Susan Stein, author of Elementary Poetry and Grades K-5 First Year Teacher’s Guide to Survival has taught for 34 years. She has been retired since 2003. Susan’s passion for writing is exhibited in the two books that she has written. In the Survival Guide she has given first-year teachers the best advice for getting through the year filled with successes and failures reflected by her own experiences. Some of the challenges for the year are classroom management, parent involvement, homework, spelling, planning lessons, report cards, writing, reading, journals and plenty of helpful hints and things to avoid. Susan has always mentored new teachers and helped them adjust to the first year of their career. So, in reading this book, get ready to spread your wings and soar! In the Elementary Poetry book Susan has shown her desire to teach poetry to her students and share her techniques with teachers so they too can be successful in this area. Many of her students have won poetry contests; had their work published, while still others became something in the writing field. Kelly, a student she had many years ago, is working at a publications company writing for their website. When asked what teachers were inspirational to her she responded, “Mrs. Stein, because she encouraged me to write and instilled in me a love for poetry.” Susan has an award winning website (www.tooter4kids.com) which encompasses a variety of educational themes, poetry, and literacy. There are over 200,000 visitors to her many pages since 2000. Susan’s most prestigious award was winning USA Today Education Best Bet Web Site, which she has won twice. Fewer than 150 sites are selected each year as USA Today Education “Best Bets.”
