We should reflect on what works best in our classrooms more than once a year.  This week, I'll talk about how both students and teachers should reflect on how to grow and change habits on a regular basis.

Short stories are a great way to introduce the various narrators students might encounter in novels.  I'll talk about free indirect discourse, first person narration, internal monologue and all that good stuff.  

It's fiction, it's not real, but it is relevant.  I'll describe a writing assignment that forces students to think about how fiction connects to the world we live in.  

There are so many great teachers that share their creative ideas online, and this is one of the best ways teachers can improve and find new ways to inspire students. Visit my blog to find links to all the blogs and websites.  

The conclusion can be a game changer for our students who need a good reason to write.  The conclusion is what an education is all about, so let's rethink how we talk about the conclusion.  

My units on novels move from the large, external world of the character to the small, internal one (and then back again).  

Wouldn't it be nice if students could get just as excited to come to our classroom as they did for the big game?  Or if we had the same attitude toward mistakes, building skills, and teamwork?  This week, I'll elaborate on the metaphor, learning is a sport.  

The first time I saw a rubric, I thought, yikes!  That doesn't look like a whole lot of fun.  So let's think about how we can simplify rubrics so they are easy to understand and useful.  

We learned to juggle education websites last year, so now it's time to get back to pencil and paper and think about how students stay engaged in real life.  I'll go over the seven simple ways students learn.  

Lately, I've been trying to make things more exciting than usual to get my students excited about literature.  I'll go over five easy ways to inspire and motivate your young scholars.