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Yesterday was the last day of school. It was bittersweet, as it tends to be from year to year. It’s hard to believe that the group you’ve lived with for ten months will no longer be together come September, and at the same time you’re ready for summer vacation to start. The last few days… Read more

The Results of the 2010 Elections Are In! Read more

I have been rethinking my relationship with parents as I read, Becoming Teammates, Teachers and Families as Literacy Partners by Charlene Klassen Endrizzi, a National Council of Teachers (NCTE) publication. I am noticing a subtle change in the way I am willing to frame the conversation at the same time that I realize that many… Read more

At this time of the year,everything begins to gel. We are a community at long last. Everyone is busy reading or writing,absorbed in their play/work.Even…is huddled in the cornerwith a brand new copy ofThe Wimpy Kidor a newly stapled bookabout some character ofthe imagination. There is a quiet hum,the laptop,the rustling of the pagesof a… Read more

I’ve set a goal for myself of writing every day for at least ten minutes. It’s not working. Most of the writing I’m doing is because I have a deadline that’s either imposed internally (blog entry) or externally (doctoral paper). Without the deadlines, I’m not writing during those self-appointed ten minutes every day. Of course,… Read more

Every year, without fail, I am confronted with the dilemma of how to encourage my students to write a lot without compromising drawing as a form of expression during writing workshop. While I understand that drawing is important to writing at this stage and that a drawing can be as intricate and detailed as a… Read more

Recently, several families at my school experienced the devastating effects of a fire that left five families on their block without a home. Fortunately, no one was hurt but one family at our school lost all of their belongings. The different communities this family belongs to have offered various levels of support as they look… Read more

Today I was reminded of the importance of taking a step back to observe students. Yetta Goodman calls it kid watching. Others may call it listening in. Whatever you call it make sure to take a few minutes every day to observe and record your observations while students are working and interacting with each other.… Read more

After my last blog entry, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what’s working and what’s not working in my class and, by extension, what needs to change. Part of the (my) problem is that everything always feels rushed; this particular group of children needs more time to explore and ease into learning. Instead,… Read more

Have you ever had one of those days where everything seems to go wrong and nothing you do seems to work? No matter how hard you try you feel like you’re just bumbling along? What do you do when you feel like the worst teacher that walked the planet? How do you take back a… Read more