"But it does not apply to me. I'm a high school teacher," is the criticism that we sometimes hear of our book, The First Days of School, either from people who write to us or occasionally by reviewers of the book on Amazon.com. No suggestions, however, are given as to what a high school teacher might be looking for. More often than not, these disparaging comments are made to imply that our ideas are better suited for elementary teachers...

Most teachers have a desire to establish good relations with their students. To achieve this objective, young teachers new to the profession often suggest that students call them by their first name...

Decrease your workload during conference week while maximizing the effectiveness of your conferences! Schedule some conferences for the week before the official conference week begins...

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I recently heard from Theresa Miller, a 6^th grade language arts teacher at Armstrong Middle (Home of the Mighty Wolves!!) in Rayne, Louisiana:

"Our textbook is not the best"..."therefore, I've taken up the practice of teaching my reading through class novels"

Right away I'll tell you that I don't think this is a good plan for your year and that there are a number of reasons for my position...

Assessment of Online Discussions

There are a variety of activities that lend themselves quite well to online discussions. These include case studies, brainstorming, role-playing and reaction or position papers...

Internet Security for Kids

Judy Lastrina wrote to me about a solution she developed to increase the safety of Internet use for children: she created a safe, secure, fun Network, called Kidsworld. "Kidsworld is not a Web site," says Judy. "It is a portal into a private Network for kids."...

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The one thing I could do for my students that would really change the quality of their writing was helping them to select their topics wisely. Two factors are very important...

Primary Sites Grades Pre-K to 3

Here are five sites for primary teachers...

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