Mars Science Laboratory: Curiosity Rover
By Phil Nast January 9, 2012 10:32 am
Because my neighbor is a dairy farmer, I’m familiar with methane and other organic compounds, so a recent article in the NY Times about the mission of the Mars Science Laboratory’s (MSL) rover named Curiosity that began with the sentence …
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Student Gifts Come From the Heart
By EdVoices December 1, 2011 10:16 am
What’s so special about two green candles? If you are Alabama teacher Kristy Terry Black, the answer is simple – everything.
It was more than a decade ago that a student with extremely limited financial means cleaned out two used …
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Idle Minds — Word Games and Puzzles as “Brain Training”
By Phil Nast November 28, 2011 4:00 pm
My 7th grade math teacher used to say that idle minds are the devil’s playground. She must have repeated it often because I remember it. She was an old fashioned teacher from New England who amused us with arcane vocabulary: …
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A Holiday Writing Project
By Phil Nast November 21, 2011 10:52 am
Late Christmas Eve in Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory,” Buddy’s older cousin tells him that she can’t sleep: “My mind’s jumping like a jack rabbit.” My mind jumped for weeks before Christmas when I was a kid. I knew I’d …
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Archaeology: Online and Hands-On
By Phil Nast November 18, 2011 11:53 am
A colleague and I used to simulate archaeological digs in our social studies classes. Students created artifacts, wrote descriptions of their significance or use, and then buried them in designated areas on the school grounds. We taught in a rural …
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What We Gain from Reading Fiction — Lesson Plan Ideas
By Phil Nast October 31, 2011 5:13 pm
When I began reading fiction, I read for adventure. Adventure fiction let me experience things virtually that I couldn’t in actuality. I progressed from Franklin W. Dickson to Ian Fleming to Hemingway. Non-fiction narratives provided a similar experience. There’s plenty …
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When Nature Gives You Leaves, Make Compost
By Phil Nast October 25, 2011 2:08 pm
Autumn has always been my favorite season. Here in Central New York, the leaves turn and for a short while the hills glow. Harvest and food is another part of my liking. I’ve discovered that a pie or cake can …
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How to Teach Students About Sunprints and Pinhole Photography
By Phil Nast October 17, 2011 4:41 pm
I had three friends in high school who were photographers. At least one became a professional. All three built darkrooms in basement corners and developed and printed their own 35mm B&W film. I spent many hours in the dark agitating …
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Halloween Ghost Story Resources for Teachers
By Phil Nast October 11, 2011 10:40 am
Years ago, a good friend gave me a copy of Casting the Runes and Other Ghost Stories by M. R. James. I’d read “The Mezzotint” before, but the remaining stories were all new to me. It was a happy meeting. …
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Why I Became an Elementary School Teacher
By Phil Nast October 3, 2011 4:44 pm
Each Monday, my ninth grade English teacher assigned twenty-five vocabulary words. On Friday, we had a test. In between, we defined the words, used them in a demonstrative sentence, and learned how to spell them.
My mother thought I spent …
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Q/A from “Technology and Education” Session
Movement, Mobility, and Migration Conference A number of undergraduate students presented today at Central Michigan University’s first annual conference on English studies, “Movement, Mobility, and Migration.” One particular session at the end of the day had a great Q/A, and …
Crafting Digital Writing
Crafting Digital Writing So pleased to announce that Crafting Digital Writing: Composing Texts Across Media and Genres was officially released today by Heinemann. Here is the text from the back cover: “We have an opportunity to help this generation …
Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/25/2013
iTunes - Podcasts - Every Classroom Matters With Cool Cat Teacher by BAM Radio Network - The Twitterati Channel Here's the iTunes podcast for Every Classroom matters, the new show I"m hosing on BAM radio network. I'll have one post …
I’m a Poet, And I Know It! Celebrating National Poetry Month!
I love National Poetry Month! I used to write poetry, maybe I will again some day. But in the meantime, I like to give my kids a chance to grow to love writing poetry as much as I do. There…
Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/24/2013
Gearing Up for Common Core in Math Great conversation with Darren Burris about Common Core math in the classroom and how to adjust your curriculum. Another Every Classroom Matters show. tags: News common core math USA TODAY: Latest World and …
9 Fine Reasons to Keep a Journal (and how to help kids do it too)
A Gratitude Journal can improve your well beingmore than winning a milliondollars in the lottery.Why not start one today?(Photo credit: limevelyn…) Journaling is on my habit list every day. I keep 2 kinds of journals
Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/23/2013
LA Class 2013: Teaching An Old Student New Tricks? Do you want to know what a student thinks about genius learning? Read Melina's thoughts about this practice in 12th grad english. ""What are the projects on?"-you might ask. The topic …
Are School Field Trips Becoming Obsolete?
The 5th grade went to the Blue Rocks baseball game today and we had a blast! I loved interacting with my students outside of the classroom. It’s rare that we get the chance to do that anymore. We sat in…
Are School Field Trips Becoming Obsolete?
The 5th grade went to the Blue Rocks baseball game today and we had a blast! I loved interacting with my students outside of the classroom. It’s rare that we get the chance to do that anymore. We sat in…
Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/21/2013
Faith, Trust and Chalk Dust: Spring is in the air I love how this teacher used both sides of the brain to engage her students in test review. They painted, wrote and reviewed. Here here! tags: education news testing elemchat…
