The Sorting Hat Has Decided….

That I am a Ravenclaw!  I am ecstatic, to say the least.  While I think every Harry Potter fan wants to be in Gryffindor, deep down I have always known I was a Ravenclaw.  When Pottermore opened up to beta testers and I finally got my owl, I hesitated.  What if the Sorting Hat sorted [...]

They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein

If you teach writing at the secondary level, you need to order this book immediately.  I ordered it on a whim last year and couldn’t believe my luck when I read it.  It was like I stumbled into a gold mine, full of little nuggets of writing genius.  I started using it with my freshman [...]

Never Forget

(A version of this was originally written on 9/11/03, in my personal journal. It has been edited for this posting. I have reposted it every year since 2003.) I can’t forget. This morning, between classes I was sitting in my car listening to the radio. I listened to the children read off the names of [...]

A Request- Looking for Stephenie Meyer/Summit Entertainment for a Last Wish

I am posting this for a friend.  She is desperately trying to get in touch with someone at Summit Entertainment who can arrange a special viewing of Breaking Dawn for a family friend who is dying.  I am hoping that someone out there can get this letter into the hands of someone who can help. [...]

Entering a New Era- Social Media in My Classroom

Social media is a huge part of my life.  I’ve been on Facebook for years, have been blogging since 2007, and tweet daily.  I will be presenting at this year’s NCTE convention and my focus is on Twitter.  So it’s always been hard for me to teach without social media.  When I taught middle school [...]