by DianneSalerni | Feb 25, 2011 | Kindle, teaching
Technically, they’re not supposed to be there.Of course, neither are cell phones, and we all know half the students have cell phones in their pockets or their backpacks. I insist my daughters bring their phones to school, in fact, just so we can coordinate after...
by DianneSalerni | Jan 12, 2011 | teaching
Is today’s youth capable of recognizing irony in literature? Monday’s discussion of Huck Finn has prompted me to move on to another little soapbox subject of mine: underestimating young readers.Some people find the language and characters in Huck Finn offensive....
by DianneSalerni | Jan 10, 2011 | teaching
Seeing Huckleberry Finn on the list of banned books is no new thing. It’s been controversial for years and years, thanks to it making us uncomfortable and forcing us to think a little. (Wouldn’t Mark Twain have a laugh about that? I expect he’d write another satire...
by DianneSalerni | Nov 24, 2010 | reading, teaching
Report cards and parent conferences are over, and it’s time for Thanksgiving break! I feel like I’ve worked hard enough for it! Exhaustion makes me cranky and maybe a little fanciful. My over-exerted neurons are firing off crazy ideas and strange little...
by DianneSalerni | Nov 22, 2010 | steampunk, teaching, writing
I don’t have much for you today, folks. A week of being buried under report cards was followed by a week of parent-teacher conferences – including one 12-hour work day – and I still have more conferences to do tonight. I’m feeling squashed flat – kind of like our old...
by DianneSalerni | Sep 24, 2010 | teaching, writing
It will probably come as no surprise that I enjoy teaching writing to my 5th graders. However, grading writing can be a drag. Nothing kills the joy of writing more than staring at a stack of expository essays that I need to assess for Focus, Content, Organization,...
