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I’m currently prepping my classes for another research unit, this one a blend of Memoir, Advocacy, and Speech Writing. After all, never in real life are genres categorized. They blend together; and the Common Core assessments to come ...

My new post at Edutopia, "Persuasive Writing is a Key Focus in Common Core Standards," has just gone live. I'm in high hopes for this new wave of assessments because I see more authenticity and real world application.  For one ...

The Parent Portal is now open. No, this isn’t some Dr. Who vortex waiting to suck away all parents who can't seem to drop their kids off on time. It’s the 24/7 online access to a teacher’s grade ...

I'm taking a class at Walden University right now, and a recent prompt asked us to identify a future technology. I took a moment to reflect on this country's current enthusiastic roll-out of Interactive Whiteboards, and why I feel ...

On Monday, Oct 17, I will be presenting a free webinar for my publisher, Eye On Education. You can register here. In it, I'll be sharing what I have learned about the upcoming Common Core standards and how they will ...

I just posted "Student Tributes to Steve Jobs" at The Huffington Post. His passing will be a "Where were you when?" moment that I felt my students needed to pause and acknowledge. Wonka has left us with questions about his ...

OK, so there they are: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. They are in your audience and have their checkbooks out looking for a new cause to fund. Will it be yours? So began my schpeel on writing an Executive ...

As my readers may know, my students are planning for the future of the human species. This year, as I have described in an earlier post, I am dedicating much of the year to Project-Based Learning and trying to ...

This year, I have decided to teach solely in Project-Based Writing. I’m defining Project-Based Writing as a series of constructed units built around authentic assessment, authentic audience, and authentic learning that incorporates the multiple writing genres. That ...

I had almost forgotten what it felt like to wait with anticipation for the name of my teacher to be posted on a school window. This year, however, I waited for the first time by the side of my ...