At this time of year I am desperate to learn students’ names and personalities, as I want students to feel that I value who they are as individuals. My idea this week is to...
Is anyone else frantically planning, cleaning, or just stressing out as the school year looms over us? I was at a great workshop last week (Wexner Center for the Arts in...
When I presented vocabulary strategies to teachers in Texas, I was anxious to show them this particular video, as it is one of my (many) favorites. When I introduced the...
I propose we keep great words at the front of our students' brains (and tongues) during summer break by participating in this fun and easy activity! This activity is great...
I asked my students this week how they best reviewed their vocabulary words. One of my students, grabbed some cardstock paper and started to draw, freehand, a jigsaw puzzle....
In honor of Shakespeare’s birthday this week, I thought it would be fun to have my students create Shakespeare-like insults, but with vocabulary! SHAKESPEARE VOCABULARY...
I love the word bowdlerize-not because I love censoring (to bowdlerize is to censor/expurgate materials), but because I love the story behind this word’s origin. The word...
Greg Neri goes by the elusive “G” Neri as an author, but I feel pretty cool that I can now call him Greg. I think Greg’s books are outstanding, and appeal to kids outside of...
One of the vocabulary strategies I use to get my students to remember and practice vocabulary words is a Vocabulary Sheet of the Week. With this simple vocabulary strategy,...
Just when I needed some inspiration for this week’s vocabulary activity, my amazing new friend Becky Amaral, who teaches sixth and seventh grade English at The Country...
I just love Libba Bray’s insightful analysis, quirky characters and her ability to write such diverse yet equally fantastic books! She was incredibly gracious to allow me...
I particularly like the end of February and it has everything to do with Read Across America Day and the beginning of National Reading Month (March 1)! With these two...