The Magic Words: How to use poetry prompts to unlock creativity and confidence in academic writing students

By: Joseph Fasano In 2022, I was invited to speak with a class of second graders in New Jersey to teach them about the craft and magic of poetry. I developed a prompt, The Magic Words framework, that could help them unlock images, thoughts, and feelings without worrying about how to structure a piece of

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A Letter from Diane Shader Smith

Diane Shader Smith, mother of Mallory Smith, author of Diary of a Dying Girl Salt in My Soul, my daughter Mallory Smith’s posthumously published memoir, captivated a wide audience, from academic institutions like Harvard and Stanford to higher-profile platforms such as the White House and Capitol Hill. It also reached international forums including NATO and

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Jacqueline Woodson’s Red at the Bone Defense Kit

Red at the Bone has become one of the most banned books in the country with teachers, librarians, and community leaders fighting to keep this seminal book on shelves. Riverhead Books has created a special “Defense Kit” to aid those seeking to defend Red at the Bone and freedom of expression itself. The Kit features a letter from Jacqueline, discussion questions from

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New Thematic Educator Guides: Teaching Media Literacy

The COVID-19 global pandemic forever changed the way humans interact with information and with each other. Social media saved us from disconnection, but it also provided an opportunity for the dissemination of disinformation, the rise of polarization, and the distrust of traditional news media. Amidst concerns over children’s mental health and internet communication, many state

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2024 Middle and High School Collections

The Penguin Random House Education Middle School and High School Digital Collections feature outstanding fiction and nonfiction from the children’s, adult, DK, and Grupo Editorial divisions, as well as publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Peruse online or download these valuable resources to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: English Language Arts,

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Celebrating Juneteenth

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. It commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce the freedom of the more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in Texas. The newly freed Black Americans observed Juneteenth as a celebration of freedom and

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New High School Thematic Educator Guide: Contemporary and Classic Pairings

When students read classic and contemporary texts together, they use high-level thinking to determine similarities and differences in style, structure, and essential truths. Paired texts provide relevance and open entry points to new ideas and cultures. This guide pairs the following books: This Is My America and To Kill a Mockingbird Lessons in Chemistry and

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Tommy Orange’s Transformative Bronx High School Visit

“Tommy’s gonna be in the city next week to promote his new book! We have to invite him here!” And so began an email inviting Knopf author Tommy Orange to visit Millennium Art Academy in the Bronx. The email originally came into the Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau inbox. The inbox is inundated with fan mail, the-opposite-of-fan-mail,

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Author Julio Anta Visits Multilingual Educators Event

On January 8th a group of over twenty middle and high school New York City educators had the opportunity to meet and learn from Julio Anta, author of Sí, Se Puede (Ten Speed Graphic). The event was hosted by PRH Education at the Penguin Random House headquarters as part of a professional development training cohort

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