Let's Start from the Beginning...

I was a teacher for a very long time. 23 years to be exact.

I started in 2001 after graduating from Florida International University where I received my Bachelor's in Elementary Education and my Master's in Reading/Writing making me a K-12 Reading & Writing SPECIALIST.

(I worked really hard for that title😊)

I worked in the elementary school setting for a good 15 years in grades 1-3 before being thrown into the overwhelming abyss of upper elementary and WRITING 😵‍💫.

(Don't worry, it gets better!)

I told my amazing principal at the time that she had waaaay too much faith in me and I wish she hadn't.

(I was scared to teach writing, the kids hated it.)

But she said, "Vannesa, you are my ACE card. I can put you anywhere."

I said, "Huh?"

She replied, "I know that you will figure it out and thrive. So, I don't worry. I put you where I need you." 😊

So, I bit the bullet and accepted the challenge like a champ.

I was in charge of ELA in 4th grade and writing was that thing that no one wanted to touch with a ten foot pole.

Enter my AHA moment. 💡

I thought, there has to be a better way to write than old worksheets and boring writing programs.😓

That's when I✨magically got accepted to join the Zelda Glazer Writing Institute.

This was where my love affair with annotating began. 🥰

This was an exclusive summer program affiiated with the University of Miami. It was 2 weeks. We met every single day for 8 hours. I learned so much!

I met children's book authors, got a ton of amazing resources, and learned how to become a better reader and writer MYSELF!

The biggest lesson I learned was KEEP IT SIMPLE, SILLY!

I had to figure out a way to teach my students how to write when they were resisting HARD!

The funny thing was that when I stopped following the textbook scripts and the PD plans and started teaching the kids from my 💞heart, I noticed a shift.

It was like the Pied Piper! They all followed my lead. I simply decided to teach them the way it made sense for me. 🎯

I told them that they were POWERFUL💥CREATORS and they could create whatever their hearts desired!

They loved that!

I told them, "Listen, I have a 🗒️CHEAT CODE to make all of this a breeze."

Their eyes perked up.👀

Their🤐mouths stopped moving.

And I introduced them to my bestie strategy - ANNOTATING.

I taught them how to ⏪➡️REVERSE ENGINEER the content they were reading.

📌Not the actual ideas, but the structures.

Because you see, reading and writing are mirror images of each other.🪞

Once you are💡AWARE of that which you observe, you can use it or call it into existence in your own writing! And, you can't unsee it once you notice what authors do to write.

From that moment on, they read and annotated to unlock 🔓what the author was doing so they could do it, too!

We adopted the "If this guy can do it, so can I." attitude.

After that, I became known as the QUEEN BEE of ANNOTATING! 🐝