Western New Yorkers spend a good portion of the year waiting for summer to arrive. In my house, this season kicks off with a round of birthday celebrations for different friends and family members. My daughter Nina turned nine recently, and having survived this weekend’s Saturday night slumber party that was several weeks in the making, our thoughts began to turn toward other projects we’re eager to begin this summer: family vacations and work-related trips,…
I meant to start this series of posts last week, but like many in my corner of the world, I’m finding myself caught up in the swirl of June. Each day seems to bring another softball game, school concert, field trip, assembly, or party of some sort for my kids. Couple of all of that my own end of the year program evaluation and planning for the year ahead, and the whole blogging thing kinda…
I’ve been rereading Vicki Spandel’s Creating Young Writers: Using the Six Traits to Enrich Writing Process in Primary Classrooms over the last week, in anticipation of the summer that I have ahead of me. Part of it will be spent working with teachers of very young writers, and part of it will be spent working with writers of this age myself. My own daughters’ primary teachers reminded parents that their most important objective was helping…
Just wanted to send a quick shout out to everyone who helped spread the word about the WNY TeachMeet. If you haven’t had a chance to register yet, please do so by the end of this week! You can take care of that right here. Last week, I announced a book give-away, and it was great to hear that so many of you invited colleagues, friends, your staff, and members of your online network to…
Mary Howard is a middle level teacher and brand new edublogger from Grand Island, New York! Mary and her colleague Jillian Schneider recently began exploring connected and collaborative writing with their students, and I’ve been fortunate enough to find myself basking in the glow of the energy that they are generating. So glad to know that Mary is inviting a wider audience here….hope you will go say hello!
Have you ever been asked to name your favorite book and found yourself struggling to pick just one? Someone asked me this question today, and I was really at a loss. I can tell you this though: my favorite book can probably be found somewhere within the piles of books my kids have written over the years. The picture above captures a tiny sampling of my youngest daughter’s growing library, and I know that decades…
“You know, I used to think that a successful session meant everyone left feeling happy and smiling. Now, I’m realizing that a successful session might leave people feeling a little uncomfortable and questioning what they thought was certain.” This reminded me of a conversation I recently had with my daughter around the whole notion of discomfort and learning. She was tackling some tough homework, and it was frustrating her quite a bit. “This is too…
The WNY Teachmeet is rapidly approaching, so if you haven’t registered yet, please drop by the wiki and do so as soon as possible. Please take a few moments to help us out by inviting your staff or colleagues to this event or by writing a quick blog post, update, or tweet that spreads awareness. If you register or spread the word between now and 5pm on May 18th, you’ll be entered into a drawing…
The Chosen One is Carol Lynch Williams’ harrowing account of one child’s journey toward truth, faith, and freedom. Thirteen-year-old Kyra Leigh is forced to explore the complexities of her family and her community when confronted with a reality that she is unable to accept. Raised within the confines of a polygamist compound, Kyra nurtures several forbidden desires, including a passion for books and her love of a boy that she is forbidden to marry. Williams shines…
Photo Credit: King Cloud Mike recently shared ways in which different educators are using Wordle. Jenn directed my attention to TextArc and TagCrowd Diana Dell shared WordSift. artViper is another option. Wondering if there are other tools out there and additional ways to use them?