Know what I’ve been rediscovering over the last few days? Developing a useful analytic rubric that produces valid information is challenging. Really. Challenging. I’m going to guess that anyone who has been charged with the task of designing such rubric knows the level of frustration thinking to which I refer. In fact, I’m realizing that [...]
It’s going to be 70 degrees in Western New York today. Do you know what that means? Summer is arriving! And do you know what the arrival of summer means? Open registration for the WNY Young Writers’ Studio! I’ve had a lot of requests throughout this year to expand our program to include elementary and [...]
I’m off to meet with several teachers today and this evening who are eager to begin classroom blogging. I’ve bookmarked some valuable resources for those who are interested in doing the same. What would you add to this list?
Jennifer Carrier Dorman shares what I’ve found to be the most comprehensive set of resources for supporting [...]
“Responding to students’ papers is like composing, like looking at the mess of my experience and ideas and trying to tease some patterns and order out of it. When I’m responding, really responding to a student’s mess of a paper, I’m thinking like a writer: figuring out what I have to say about the paper, [...]
As some of you know, a group of local educators began collaborating several months ago, hopeful that we would be able to coordinate a regional TeachMeet. Last night, we were able to put the final touches on our pre-planning, and we’re excited to let you know that registration is now open for this free, teacher-led [...]
Several years ago, Georgia Heard was visiting our area. I was one of a handful of teachers who found themselves graced with the opportunity to spend an afternoon with her at Canisius College. I’m reliving that experience this week as I reread Writing Toward Home: Tales and Lessons to Find Your Way. It’s one of [...]
Hats off to Lee and Sachi LeFever, who recently pulled together another gem of a video that I know many teachers and students will appreciate. If you like the engaging simplicity of this brief “how-to”, be sure to visit the Common Craft website, where the perplexing is made plain on a regular basis.
My sister-in-law prompted an interesting conversation over sausage and pierogi yesterday morning, in response to a question I asked in Facebook last week:
Does a school district have the right to scan students’ Facebook pages and assign consequences to those that express dislike for certain teachers or use profanity in any way?
Linda Clinton tossed this question [...]
Tom Romano moved the hearts and minds of many writers and teachers with the release of his book Blending Genre, Altering Style nine years ago. As a teacher, I was drawn to multigenre writing because it challenged my students’ traditional notions around style, organization, voice, and theme. Multigenre writing is disruptive in nature, and [...]
Earlier this year, I had the chance to work with Rob Currin, a high school English teacher from Alden, NY. Although I was only scheduled to work with him briefly, he was invited to keep in touch with me and connect to my larger learning network on Twitter and in Ning. As a result, we’ve [...]