My focus in this piece will be on inspiring truly close reading and deeper thinking as a facet of ELA instruction. When a reader can go beyond recall; go beyond simple inference and analysis, and go spelunking deep into reflection on and evaluation of story characters and elements (while using the text to support their […]
discussion
Formative Assessment: Peer Feedback
This is the fourth piece in my series  about formative assessment.  Formative assessment is a tool used by many teachers in classrooms to move each student forward in learning.  This series is to encourage and challenge teachers to think about the practices involved in this practice.  Setting clear objectives, which goes beyond posting them in […]
Why Do You Need Algebra?
When are we ever going to use this? Â A common statement by students in my Algebra class. Â My response to them is this… No, you are probably not going to write out a multi-step equation on a napkin and solve it to determine the cost of your dinner. Â No, you will not break out your […]