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Tomlinson article detailing the emotional needs of learners in the classroom.

What do you think of this?

Danielle, That's precisely the question I want everyone thinking about. We truly focus so much of our energies on getting the format down and getting the "i's" dotted and "t's" crossed, and for many of the students we teach, that is completely necessary; however, as we begin to look at the next phase of what we'd like to do in the district which includes more than just being "proficient" on some state test, can we blend some of the thinking in this post into what we are doing. And as for making people angry, my advice is that you don't get the results you really want without making a few people angry along the way. Not that you try to, but when you know that what you are doing will make your students better, you just go with it.

Pat - I'd love to share this post with the kids or incorporate parts of it. I have to say that the best writing that the kids have done is usually the writing they do when we're in class and they just write. One of the hardest parts of teaching English is having to read 130 well constructed essays that follow the rubric but are so dry and boring that I have to restrain myself from stabbing my eyes out with my pen. It all goes back to the fact that in our H.S. the kids can write a great 5 paragraph essay or write persuasively but they have NO VOICE and I feel that the stress on structure and grammar could be why they have no voice. Interesting - we should discuss this a bit at our next Connections meeting!

I am dropping this in your mailboxes today.

Do kids learn to think by reading great literature, doing difficult math and learning history, philosophy and science? Or can they tackle those subjects on their own if schools simply teach them to problem-solve, communicate, use technology and think creatively?

I love this article. Very timely as well.

What do we think of our current definition of literacy? Does it effectively encompass all of the changes we have undergone as readers and thinkers?

The end came quietly on Aug. 21 on the letters page of The Washington Post. A reader castigated the newspaper for having written that Sasha Obama was the "youngest" daughter of the president and first lady, rather than their "younger" daughter. In so doing, however, the letter writer called the first couple the "Obama's." This, too, was published, constituting an illiterate proofreading of an illiterate criticism of an illiteracy. Moments later, already severely weakened, English died of shame.

calculator that helps students structure their projects over periods of time. there is even an email function that will give you reminders when things are do. Plus there are scaffolding questions within the framework to help students narrow topic and focus.

Some of these are very pertinent to what we are doing and show the amazing diversity of what we can accomplish.

This is cool

Using cell phones in class but some students don't have unlimited texting? No problem. Google simulator allows them to use the SMS feature to do simple queries and research.

Do we promote creativity in the classroom? Can we through the use of writing and analysis?

Great for 6th grade digital footprint unit.

60 minutes story on the backside of technological innovation. Who do we affect?

want to do something with this but what?

Doug Johnson's article from 10 years ago about how to create engagin research projects with students. This should be required for every high school English teacher.

Take a good look at this one. How do you want your students doing research?

Do you think you have what it takes to be a chacha guide?

Make money by answering cha-cha's questions.

For those of you doing work with beauty and media images.

I think this is compelling reading for anyone in the social sciences. What are the implications for a nation like outs in which 30% of our young adults do not graduate from high school?

Does your congressman or congresswoman use Twitter to update you on the latest and greatest from DC? Some do...

Re-arrange your classroom, or, better yet, have your students do so and argue why theirs is the best layout for learning.

If you are doing anything that requires students to use music and they are publishing to the web, please consider having them use a site like this to obtain their music.