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Writing Workshop – A Collaborative Writing Experience
I’m doing something different in writing workshop this year. I didn’t plan it. It just happened. Or maybe I had been planning it in my head without being aware that’s what I was doing. Or maybe, I seized the perfect moment to do this with a student, and it went so well that I ended… Read more
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Inquiry Teaching and Learning
When you hear the word inquiry what comes to mind? Do you envision kids studying abstract topics without teacher guidance? Do you imagine they are left “to figure it out” on their own? Do you picture a chaotic room where kids don’t know what to do? Or worse, do you think that the kids in… Read more
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Homework – Yay or Nay?
I am taking @IanAByrd’s challenge to create a personal philosophy about homework, or at least to have a clearly developed argument for when students and/or parents want to know why I don’t give homework. This has become a topic of interest recently as other teachers at my school start assigning homework. All I say to… Read more
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Stepping Back So We Can Move Forward
This afternoon didn’t go well. Here’s a list of reasons why: I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been. I had a headache that started in the morning and never went away. I was teaching something the kids weren’t ready to learn, at least not all of them and definitely not the way I… Read more
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State of the Class – Day #6
We’ve been in school for a total of six days and even though everything still feels new, many things are starting to feel familiar. We’re staying close to the bell schedule…most of the time. Except for this afternoon when the music teacher showed up at our door to pick up the class because I was… Read more
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My Home Office
For most of my adult life I have been searching for the perfect home office. I know that sounds crazy, but if you’re a writer or a teacher or a reader, or any combination thereof, you will understand. Disclaimer: I also love office supplies. So, the perfect home office. You know the kind. Lots of… Read more
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First Team Meeting of the Year
It’s funny how the weather changes right before school is scheduled to start. Or so it seems. The air is crisper and the temperature drops just enough, but not too much. Or so it seems. The sun sinks into the horizon just a little bit earlier. Just enough to tease you, but not enough that… Read more
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Why I Tribe – #CompelledTribe
I am one of those members that has fallen short of my promised participation in #CompelledTribe over the last few months. Yet, I am here because The Compelled Tribe inspires me; it is bigger than me or any one of the individuals that comprise it. And, I want to be a part of something bigger,… Read more
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August
The month of August is when teachers, in many places but not all, start the back-to-school countdown. If this is you, by this time of the year, you are probably gearing up to meet your new class of students or are participating in professional learning activities planned by your school or jurisdiction. And some, like… Read more
Elisa Waingort 