tweenteacher.com

Dear Parents,  I'm going to walk you through what happens in a testing room to help demystify your child's test taking experience.   First off, I'm told to take down anything from my walls that might help kids out.  That means they ...

So generally I write a post giving advice to all you new educators out there, but this time I need the advice.    I’m the new English Department Chair for my middle school, and I’ve been set to lead a group of ...

Starbucks is the ultimate in differentiation.  In fact, it's built an empire on providing individualized, one-on-one product to any member of its clientele, no questions asked.  Cute, young baristas (some with piercings, some without) hand out drinks with a smile, ...

You know the old commercial: "You got your chocolate in my peanut butter! Well, you got your peanut butter in my chocolate!" And just like a Peanut Butter cup, it seems that Jane Austin and Zombies go great together. Pride and ...

This year, my 8th graders all produced a multi-genre project during 4th Quarter that focused on possible careers of their choice. But I went a step further with my 8th grade Honors class. They not only had to research ...

Every year my nemesis rears its ugly head: the epic paragraph.  Epic paragraphs are those essays comprised entirely of one mega-paragraph with no indentations to indicate transition from thought thought. I bet you thought your kids were the only ones doing ...

I was reading through my Digg headlines this weekend, and I happened on this article of the top 10 most extraordinary Twitter updates.  I also did some digging (no pun intended) and found articles that range in claiming that there ...

OK, don't tell my husband, but I have a fictional crush.  That is, I have a crush based on a fictitious character.  I think I've always had one, but the object of my literary love has always changed with my ...

Know a teacher who got a pink slip?  Maybe my newest post at Teacher Magazine can help.  Click here for the article. It's Step 1 of my Top Secret New Teacher Handbook.  Hope it creates some shortcuts, a machete even, through ...

There's been so much talk lately of deep-needed reforms for education, but we neglect just how powerful a simple makeover can be.  I'm lucky to currently work at a school that has a patch of green, which fixes the broken ...