Facebook + Educators

Today an email came from one of the principals in my school district encouraging her staff to be cautious when using Facebook.  Attached to the email was a memo from the Indiana State Teachers Association stating: Teachers need to be very careful about what they post online.   Social-networking websites  such as MySpace and Facebook have [...]

SOLSC – Day 31 of 31

Today’s the final day of our month-long writing challenge! Please link your Slice of Life Story to this post by leaving a comment (scroll to the bottom of this post) before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time today. Be sure to: Check back on Thursday, 4/2 regarding the giveaways. Come back every Tuesday for the weekly Slice [...]

Visual Vocab.

One my colleagues e-mailed me a link to a site called “Weboword – Vocabulary Visually!” today. Essentially, this site is updated with adorable pictures that visually describe a word through a stick-figure cartoon. (What a great companion to Salinger’s Book entitled Well-Defined: Vocabulary in Rhyme!) There are also puzzles that accompany each week’s worth of [...]

Ruth’s SOLS: Dinner.

It’s nearly the last Slice of Life for the month, so I double checked my list of slices I wanted to be sure to capture and decided that today is the day to record dinner.  It is such a standard in my day and that’s part of what this little challenge is all about — capturing [...]

SOLSC – Day 30 of 31

We’re on the second-to-last day our month-long writing challenge! Please link your Slice of Life Story to this post by leaving a comment (scroll to the bottom of this post) before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time today. For more information: Click here to learn more about the giveaways. Click here to download the SOLSC Buttons Ruth [...]

ruth’s sols: just a little reminder.

Today I was waiting for my husband & kids to pick me up from a store.  While I was waiting I picked up a book to pass the time.  After reading the first few pages, I was struck by the poignant writing and just had to have a copy.  Later, after the kids were in [...]

SOLSC – Day 29 of 31

We’re on the 29th day our month-long writing challenge! Kindly link your Slice of Life Story to this post by leaving a comment (scroll to the bottom of this post) before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time today. For more information: Click here to learn more about the giveaways. Click here to download the SOLSC Buttons Ruth [...]

Some Handwritten Notes from the Sat. Reunion

Regular readers of this blog have probably noticed my absence this last week.  I was feeling, for lack of a better word, lousy.  I came back from last weekend’s TCRWP Saturday Reunion raring to go, but got stopped by forces beyond my control.  I don’t like feeling under the weather (who does?), especially when there [...]

ruth’s sols: i know myself better.

Last week I read this on Ali Edwards’  blog: My expectations this time around are completely different. My approach is slower and calmer. I know myself better and I am less-stressed out (even with more on my plate). I know my limits. I take deeper breaths. As is so often the case, I’m inspired to [...]

SOLSC – Day 28 of 31

We’re on the twenty-eighth day our month-long writing challenge! Kindly link your Slice of Life Story to this post by leaving a comment (scroll to the bottom of this post) before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time today. For more information: Click here to learn more about the giveaways. Click here to download the SOLSC Buttons.

what a find!

In the wonderful way of the Internet, where link leads on to link, I found a new blog.  Started at the beginning of this month, Yeah, Write, is right up my alley!  With categories like:  grammar rules, journaling tips, and words,words, words, you may also be interested in checking it out.  There’s also a special [...]

SOLSC – Day 27 of 31

We’re on the 27th day our month-long writing challenge! Please link your Slice of Life Story to this post by leaving a comment (scroll to the bottom of this post) before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time today.

Punctuation Police

Today was my first day back to the classroom after being under the weather and out for two-and-a-half-days. I hesitated jumping back in, realizing I had a lot to catch-up on in my kids’ lives. However, after a fluid Morning Meeting, I decided to forge ahead with my lesson on PERIODS. (How exotic!) I put [...]

ruth’s sols: the shirt.

This photo was taken a year ago, but my son was dressed in this shirt today.  Before I even got out of bed this morning, I began percolating on today’s slice of life . . . thinking about this orange shirt. It’s not the typical kind of thing we dress him in.  We love parenting.  [...]

SOLSC – Day 26 of 31

We’re on the 26th day our month-long writing challenge! Please link your Slice of Life Story to this post by leaving a comment (scroll to the bottom of this post) before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time today.

SOLSC – Day 25 of 31

We’re on the 25th day our month-long writing challenge! Please link your Slice of Life Story to this post by leaving a comment (scroll to the bottom of this post) before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time today. If your comment doesn’t post right away, don’t worry.  It’s in the system.  Sometime comments go to Spam, even [...]

choice in process.

This trimester I have the pleasure of working in a ninth grade language arts class.  The first unit of study has been a deep look into narrative writing.  The challenge has been to write a memoir which reveals something about yourself, including scenes which span time, and include a common factor throughout each scene (ie:  [...]

SOLSC – Day 24 of 31

We’re on the 24th day our month-long writing challenge! (One week left to go!) Please link your Slice of Life Story to this post by leaving a comment (scroll to the bottom of this post) before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time today. For more information: Click here to get information about implementing this Challenge in your [...]

ruth’s sols: a walk

My oldest daughter and I went for a walk tonight.  Just a short little jaunt down the side road.  She held my hand the entire time.  When she needed to push her hair out of her face, she would take my wrist with her other hand, let go, fix her hair, then slide her hand [...]

SOLSC – Day 23 of 31

We’re on the 23rd day our month-long writing challenge! Please link your Slice of Life Story to this post by leaving a comment (scroll to the bottom of this post) before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time today. For more information: Click here to get information about implementing this Challenge in your classroom. Click here to learn [...]

Obstacles to Revision for Little Kids

Katherine Bomer hosted a session on fabulous revision strategies for students in grades K-3 at the TCRWP Saturday Reunion yesterday.  I haven’t synthesized my notes from that part of her presentation yet, but did type-up my notes from the part of her presentation where she talked about the obstacles that get in the way of [...]

SOLSC – Day 22 of 31

We’re on the 22nd day our month-long writing challenge! Please link your Slice of Life Story to this post by leaving a comment (scroll to the bottom of this post) before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time today. For more information: Click here to get information about implementing this Challenge in your classroom. Click here to learn [...]

Soon… Reflections About the Saturday Reunion

I spent the earlier part of today at the TCRWP Saturday Reunion.  I attended the keynote and four sessions back-to-back.  I took 39 pages of notes.  I spent time with Jen from A Teacher’s Life, but missed Sarah from The Reading Zone.  I finally met Katherine Bomer, in person, whose work I truly admire.  It [...]

SOLSC – Day 21 of 31

We’re more than 2/3 of the way finished with our month-long writing challenge! (Do you believe it?) Please link your Slice of Life Story to this post by leaving a comment (scroll to the bottom of this post) before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time today. For more information: Click here to get information about implementing this [...]

SOLSC – Day 20 of 31

We’re on the 20th day our month-long writing challenge! Please link your Slice of Life Story to this post by leaving a comment (scroll to the bottom of this post) before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time today. For more information: Click here to get information about implementing this Challenge in your classroom. Click here to learn [...]