Tag: Teaching Strategies
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Writer’s Notebooks: A tool that is as individual as the writer
As a second grade teacher, I always started out the year reading the book, Call Me Marianne by Jen Bryant. In this book, a young boy named Jonathan notices an eccentric woman, Marianne, dressed in black cape and tri-cornered felt hat, carrying a notebook, and studying a newspaper article written about the new lizard exhibit…
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In Defense of Audio Books
My students didn’t consider themselves readers until I began using audiobooks. Before audiobooks, nothing was more difficult for my students than sitting down with a book and trying to make the letters into words and the words into sentences that meant something to them. All of my students have disabilities and many are bilingual (but…
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From Teacher to Digital Facilitator
“Your room has a really different feel to it this year,” my principal said the other day with a smile on her face. In reflecting upon that statement, I have to admit that it’s true. My digital journey started about four years ago when I converted a classroom closet into a makeshift “studio,” brought…
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Telling One Story of the National Conferences
What a stimulating experience – the 2014 National Writing Project Annual Meeting and the National Council of Teachers of English Convention in Washington DC. So many great sessions. So many excellent ideas to take back to the Chippewa River Writing Project and my classroom. The only drawback to conferences of this size and scope is idea overload, so…
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You Are Not in This Alone: The Importance of Cultivating Positive Professional Relationships
Having had time to reflect on my experience at the National Writing Project’s (NWP) Annual Meeting and National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) 2014 conference, I realize that cultivating relationships is of the utmost importance when working with students and colleagues. Even after many years of teaching, it is good to be reminded of…