The future of the country is in good — albeit small — hands. Just when you think the country is spiraling out of control due to natural disasters, political upheaval, and lone wolf violence, you read some words written by twelve- and thirteen-year-olds and you realize that kids will carry us through. In short,Continue reading “My Seventh-Graders Told Me This: Everything’s Gonna Be Okay”
Tag Archives: Students
Reading about how to teach writing
It has its ups and downs I love reading books about the teaching of writing. It’s always so valuable to me to find ways to help kids love writing! Right now, I’m re-reading Real Revision by Kate Messner, a text chock-full of innovative strategies that real-life published authors use when they revise their own writing.Continue reading “Reading about how to teach writing”
Get Your Students Published ASAP
Three days in and students are revising submissions for a publisher. I decided not to discuss class rules on Wednesday, the first day of school, because who wants to hear class rules for eight different classes in one day? Instead, we jumped right into a writing contest hosted by Creative Communication (CC). The contest (read aboutContinue reading “Get Your Students Published ASAP”
Ten Questions for Kohl’s About This Back-to-School Shirt
Yeah, it’s just a $10 t-shirt (when you buy two of these charmers), but clothing has power. Is this shirt supposed to be funny, Kohl’s? Because it’s really just mean. Did you know that back-to-school should be a time of building students up, not tearing them down? “Nobody cares” has no place in an environmentContinue reading “Ten Questions for Kohl’s About This Back-to-School Shirt”
How I Start My School Year
What really happens in your classroom before the students get there I drove the twenty minutes to my classroom today to . . . start. There’s always a day or two (or three) before the big day when we’re required to return to school for in-service training. On days like today, when I’m often working alone, IContinue reading “How I Start My School Year”