With Monday off for Veterans’ Day, we’re looking at two more days of teaching before we are Houston-bound! Can’t wait to catch up, NCTE peeps, and to meet new folks too. Join us for this important conversation–bring your ideas so … Continue reading
The writer’s notebook is a key piece to a workshop classroom. Whatever you call it–response notebook, reader’s/writer’s notebook–the idea is that it becomes an extension of a student’s brain, the place to work out ideas, reflect, plan, wonder, ponder, keep … Continue reading
To the right is the grade distribution that describes how my students did last fall on the multiple choice exam over their summer reading books. What would you conclude if presented with that set of data from your students: did … Continue reading
A palpable silence descended in room 811. Three classes in a row the silence fell, at the same moment in my plan for that day. It wasn’t a silent reading silence, or a working on a writing task silence, or a … Continue reading
In conversations with teachers about alternatives to traditional assessment, especially skeptical teachers, I often hear, “there’s no way my students will work without points.” I get it. I do. My journey to here has been lengthy. Paradigm shift does not … Continue reading
