Welcome to Kristy, from 2 Peas and a Dog, my guest blogger for today. Thanks again for such an awesome idea, Kristy. Enjoy folks! *** Need a strategy to improve student achievement? Have you tried Bump It Up Boards? They are a great visual way to help your students self monitor their achievement.     How [...]

I had an excellent Professional Development Day yesterday, on assessing writing. I’ve got so much work to do this weekend now! Don’t you just love it when that happens? You attend a PD session and by the time you get to the end, you have more questions than answers? Well, that’s the kind of afternoon that [...]

I never ask my students the “What street did the character live on?” type of questions. I wouldn’t say that they’re a waste of time, but students can just go back to the text and put their finger on the answer. Fairly straightforward.  Most – I’d say 99% of the time, I try to focus [...]

My students are very vocal and energetic this year. Many are hands-on learners as well, and they love activities where they can get out of their seats. Rather than fight this, I’ve been trying to embrace it and to draw on those strengths and learning preferences. Well, Christmas is quickly approaching and you know what that means! [...]

I’ve been getting lots of traffic on my “Freebies” page from blog followers and visitors. It occurred to me, though, that maybe not everyone has looked beyond the homepage of Lessons From The Middle.  I just had a peek at the Middle School Freebies collection that I started a while back, and I noticed that [...]

We just had our 2 day, Annual Teachers’ Convention. The sessions were really fabulous and I feel totally energized – and the weekend’s not even here yet! I just need some time, now, to reflect on the messages of the presenters and figure out how to incorporate them into my classroom. More on all of that in [...]

I know that we all do it when we can – offering different options for assignments, differential seating plans, the opportunity to work alone or within a group, the choice of reading this novel or that novel: Differentiation! We do it all of the time – probably without much thought. I’m just starting a new chapter [...]

Today marks the one year anniversary of my blog, Eduflections. When I started this a year ago, I had just turned in the final manuscript for Can We Skip Lunch and Keep Writing? I missed having that avenue of writing and reflecting about my journey with my students. Dr. Frank Buck suggested that writing a blog would be a good way to continue ...

I was immediately impressed by the FREE printables available on Ms. Leslie’s Teacher’s Zone. One feature that caught my attention immediately was the Writer’s Workshop. It has a wonderful variety of tools (printables) that can be used with students learning how to write and for assessing their own writing. This is a really nice ...

I’m thankful that I listen to NPR and audio books often, because otherwise, I don’t know that I could have constructed my podcast this well. I think what I have created is a testimony to the connection between being an audience member and a producer! Some things in my writing changed while I recorded, and re-recorded, myself speaking aloud my ...