Wonder Lead Ambassador

Paul W. Hankins

Joined 2 years ago

Paul W. Hankins is an English Language Arts teacher at the secondary level. A firm believer in inquiry-based strategies and approaches, Hankins believes in most cases that teachers have "questions," but students have "wonders." Meeting in the middle addresses the standards while embracing the natural wonder and curiosity our students bring into the room. Hankins is a member of multiple state level professional groups, including Hoosier Family of Readers, The Indiana Reading Association, AISLE/ILF, and The National Writing Project at Indiana University Southeast. Hankins is a member of the National Writing Project, the National Council of Teachers of English, the Assembly on Adolescent Literature to the National Council of Teachers of English, and is a second-year ambassador with The Jossey-Bass Teacher Ambassador Program. Hankins serves or has served on multiple reading/literature juries to include the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award (ALAN), the Lee Bennett Hopkins Children's Poetry Award (2016), and the Eliot Rosewater Awards (Indiana).

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"When Readers Find The Books Seeking Them"

“When Readers Find The Books Seeking Them”: Two Teachers Talk Twin Towers TitlesTHIS IS A CROSS-POST BLOG from THESE 4 CORNERS (Paul's Blog)A ...

Apr 27, 2016

#WallowinWonder: 1677: "What Makes Your Tongue Burn?"

We've been working with Catalog Verse in Room 407. You might recognize this type of poem if you've ever listened to:"My Favorite Things" from The ...

Apr 24, 2016

#WallowinWonder: #201:"What is the Best Place on Earth?"

This picture is from our family vacation in Northern Michigan last fall. This area is often referred to by locals as "God's Country." While walking ...

Apr 21, 2016

Wallow in Wonder Poem 14, 15, and 16: Synthesis/Sestina Poem

You've probably wondered where I've been. I wish I could answer like Zora Neale Hurston's Janie from Their Eyes Were Watching God to say, "I've been ...

Apr 14, 2016

Wallow in Wonder Poem 13: #1667 "How Do Homing Pigeons Find Their Way Home?"

"How to Find Your Way Home"Move about--from little room to little room.Look about--little room after little room.Move in--make this one your little ...

Apr 12, 2016

Wallow in Wonder Poem 12: #1666: "Why are There Seven Days in a Week?"

I'm going to cheat a little today. Only because our students in Room 407 are working with Pantoum form today and tomorrow.And. . .Pantoum has seven ...

Apr 11, 2016

Wallow in Wonder Poem 11: #115: "Are Debit Cards and Credit Cards the Same?"

I've already used one of these machines today. And by the end of the day, I will have probably used one again. It reminds me that while in ...

Apr 10, 2016

WallowInWonder Two-For Sunday: Poems 9 and 10

Feeling a little under the weather and I did not get a post in on Saturday. So, if you are following the blog during the month of April, you are ...

Apr 9, 2016

Wallow in Wonder Poem 8: "Why Can't You Drive As Fast As You Want?"

I am very late to the game today. It's been that kind of week. And here we are. . .at the end. . .of that kind of week. You know the kind of week, ...

Aug 15, 2018

For fans of Dr. Who and Guardians of the Galaxy, Invictus is an invigorating and exciting book. For non-sci-fi loving people, Invictus is EVEN ...

Nerdy Book Club

Aug 14, 2018

Hello, everyone! What a spud-tastic honor it is to have the book trailer for my upcoming picture book, Potato Pants!, revealed here at the Nerdy Book ...

Nerdy Book Club

Aug 13, 2018

Each school year has its own personality, its own way of being remembered. Last year was like trying to maneuver a raft through whitewater while ...

Nerdy Book Club

Aug 11, 2018

As the start of the school year quickly approaches, I have been finding ways to book talk as many books as I can to teachers. Recently, I shared ...

Nerdy Book Club

Aug 10, 2018

My graphic novel adaptation of The Odyssey was first published in 2010. Since then it’s gone on to be (without question) my best-selling ...

Nerdy Book Club

Aug 8, 2018

In their new picture book, Everything You Need for a Treehouse (2018, Chronicle Books), Carter Higgins’ carefully plucked and placed words are ...

Nerdy Book Club

Aug 7, 2018

I didn’t grow up poor, but my mother did. She grew up in an unheated home, eating the occasional squirrel shot by my grandfather, and ...

Nerdy Book Club

Aug 6, 2018

This story was inspired by my own experiences as a young child emigrating to the U.S. by passenger ship. In reality I was even younger than Ella, not ...

Nerdy Book Club

Aug 4, 2018

I had just finished sharing the latest research about classroom libraries with my teachers at a staff meeting. The research didn’t ...

Nerdy Book Club