Viewing: Curriculum
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 from
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.
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 year
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
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 pick
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
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,
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
Norms for Skype and Video Conferencing in the Classroom
So recently my colleague, Kenna McRae, and I began using Skype between our two classrooms. Whenever I have a hair-brained idea, I know I can count on McRae to jump in and experiment with me. And I think the level
My students discussing Twilight
OK, so I was recently involved in an online debate about the merits of using Twilight in the classroom. Actually, it turned out to be not much of a debate, because despite our differences of opinion about the quality of
“Internet Literacy: The Genre” : CUE 2010
Thank you as well to those of you (wow! there were a lot of you!) who attended my “Internet Literacy: The Genre” session at CUE. As promised, here is the keynote itself to peruse at your leisure. As with everything
“Podcasting with 70 Middle Schoolers”: CUE 2010
Thank you to everyone who attended my session today at CUE on “Podcasting with 70 Middle Schoolers.” As promised, here is the keynote itself to peruse at your leisure. As with everything on my site, this work is licensed under
Part 3 of 3: The Future of Teacher Prep Programs
Well, what began as mere musings, seems to have become a fully fleshed fantasy for what a teacher prep program of the future may look like. It all began in Part 1 of this series of posts. It continued in
Sneaking a Puff of Professional Development
I’m at CATE this weekend (California Association of Teachers of English) as both presenter and attendee. I’m doing two sessions: one on Internet Literacy (based on my recent workbooks) and one in a panel of Writing Project teachers on a
Teaching From Afar: Using Twitter While Absent
I’ve always been a multi-tasker. It frustrated my own teachers at times in that I always needed to be doing two things at once in order to be fully alert. My brain worked like riding a bicycle: if I only
Projector Central article: How a Teacher Learned to Get Along with her Promethean Board
I recently reviewed the Promethean Board, and more specifically its projector, for Projector Central. You can read the article here.
Why I’m Jealous of Teach For America or Collaboration on the Can
I don’t mean to whine, but I’m feeling neglected. For all my questions about the eventual impact on education with TFA, I find myself a little pouty that they get all this professional development and I don’t.
Costa’s Levels of Questioning and Student-Designed Assessments
So this week I introduced Costa’s Levels of Questioning to my students. We have some teachers on my site talking about these triggers of metacognition so it compliments everyone’s efforts to enter this discussion in the classroom. Costa’s is, in
When you Can’t Talk, You Can Still Teach
So in my semi-annual tradition, I’ve already lost my voice. Now, I’m not talking about still whispering here. I’m talking about a totally stripped, honk-when-I-try-to-produce-sound lost voice. It happens to me 2-3 times a year and I’m starting to think
Literacy, A Print-Rich Environment, and No Reading Logs Allowed
I think that so much about encouraging literacy is about making it sexy. Make reading attractive and make it unavoidable to enjoy. I’ve written about my classroom library in the past, but I also wanted to let you know about
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