I invite you to view this TED Talk-Education clip featuring Sir Ken Robinson’s insightful and inspiring take on the future of education in America. Then, encourage you to reflect on your practice and decide what you can do over the summer to be prepared to nurture a climate of change built on curiosity and creativity [...]

Like many educators, I like to take advantage of opportunities to visit new places and learn about new people.  Well the people we learned about  in South Africa are not new, in fact that live in what is called the Cradle of Humankind. See photos taken during a visit the Lesedi Cultural Village – May [...]

It’s my privilege to pass along to colleagues who visit my site resources from other educators who give me permission to do so.  Here’s one I think both classroom teachers, department chairs and literacy coaches will find useful. Mentor Modules  is a free online multimedia course and resource for developing mentor teachers and instructional coaches.  [...]

Looking for an outstanding professional development opportunity?  Then the annual conventions of the National Council of Teachers of English and the Conference on English Leadership are for you! Boston, MA is the setting for the 2013 Conventions. See info at NCTE.ORG (November 14-17) and NCTE.ORG/CEL (November 17-19) The following are links to handouts from my [...]

Professional Development comes in two forms: **** Presenting workshop sessions during which one shares ones own experiences **** Attending conferences and conventions to meet, greet, hear and learn from others This fall, I’ll be able to do both.  First, I’ll giving a workshop at the Michigan Council of Teachers of English Fall Conference in Lansing, [...]

Michael Blau recommends this site with links to videos for teachers. “Bringing multimedia into the classroom is a great way to engage students in learning. Supplementing lessons, opening up new interests, and offering inspiration, online videos make for an incredible teaching tool. In 2010, we covered our favorite 100 video sites for educators, and we’ve [...]

 The opening days of school can be overwhelming, even for a veteran English Department Chair, mentor, or student-teacher supervisor. Inevitably, you’ll have new administration goals for the year that must be implemented and clarified for returning teachers. There are the inherent problems of adjusting classroom assignments, the frustrations of locating missing textbooks, the tedium of [...]

As I learn of them, I’ll be adding links to resources to assist you in designing and adapting lessons that reflect goals of the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts.   Teri LeSage shares this LITERACY HISTORY Project written to accompany study of Night by Elie Wiesel and All Long Way Gone by Ishmael [...]

Perhaps, because so many elementary and middle school teachers are female, the books on our standard reading lists tend to appeal more to students of that same gender.  Not sure if that’s the case, but admittedly teachers of young men in all grades recognize that our male students often are reluctant or resistant  to reading the [...]

This sounds like a “Duh”, but what is the purpose of having the students do the summer reading?  How can you assess that purpose? Consider creating a list and include at least one common, required book   —– to set the tone for the year using a book to introduce the opening theme for the [...]