The debate that never ends: homework. How much is too much? Is it even necessary? Is it effective? Does it cause you too much grief? Have you ever unintentionally used it as a punishment? Does your school or district have a policy that requires you to assign homework? Of course, there are those teachers who…
Lesson Planning
February Writing Prompts
February is an atypical time of year. It’s a shorter-than-average month that follows closely on the heels of a series of holidays and a decent-size school vacation. February packs one national holiday and three notable observances—Presidents’ Day, Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day, and Chinese New Year. It’s also Black History Month, which lends February added weight…
Time Off. Time for What?
While the Mayans sure did a bang-up job creating a calendar that includes more cycles than last year’s Tour de France, they don’t seem to have been interested in clocks or predictions. What time will the world end, Mayans? Will the world end, Mayans? My feet are firmly planted in the Garden of Don’t Believe….
The Sky Is Not Falling Currently
The sky fell last week. Or didn’t you notice? Or maybe you realized exactly why the sky fell and you reacted appropriately—with either a “You go, democracy!” or a “Well, it’s time to find a work-around.” The sky to which I am referring is not the actual sky, that blue blanket across our heads that…
The Challenge of Class Size, Part Two
For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. For every outsize class bursting a room at its seams, there’s an equal and opposite small class, begging for intimacy and intensity. As I noted previously, in my third year of teaching I had a class that required every available desk in my room. Thirty-one students….
Lesson Planning in Spring Fever Season
We’ve had a few days here in North Carolina that were warm enough for my sons to run around outside in shorts and T-shirts. So I imagine that these longer daylight hours are having a similar effect on kids all across the country, even in your own classroom. Spring fever is about to outduel the flu…