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It wasn't that long ago, that the average child did not attended any form of public schooling. Usually they were needed to work at home or in the family business. Those that did attend school either went to a one room school house in their community, or were taught at home. There's an astonishing list of successful adults that never attended what we now call "public school".

For commentary unit monologues

You and your partner have been selected to be guest editors for an anthology of poetry titled Poetry for Teens. As guest editors, you have been asked to submit five poems (total) for publication in the anthology.

POETRY UNIT

The Bedouins of ancient Arabia and Persia made poetry a conversational art form. Several poetic forms developed from the participatory nature of tribal poetry. Today in most Arabic cultures, you may still experience public storytelling and spontaneous poetry challenges in the streets. The art of turning a rhyme into sly verbal sparring is considered a mark of intelligence and a badge of honor.

Teachers, with the help of Karon Reese (TOSA support), have compiled a list of books leveled by grade and Reading Recovery level. These are books that can be found in most school and public libraries.

Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions The following resources reflect Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe's Understanding by Design model of "backwards design". Use the collection of articles, explanations and standards to transform our standards into essential understandings.

"30 Ideas for Teaching Writing The National Writing Project's 30 Ideas for Teaching Writing offers successful strategies contributed by experienced writing project teachers. Since NWP does not promote a single approach to teaching writing, readers will benefit from a variety of eclectic, classroom-tested techniques."

"How do you work with a teacher who refuses to be a collaborative part of a team? She does her own thing without regard for other team members. Her students are not exposed to the same curriculum as the other students but she feels they are learning at their own pace. She has a literacy coach working with her but doesn't follow through on any suggestions to improve her teaching. She believes kids will learn when they are ready. Any suggestions?"

"I think it's about to happen again. Education is famous for wide swings of the pendulum. From code emphasis to meaning emphasis, from whole class to small group… and then back again. The "experts" find "the true answer" or begin to express doubt about or criticism of a widely accepted practice. Before you know it, everyone has jumped on the bandwagon. It's the lead article in all of the professional journals. It's the keynote address at conferences. Publishers rush to get out new materials. School districts scramble to write new curricula. Educational consultants offer new workshops. Teachers struggle to change their instructional practices. "

Even Nancie Atwell has experienced sticky note overkill!

" After teaching the five-paragraph essay early in her career, Glenda Moss now describes how it locks students into thinking it is the only way to write. "

"Contests, Fairs, and Publishing: Sharing On The Web"

Successful middle schools engage students in all aspects of their learning. There are many strategies for accomplishing this. One such strategy is student-led conferences. As a classroom teacher or administrator, how do you ensure that the information shared in a student-led conference provides a balanced picture of the student's strengths and weaknesses? The answer to this is to balance both summative and formative classroom assessment practices and information gathering about student learning.