entire free online novel study, to help promote reading and learning during these hard times for the world. It is my gift to the world to hopefully help us all get through together. I’m sure fairies are something we all need now, helpful keepers of the Earth.

Link to Smashwords Free Ebook

Offer lasts until May 31, 2020!

Just remember, wash your hands, stay safe, and be kind to everyone because the world needs that right now. Oh, and fairies. We need the fey. So, enjoy, read and write!

Until next time,

Tiffany Turner

 

 

 

 

 

Jan28

How Do Writers Get Their Ideas?

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How do writers get their ideas? This is a huge, diverse question . To start, you have to often ask writers. Most often, they come to me in a blinding flash; with a flurry sometimes I hardly have time to write them down. One time I was carrying the groceries, and dropped them in the doorway as I ran, grabbing a piece of paper to write down my ideas. Another time I woke up from a dream; finishing it as I was waking up. I didn’t want it to stop. I got up, grabbed my laptop, and by the time my first cup of coffee for the morning was done, I’d written the first scene of a new story.

The orchard behind Tiffany Turner’s house growing up in the Santa Clara Valley.

The best way to get ideas is from your own experience. With my first book, The Lost Secret of Fairies, I drew my ideas from experiences as a kid. The big inspiration for the book was playing in the orchard behind my house growing up. Often, we put a ladder against the fence, climbed over, and ran about through the outer edge of the four acre orchard. At the time, it was known as the Santa Clara Valley. Orchards criss-crossed over the entire area that now have some of the top computer and Internet companies.

As a kid, there was nothing better than climbing up a tree and eating cherries just as they were ripening. We’d come up with exploring adventures that would take us through the orchard, into the creek, and travel beyond the freeway to see what lay beyond. Often, it was the next neighborhood or over-crossing for the freeway. But it was exploring beyond your own backyard, the best kind of kid adventure.

The "Boo" in his favorite sleeping position. He was the inspiration for the cat sorcerer, Brewford.

The “Boo” in his favorite sleeping position. He was the inspiration for the cat sorcerer, Brewford.

The other partner in my adventures was my cat. Often, I would sit in the orchard, and he would wander out to find me. I’d make a reading nest by mashing down the mustard plants, hiding among yellow flowers. One day, Booford, came out to see me. His tail bounced high above the tops of the mustard flowers as I heard his meows. I would yell back, shouting, “Boo, I’m over here.” Using my voice as radar, he entered my reading bowery covered in mustard petals meowing so loud as if to say, “Why didn’t you make that much easier? You know I’m not that tall.”

My family say I captured his attitude and personality in the Crystal Keeper series. Booford is my real cat that inspired Brewford, the cat sorcerer. I simply just asked myself the question, “What if Booford could talk?” So, from then on, he did, in my books. My family say I captured his personality. His half eyed stares had the wisdom of Garfield. He was an incredible cat, and he still lives today in my books.

When you put it all together, writers are inspired by the world around them. Whether you use your own experiences, dreams, or it comes to you in a flash, ideas come from everywhere. There is a saying, “Be careful, you might end up in my next novel.” This is not only true, but the more you write, the more the real world around you ends up in your books. If you know a writer, you might be the inspiration and don’t know it. If you are a writer, you already have an idea of what I’m talking about. So get out there, and experience life and the world. It’s the best way to write.

**This is the first of a series of blog posts that help support a novel study unit for The Lost Secret of Fairies, the first book in the Crystal Keeper Series.
Common Core Standards-4th Grade
Reading Level: 4.6 AR Level

ELA CCS Speaking/Listening 4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. (Discussion Question: How Do Authors Get Their Ideas?)

ELA CCS Reading/Literature 4.7 Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text.

ELA CCS Writing 3.b: Use dialogue and description to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.

The Lost Secret of Dragonfire is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The Lost Secret of Dragonfire is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

***Tiffany Turner has released her third book, The Lost Secret of Dragonfire, in her Crystal Keeper series. She continues to teach fourth graders in California while writing fantasy adventure middle grade novels. This is her 17th year of teaching. She is working on other writing projects in her No Limits Writing practices. She actively plays the Gaelic Harp at Renaissance festivals throughout Northern California.

**Follow to connect with more Common Core related blog posts over the next few months. Available for use in the classroom courtesy of Tiffany Turner.