tweenteacher.com

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Occasionally, I repost this article so that new readers can find it more easily.  Based on some very enthusiastic feedback, it has since morphed into a book proposal called The Top Secret New Teachers Handbook.  I'll share more as it ...

The Register reports that DARPA (Defense Advance Research Projects Agency) is currently researching how to create robots that are "like some self-aware computer systems capable of "meta-reasoning" and "introspection..."  Their goal is to "Provide machines with an ability to reason ...

Somehow, and maybe I'm reading into it here, I feel a little written off already.  Education Week is reporting that some districts are pondering the possibility of "front-loading" new teacher salaries, increasing their compensation earlier in their career to aid ...

This weekend I'm presenting at the CATE conference in Santa Clara, CA.  It's a session on developing high level, critical-thinking commentary in expository writing.  My feeling is that great commentary is the Voice in Expository, it is the Show, Not ...

OK, so my first period's "Advanced" group went up 40% between their 1st district assessment and their 2nd. Another period went up 37%.  Even my Honors class went from 81% Advanced to 97% Advanced, with only 1 student found in ...

Science Daily is reporting that there has been a shift in how students are thinking as a result of their use of technology.  They believe it possibly lowers critical thinking skills and analysis.  Additionally, they wonder just how much schools ...

Here's a great metacognitive lesson that integrates poetry.  Or is it a poetry lesson that is metacognitive?  (Shrug)  I believe that good writing and great structure can be taught through mimicking great authors.  Using this philosophy as my guide, my ...