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Wrapping Up the School Year
A few weeks ago, a Writing Project colleague engaged a group of us in a conversation about how teachers might end the school year. This is typically an easy question. Most districts have traditions and rituals in place for ending the year, along with district assessments to measure academic growth. None of these typical ways…
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Beginning Again
A few years ago, my best friend Penny gave me Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes. Penny and I have been faithful followers of Grey’s Anatomy since it first aired, so she knew I would enjoy learning a bit of Shonda’s…
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Why Fiction?
We have all read the research about the benefits of reading fiction, but isn’t writing fiction a task for the few talented, creative people in the world who will make their living writing novels or children’s books? Most every English language arts teacher has either heard this question or has posed this question. Many ELA teachers I know…