Perplexed: adj. 1. bewildered; puzzled. 2. complicated; involved; entangled. (o _ 0 ) ? I am perplexed as to why this word is on the EngageNY first grade vocabulary list, and again perplexed when I review the first grade units for English Language Arts (ELA) on this website. I am perplexed because I can see that several units in our […]
Colette Bennett
Colette Marie Bennett is the Curriculum Coordinator for English Language Arts, Social Studies, Library Media, and Testing for the West Haven Public School System in West Haven, Connecticut.
Previous to this position, she served as the Chief Academic Officer (7-12) for Regional School System #6 in Litchfield, Connecticut. She has 23 years of teaching experience in English Language Arts from grades 6-12, including electives in journalism, drama, and film studies.
A graduate of the Alternate Route to Certification, Bennett also has a Masters in English from Western Connecticut State University a 6th year in Advanced Teaching and an 092 Administrative Certificate from Sacred Heart University, and graduate credits from the GLSP in Social Studies at Wesleyan University. She holds a Literacy Certification (102) from Sacred Heart University for grades K-12.
She has presented how technology is incorporated in classrooms at the Connecticut Computers in Education Conference (2010, 2012, 2014), the National Council of Teachers Annual Conference (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015), and the Advanced Placement Annual Conference (2011) the Literacy for All Conference (2012), and the ICT for Language Learning in Florence, Italy (2014).
She blogs about education at Used Books in Class: http://usedbookclassroom.wordpress.com/
She tweets at Teachcmb56@twitter.com
Posted inNew Teacher Bootcamp
Teacher Prep Programs Can Not Be a Dry Land Practice
“Stand up. Now, put out your right arm,” the instructor was encouraging. “OK, pull your arm back past your body.” We all did as we were told. This was the first night of EDR 505, a graduate level course in teaching remedial reading to pre-school and elementary aged schoolchildren. “Now try with the other arm.”We waved […]
Posted inCommon Core, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Middle School
Vocabulary Campaigns in the Content Area
While there are whirlwind changes in education such as new evaluation programs, digital devices in school, or flipped classrooms, one element remains constant: vocabulary. In order for students to succeed, they must understand the content area vocabulary in each subject area. “Vocabulary knowledge is fundamental to reading comprehension; one cannot understand text without knowing what most of the […]
Posted inCommon Core, Literacy, Mathematics
Author's Craft Revealed Through Mathematical Patterns: Standard #7!
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] The year 2013 provided one of the best examples of real life detective work investigating a detective story as well as an application of the Common Core Mathematical Practice Standard #7: […]
Posted inCommon Core, Literacy, Mathematics
English/LA Can Persevere with Math Practice Standard #1
I admit that I am the first to have heart palpitations the moment I hear a problem begin, “A train leaves a station 500 miles east of the city traveling at 60 m.p.h…..”. Yet given time, I am confident I can calculate the answer to a word problem, in part because my early teaching career […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Uncategorized
Apple Ad Shows That Students Can Surprise You…
I teach English in a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) school, and that means that there is wireless for all kinds of devices: notebooks, kindles, laptops, and phones. Internet access is open along with social media sites, except Facebook, since many teachers use them for resources or to communicate with students. There is a school […]
Posted inCommon Core, Current Events in Education, Instruction & Curriculum
Teachers and Their Students Practice, Not Perform
“A bad dress rehearsal foretells a great performance.” This theatrical superstition is a great comfort to those who botch lines, drop lines, break props, or miss entrance cues before performing in front of an audience. Rehearsals are for practice, to fix what could go wrong so that the performance before a critical audience is perfect. […]
Posted inCommon Core, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Middle School
Bet You Can't Eat Just One…Irresistible Informational Text!
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] If nothing else, the Common Core State Standards’ (CCSS) contribution to the academic lexicon will be the renaming of the genre known as non-fiction to a larger genre of informational texts. […]