Stuff Going On

I’ve been a little ridiculously busy lately, so I haven’t been getting around to other blogs as much as I like. I tried not to miss any WRiT...

Teacher and Author: The Reading-Writing Connection

My 5th grade students were excited when they heard the book I’d been telling them about was going to be published as a series. And both my r...

Using The Emotional Thesaurus in a Classroom

Teaching is sometimes like that game where you throw Velcro balls at a Velcro target. Sometimes the ball sticks, and sometimes it doesn’t.  ...

Verse is Not a Verb

On our way to Field Day last Friday, one of my students asked me, “Are we going to verse the orange house classes, or just purple house?” (Y...

Back to the Classics

I know most (if not all) of you have read the article in The Wall Street Journal highlighting the dark and disturbing nature of today’s YA ...

Upcoming Anniversary for TPR

I’d like to thank Marisa , Carolin , and Not the Girl You Think I Am for participating in First Impressions this month! I also appreciate a...

Kindles (and Nooks) Go to School

Technically, they’re not supposed to be there. Of course, neither are cell phones, and we all know half the students have cell phones in the...

Irony

Is today’s youth capable of recognizing irony in literature? Monday’s discussion of Huck Finn has prompted me to move on to another little ...

Huck Finn and the State of Being Uncomfortable

Seeing Huckleberry Finn on the list of banned books is no new thing. It’s been controversial for years and years, thanks to it making us un...

Sending a Kid up Everest

Report cards and parent conferences are over, and it's time for Thanksgiving break! I feel like I've worked hard enough for it! Exha...

Squashed Flat

I don’t have much for you today, folks. A week of being buried under report cards was followed by a week of parent-teacher conferences – in...

Having Mom in the Classroom Next Door

This year, my daughter Gina is in fifth grade, and she's in the classroom right next to mine. Her teacher is the young man I mentored t...

A Promising Start!

It will probably come as no surprise that I enjoy teaching writing to my 5th graders. However, grading writing can be a drag. Nothing kil...

Last Day to Enter and Random Reflections

This is me, after 4 days of teaching, trying to write a blog post. Yeah, I’m wiped. But I do know this. Today is the last day to enter my ...

The Practice Room

School’s in session! I like my class: they're smart and well-spoken and good-looking, too! (I know they can use Google, and they’re gonn...

Don't Wanna Go Back!

WAH! A week from tomorrow, the 2010-2011 school year starts for me. The kids have another week off, but teachers return next Tuesday. Here...

We Have Not Struck

Counting today, I have twelve days of school left. Twelve . Teaching school after Memorial Day is like bailing out a sinking ship with a le...

Turning the Tables on the Teacher

I saw the gleam in their eyes when I explained it to them. I’d made a few copies of the opening chapters of my WIP, and I was hoping to find...

Ivory Tower Thinking

Are you sick of hearing me complain about standardized tests? My students are certainly sick of taking them. One of them even came to scho...

Process Writing Mirrors Publication

Anyone who is a teacher will be familiar with Process Writing as taught in the classroom. It consists of steps labeled Pre-Writing, Drafting...