Last Friday New York City released the individual performance assessments for 18,000 elementary and middle school teachers in New York City. While teachers have long known how they've been "ranked" based on their students' test scores, the data was made public last week for the world to see. I've spoken at-length with several former colleagues… Continue reading Releasing Teachers’ Individual Performance Assessments Does Nothing to Strengthen Teaching
Author: Stacey Shubitz
Stacey Shubitz is a K-6 literacy consultant and former elementary teacher. She is the author of CRAFT MOVES and other professional books on writing workshop. Her forthcoming book, MAKE THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WORK FOR YOUR CHILD WITH DISABILITIES (Guilford Press, 2026), empowers parents to navigate the special education system.
Prizes for the Fifth Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge
The Fifth Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge, which will run from Thursday, March 1st – Saturday, March 31st, begins a week from today. Anyone who writes (and links to their posts by leaving a comment on this blog daily) for the entire month of March will be entered into a drawing for one of… Continue reading Prizes for the Fifth Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge
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Let Their Writing Take Your Breath Away
Last week I was selecting some student writing to share with participants of the Conferring in Writing Seminar I'm leading at Penn State Harrisburg tomorrow. I didn't want to go down to my basement, which is where I store most of my former students' writing samples. Therefore, I decided to go through my electronic files… Continue reading Let Their Writing Take Your Breath Away
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Trains Go Giveaway Winner
Special thanks to Chronicle Books for sponsoring a giveaway of Steve Light’s new book. Val was commenter #24, which was the random number generated (left). Therefore, she will receive a copy of Trains Go. If you missed the original post about this book, then click here to read it now.
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GEARING UP FOR THE SOLSC: Classroom Prizes
I wanted my students to be intrinsically motivated to write daily when I was a classroom teacher. When I began teaching I naively thought my enthusiasm for writing would be contagious. While my enthusiasm was enough for some students, it didn't cut it for some of my reluctant writers. Working with reluctant writers means getting… Continue reading GEARING UP FOR THE SOLSC: Classroom Prizes
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Growing Readers Initiative
I worked at The Learning Community: a public charter school in Central Falls, RI from August 2007 - June 2009, which is when I lived in Rhode Island with my husband. I had the privilege of watching The Growing Readers get its start under the direction of Christine Wiltshire Alves, who is one of the… Continue reading Growing Readers Initiative
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Onomatopoeia + a Giveaway
Trains Go is a new 16 page board book by Steve Light. It's a book that helps a child differentiate between the sounds different trains make. The board book helps readers hear the distinct sounds of a mountain train, a speed train, a steam train, a diesel train, etc. It reminds readers that not all… Continue reading Onomatopoeia + a Giveaway
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Princess to the Rescue – Giveaway Winner
Special thanks to Second Story Press for sponsoring a giveaway of Claudia Souza’s book. Lisa Osterman was commenter #27, which was the random number generated (left). Therefore, she will receive a copy of Princess to the Rescue. If you missed the original post about this book, then click here to read it now.
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GEARING UP FOR THE SOLSC: Create Your Own Blog
The 5th Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge begins on Thursday, March 1st, 2012. Are you planning to participate to stretch yourself as a writer? Are you hoping to amass a lot of writing about slices of your life in a short amount of time? Are you thinking about participating in our month-long challenge so… Continue reading GEARING UP FOR THE SOLSC: Create Your Own Blog
