Virtual Village Classroom

It would be easy to look past Weightless if you simply read the blurbs describing the novel. Bullying. High School. Cheerleaders. New Girl. After all, there is no shortage of books with these keywords. But, if you do, you will miss out on one of the best young adult novels of the year. Weightless carries […]

Lame duck is often a term associated with the time period after an election but before the new elected official takes office.  The official who remains in office during this time is said to be “lame duck” because they don’t have a lot of pull to get things done because people are looking at what’s […]

April is Holocaust Remembrance Month.  It is a time of reflection for survivors and those who lost loved ones.  It is a time for generations who were not even born to learn of the atrocities of the Holocaust, and to do whatever it takes to ensure it never happens again.  We must remember, we must […]

by Darren J. Butler The other day I was speaking with a principal about our writing program, Weekly Writer. He was trying to wrap his head around the implementation of our five weekly components. “Should I put this in their reading classes or in their writing classes?” I thought about his dilemma, and I realized […]

In the Common Core Standards there are seven things used to describe what a college and career ready student will look like concerning reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.  I am rather impressed with these descriptions.  These are amazing expectations for our students and it is well worth pushing them to achieve this level.  One […]

In the Common Core Standards there are seven things used to describe what a college and career ready student will look like concerning reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.  I am rather impressed with these descriptions.  These are amazing expectations for our students and it is well worth pushing them to achieve this level.  One […]

Are you missing the hour of sleep you lost on Sunday?  Most everyone in the United States “sprang forward” over the weekend in honor of Daylight Savings Time.  The tradition of Daylight Savings Time officially began in the United States in 1918, although its roots run all the way to Benjamin Franklin. It’s main purpose […]

Why Should I Bother? The days of instruction in early childhood grades is focused on teaching students to read and begin to understand mathematical concepts.  Writing often consists of teaching students letter formation and possibly short sentences by the second half of the year.  However, writing can be so much more than that!  Teachers can […]

Imagine your students down the road in college or the work place. What kind of writing will they be doing? Will it be an essay on their favorite food or vacation spot? No. Will they have to describe their favorite event or tell a story about something scary that happened to them? No. If the […]

Play Production Getting your students excited about writing can be a challenge sometimes.  As teachers, we try our best to get kids excited by giving them writing prompts that will be of interest to them, but often they get bored with the same types of assignments over and over with just a different title.  Writing […]