As you head back to school (work) tomorrow, consider these quotations: We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for… Continue reading Inspiring Words for the Second Half of the School Year
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.
Picture Books in Upper Elementary School
The Fall of 2006 brought me the savviest class I ever taught. Nearly all 32 of them scoffed at me on Wednesday, September 6th when I pulled out Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street. "A picture book?" one student said disdainfully. "Yes, a picture book," I replied. "We're going to read lots of picture books… Continue reading Picture Books in Upper Elementary School
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Last Chance to Contribute to the SOLSC This Year!
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Applying for RTT Funding
As we were reading The New York Times this morning, my husband, who knew about the post, "Teacher Compensation & Standardized Test Scores," I wrote last week mentioned an article on page A12 of today's Times to me. It's about Race to the Top and just how long it takes for states to complete the… Continue reading Applying for RTT Funding
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Articles You Might Enjoy
Many people across the world are celebrating Christmas today. I may not be one of them, but I wanted to just post some links to education articles today. Therefore, I've scoured the 'net (Thanks to NCTE Inbox and ASCD SmartBrief, which helped me with this endeavor!) to find some interesting pieces you might wish to… Continue reading Articles You Might Enjoy
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Mentor Texts That Keep Students’ Interest
Every now and then I'd pick a dud-of-a-book to read aloud. However, more often than not, my students loved the books I read aloud and subsequently used as touchstone texts. Was it that they were all interested in the topics of every book? Not necessarily. Was it that they admired the illustrators for their artistic… Continue reading Mentor Texts That Keep Students’ Interest
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Teacher Compensation & Standardized Test Scores
Last week I began reading Steven L. Layne’s Igniting a Passion for Reading: Successful Strategies for Building Lifetime Readers (2009). By the time I finished page five, I had a highlighter and a pad of post-its in hand to record my thinking. Layne wrote: It would seem that there is every reason to believe that… Continue reading Teacher Compensation & Standardized Test Scores
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Share a Slice of Your December Life with Us!
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Using One Book for Many Purposes
When I started teaching I owned a handful of picture and chapter books. I came armed with this handful and my love for Judy Blume. I knew I liked to write, but really had no idea how to help a child become a stronger writer. Over time, with a lot of guidance and professional development,… Continue reading Using One Book for Many Purposes
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SOLSC and the Holidays
Like many Americans, I spent this past weekend at a holiday party. I prepared blue and white cupcakes before traveling 250 miles for the Chanukah party I attended in New England. As you can imagine, there are many stories that dotted the path of my journey. In an effort to hold fast to some of… Continue reading SOLSC and the Holidays
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The Eddies
We're honored to have been nominated in the "Best Teacher Blog" Category of The Edublog Awards 2009. We are humbled to be part of this group, which is a short-list of the many incredible teacher blogs that are out there. If you're inclined to vote for us, then you can click here. However, the purpose… Continue reading The Eddies
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It’s Finally Published!
I submitted the essay I wrote , alongside my fourth graders who were writing research-based, "This I Believe" Essays, to ThisIBelieve.org almost six months ago. About three months after it wasn't published, I began to give up hope that it ever would be. Yesterday, out of the blue, I received an e-mail from ThisIBelieve.org stating… Continue reading It’s Finally Published!
