One of the causes of anxiety regarding the writing prompt, is the unknown. We don't know what genre students will be asked to write. We don't know the topic. Test situations are stressful enough, but when we add in these unknowns, the stress levels skyrocket. Here's the deal, though. Students can have an idea of… Continue reading Writing Territories + Test Prompt Writing
Classroom Resources for the SOLSC
If you're leading a Slice of Life Story Challenge in your classroom in March (or any month for that matter), there are a few things you might want to have. First, you'll want to track your students' writing with some kind of record keeping form. When I led the Challenge in my classroom, I used… Continue reading Classroom Resources for the SOLSC
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Our Tuesday Slice of Life Story Challenge
Reminder: This is the last Tuesday-only SOLSC until April since THE FIFTH ANNUAL SLICE OF LIFE STORY CHALLENGE begins here in less than 48 hours. Looking forward to having all of our regular Tuesday Slicers + first-time Slicers on board for our month-long challenge. Please link the Slice of Life Story you write today to… Continue reading Our Tuesday Slice of Life Story Challenge
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31 Slices
Does the thought of writing 31 slices in a row scare anyone? If it doesn't now, about day 13 it will. So, I made a little list and fancied it up, because that's what makes me happy, just for you. Here are 31 ideas to capture when you don't know what to write about (or… Continue reading 31 Slices
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Releasing Teachers’ Individual Performance Assessments Does Nothing to Strengthen Teaching
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
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Slice of Life March Challenge Nuts and Bolts
Some useful notes from last year (updated for this year)... Here is a button just for this year’s challenge. Please copy it & use it on your SOLS posts. (To do this: 1. Right click on the image and choose “Save image as.” 2. Save the image to a place where you can find it… Continue reading Slice of Life March Challenge Nuts and Bolts
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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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It’s Late…
Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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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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SOLSC
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“Test Prep”
This post has been marinating in my mind for awhile now. I made myself promise it to you last week to make sure I would actually write it. I need to write it. Then Saturday came...and went in a lazy-busy way that is perfect for Saturdays, but not so perfect for remembering to blog. Which… Continue reading “Test Prep”
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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.
