Viewing: Common Core
5 Nonfiction + Novels Series: The Middle School Edition for Dec. 2015
My newest post is the first in a series in which I’m collaborating with Talks with Teachers podcaster and blogger, Brian Sztabnik. Brian not only moderates the #aplitchat on Twitter but also writes the 5 Nonfiction + Novels series for
Using Ant-Man In The Classroom
just watched Ant-Man with my 9 year-old, and we both walked away with a cinematic smile on our faces. For him, it was a movie of laughs and of just the right level of suspense. It didn’t have the darkness
Visual of my Edutopia post: “The Power of I Don’t Know”
recently wrote an post for Edutopia called “The Power of I Don’t Know.” It focuses on our need as teachers to release being the information authority in the room and instead to hand over the reins to the students themselves.
Training Judges for a Speech Tournament: A Reflection on How Students (Even Adults) Learn
e just finished hosting our first quarter speech tournament on Friday night. Our league, to our knowledge, is one of the largest middle school leagues in the country, and the coaches meet frequently to ensure that our tournaments run as
Do You Remember the Moment When You First Learned “Grit?”
OK, so here’s my confession: I’m not so sure that grit can be taught. I know, however, from experience, that it can be learned. So I think it’s time we all had a frank conversation about the role of school
Speech and Debate Secret Sauce: Building Community in Any Classroom
As I’ve recently written, I am the coach of a very successful and very large middle school speech & debate team. It’s a huge job to coach all of these kids, but it’s amazingly rewarding. It’s rewarding to know that
Let’s Talk About Speech, Baby: Speech & Debate and the Common Core
Besides being a Language Arts teacher, I am also a Speech and Debate coach. I haven’t written about it too much, not for any reason other than I spend a lot of time geeking out over curriculum design in teaching
When Life Turns on a Dime, You Discover Your Family
I want to tell you a little about what happened to me this summer, but I promise that it will come around and relate to school. Cruddy hook, I know, but I wanted you to know there was a method
I’m Confused. What Am I Fighting For? Who Am I Supposed to Be Fighting?
I find myself confused about my profession and, as a result, confused about my path within it. I entered teaching with a feeling of pride about my purpose, feeling the system was working with me to help prepare students for
Edutopia Post: How Can We Make Assessments Meaningful?
My most recent post for Edutopia focuses on Meaningful Assessments. I’m currently working on that chapter for my new book, and it’s been on the brain as of late. In this post, I talk about using the 4Cs (Creativity, Critical-Thinking,
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