Jody’s Comment Made Me Think
Jody made a comment about four days ago that has stayed with me. I think it is one of the most important observations I've ever read about comprehension based instruction. To start, I had said this:
Course Descriptions/Syllabi
I received an emailed course description from a member of the PLC to look over and it was too complex. Does anybody else do that - write mini novels about course expectations each fall? Maybe it's because we got long descriptions of our courses
Embedded Writing
So I've been working lately with a really good text written by a kid for a writing sample (data gathering) in preparation for the DPS exit post assessment in April. I have found some productive things to do with this text beyond
Kick Back on the Lazy River
For those feeling harried and harrassed by too much to do at this time of year, and you just want to let the train coast along the tracks for awhile, don't forget that that is the intent of the new
Help Wanted
Melissa has some important questions. Let’s provide her with some great responses: Hi Ben, I am back to having a hard time again. I feel so all-over-the place with this stuff. I feel like the stuff my students shout out for
i + 10
Yesterday Anne wrote this as a comment: I think that simple is best. If they are first-year students I would pare it down. With that said, I really don’t know how anybody uses my scripts. I can’t even use them, now that
The Best Novels
We'll see if this idea works - I am going to create a new category here for novels that are currently available. Kind of a book review section. We'll arrange it by beginning (1 and 2) and intermediate (3 and
Keep The Stories Simple
Both David and Jim have mentioned here over the past month or so that they are keeping their stories, extended PQA, etc. that they build with their kids limited in details. This is so key. One of the keys to discipline,
We Should Be Able To Do That
I've always been cautious in the use of the word should. If we tell a student, in our capacity as a teacher, that they should be able to do something, it implies that they won't or can't or that somehow
Simplicity in Weekly Design
Skip is mentoring a new teacher and gave her this. I think it is a good thing to put here, to remind us how we can keep things simple this year. We need to address a lot this week, like