Aug
28
2010
28
2010
Middle School Nuts and Bolts: Intro to Time Management
A tween is all about distraction. Their brain is just going through so many changes that focus can be an issue under the best of circumstances. They are trying to settle on an identity, their cast of friends changes ...
Aug
23
2010
23
2010
How to Battle Epic Paragraphing – updated
I originally wrote this post some time ago, but because it is such a problem that a teacher can detect so early on, I thought I would repost it for those who may have missed it on the last go-round. ...
Aug
17
2010
17
2010
Middle School Nuts and Bolts: Start of the Year Routine and Handouts
I'm asked frequently about the nuts and bolts of middle school: classroom management, paperwork, first day rituals, etc...So I wanted to do a series of posts that addresses what I'm doing right now, real time. The start of the ...
Aug
12
2010
12
2010
Are we being set up for mediocrity?
I can't get into my room at my own convenience. It's less than two weeks to launch and I can't even get into Mission Control when I need to. They aren't handing out keys yet, so I can ...
Jul
09
2010
09
2010
Tweenteacher Book Title Contest
Hey readers!
I am hoping that the power of social media can help a gal out. I'm in the need of a catchy title for my new book that is due out in early 2011. The working title is Tips for ...
Jun
29
2010
29
2010
Picking a Start of the Year Project for PBL
So just as school started to wrap up, I decided that at the start of next year, we would be picking a local cause and trying to solve it. Now, I was entertaining the thought that the kids would ...
Jun
19
2010
19
2010
Curriculum Segregation and Teacher Turfiness
High school teachers can be so turfy. Which was one of the reasons why I received an email earlier today concerned about my curriculum for the class I'm teaching at summer school camp.
In a nutshell, I've been given leave to ...
Jun
13
2010
13
2010
Pen Tricks and Differentiation
OK, for those of you not in the pen spinning loop, I'm talking about a craze that's preoccupying tween fingers all over the known universe, or at least in my district. Of pen spinning, or object manipulation, as a sport, ...
May
30
2010
30
2010
The Courtesy Contract: Building Community ‘Til the Bitter End
As the school year comes to an end, I wanted to share one of my favorite activities: something I call, The Courtesy Contract.
In my book for EyeOnEducation Publishing, due out in early 2011, called Tips for Tween teachers by Tweenteacher, ...
May
28
2010
28
2010
And My Job Quality is Based on These Tests?! (Updated)
So clearly we've all been thinking a lot about the necessity of test scores in making high stakes decisions. I mean, test scores seem to be used in everything these days: teacher evaluations, a student's college or career readiness, ...
