Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Differentiating Work


I'm a big believer in differentiating assignments. I assign dry analytical writing and half the class is miserable. I assign creative, artistic assignments and half the class is miserable. I assign film, photography, museum exhibits, plays... some love it, some hate it. So what I aim for is to find a balance so that students must try some of what they are unfamiliar with, but can have a chance to truly engage their own gifts and passions. Creating assignments with menus, tic-tac-toes, and different graded levels of work has always generated great results for me. After my first year of grading each project with ten different types of rubrics, I also realized I can create a flexible rubric to help me grade these varied projects. What a lifesaver! 

If you've never encountered differentiation, it's worth looking into. I've found it revitalizing for me and for my students to let them engage their best selves. 

Monday, September 28, 2015

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Harry Potter!


My packet of Harry Potter activities has quickly become my most popular product. So I thought I'd design another one, this time with a focus on creative writing and sensory detail. Check it out if you're teaching Harry this year!

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

I'm excited to introduce...



I have been working hard this month on a lot of creative projects over at Teachers Pay Teachers. Above you'll see spreads of two of my favorites - The Literary Food Truck Project, and a STEM ELA Architecture & Design Crossover Project.

I'm so excited about these projects that I've decided to put them up as a bundle with three of my other favorites for just $5. 5 projects for $5 - that's more than 30 pages of material at more than a 50% discount.

Cruise over and grab it while it's cheap! I really want these projects out there in classrooms engaging students!