Viewing: ELA
PBL Secret Sauce #3: Aligning the Standards to Your PBL Unit
Here’s my new screencast showing two ways I ensure that any unit I design or adapt is aligned to our required standards. In a nutshell: Plan around a particular standard and design with that standard(s) in mind from the
PBL Secret Sauce #1: The Entry Level Event
I know that when teachers learn about Project Based Learning, many times they walk away with the rationale, the research, and the overview of what a unit might look like. But sometimes teachers still have questions about the day-to-day implementation.
End-Of-Year Reflection: The Epic Poem Haiku
As we’re ending the school year, I know that the tween brains in my classroom are all silently deciding what information will be transferred to long-term memory and what will forever be taken out with the trash. To hopefully avoid
Abstract Concept to Concrete Awareness: 3DPrinting to Teach Growth Mindset
One of the things I like about 3d Printing in middle school is that it makes the abstract more concrete. Middle schoolers need that because of where their brain is at developmentally. They straddle the threshold from concrete thinking to
The Internet Research Game & 3D Printing: No Whammies!
So in an attempt to broaden the use of the 3D printers in my room, beyond that of my Maker-themed ELA class, I thought I’d leverage the curiosity for the devices as an incentive for my additional classes. That way,
Gotta Catch ‘Em All: Using Pokemon Go in my 3D Printing/ELA Class
I’ve written before about the power of using pop culture in the classroom, and this fall will be no different in Room 1. Admittedly, I can’t say I’m a huge Pokemon fan. It’s one of the cartoons I limit in my
Lessons to Share: 3D Printing and Design to Learn Reading & Writing
So I just finished my first week with my Make Writing class. This class, as I’ve written about in the past, is intended to help those long-term EL students who have become disengaged with school and with learning. These kids
Pencils to 3D-Printers: A New Kind of Language Arts Class
“The printers have been ordered. Fingers crossed. Here we go…..” This was the email I received two weeks ago from my principal who is working with me to develop a whole new kind of Language Arts class. The plan
Making, Writing, & Leaving My Wheelhouse: How This Relates to ELD Students (UPDATED)
I first began blogging to reflect on what I was learning during my summer with the Writing Project. After each day, I returned home, head spinning, needing to simply process. Finally, my husband said, “Why don’t you try starting one
Dear Parents: What happens in the testing room?
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
Advice for a Future Department Head
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
Standards Conversation #1: Should Education Take a Tip from Starbucks?
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,
Book Review: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
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
Student-Designed Schools
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 a
How to Battle Epic Paragraphing
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
Twitter as Think Aloud
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
Fictional Crushes
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
Teaching Secrets: Finding a Job That You Love
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,
Extreme Makeover: Classroom Edition
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
The Importance of The Classroom Library
I believe a classroom library is the heartbeat of a teacher’s environment. It is the window into their own personality, and it reflects the importance of literacy in the classroom. I believe every teacher, no matter the subject taught, should
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