“I usually feel like a submarine, but that doesn’t work in this class,” said with mixed humor and frustration. My sixth grade class was reading the novel Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt and we were at a point where Dicey, the
Who Owns This? A Vocabulary Word Wall Activity
Dragging a chair to my side cupboards and stepping onto my counter top, I hoped the principal wouldn’t walk in. The lesson planned was complete, but the class period was not – so I took a gamble on filling the
Learning from Anne Frank
“Ms G – did you know Miep Gies was real?” My first thought was, yes, you know we are reading the play based on the Diary of Anne Frank … which is real. My second thought was that I was
Bending the format of Socratic Seminar… and winning my students’ minds
“You know, Ms. G… this is like anger management therapy” My heart cringed, wondering where Will was going with his comment. A tall, lanky 8th grader, he was looked up to – in every sense of the word – by
You think I WANT to do research?
“You know, Ms. G, it’s a good thing this is my question, because if you had assigned it to me, I would have quit by now.” With those words, I knew I had found a way to make inquiry and
Getting them to read AND do homework? Wow!
Walking into my language arts classroom on the first day of school, I am greeted by the sight of seven young girls spattered through a sea of twenty-two boys. I realize this is not going to be a year to