by DianneSalerni | May 23, 2010 | revision, teaching, writing
I saw the gleam in their eyes when I explained it to them.I’d made a few copies of the opening chapters of my WIP, and I was hoping to find some students willing to read them and give feedback. “You mean, you want us to conference with you?” they asked, using our...
by DianneSalerni | May 14, 2010 | writing
Today I was suddenly possessed.Not by spooks, although you might expect that. I suddenly decided to post my first vlog. Well, not really my first, because I did some guest spots for Helen Ellis last week. But the first one to be posted here.Of course, I was struck by...
by DianneSalerni | Apr 15, 2010 | PSSA, teaching, testing, writing
Are you sick of hearing me complain about standardized tests? My students are certainly sick of taking them. One of them even came to school yesterday in spite of having thrown up at home that morning. He held himself together just long enough to finish his test.If he...
by DianneSalerni | Apr 12, 2010 | PSSA, testing, writing
Pennsylvania students are currently in the throes of their yearly state testing. The testing window is shorter than ever, with only 8 days to complete 6 tests and all make-ups due to absences. Fifth grade students get the pleasure of following that up with another 4...
by DianneSalerni | Feb 20, 2010 | education, Sourcebooks Fire, teaching, We Hear the Dead, writing
Anyone who is a teacher will be familiar with Process Writing as taught in the classroom. It consists of steps labeled Pre-Writing, Drafting, Conferencing, Revising, Editing, and Publishing. These steps are often recursive, as writers may conference several times,...
by DianneSalerni | Feb 15, 2010 | Elisha Kane, Maggie Fox, We Hear the Dead, writing
It’s probably time I explain the volcano picture at the top of this blog site. People who are familiar with the historical characters in We Hear the Dead have probably already guessed – that’s Dr. Elisha Kane’s volcano.Not his personal volcano, of course, but the one...
