This weekend I spent a lot of time reflecting on what the students know and what they don’t know yet. On Friday they took a quiz and, along with a couple of assignments, I realized that I did not do an adequate job preparing them to read a non-fiction text. This was especially troubling, because…
Category: How-To
Giving my students real-world application to their writing
This week I learned just how little I actually know about the political system and showcased my struggles with my students. To begin, we spent most of the week reviewing the STOP writing strategy (suspend judgment, take a side, organize ideas, plan more as you write) and the DARE writing strategy (develop a claim, add…
It’s time for some TweetUps!
TweetUps are a chance for students to put some positivity in the world, tell their classmates why they rock, and tell them they aren’t going unnoticed.
Our quest up Everest
Today marked my 3rd annual trek up Mt. Everest with my students. It coincides with our reading of Peak by Roland Smith and usually falls on a day about halfway through reading the novel. It is by far one of the most fun spins to a normal reading day. It all begins with a hook……
Our Flight to Tibet
Last night I was in the middle of a great Twitter chat with the #xplap crew about immersive engagement and planning out today’s lesson at the same time when I got an idea. Why was I talking about immersive engagement and not creating an immersive lesson at the same time? It seemed a little hypocritical,…
