It is the end of the semester, I’m buried in papers to read, and the Polar Vortex is bringing below-freezing temperatures back to Michigan. I definitely needed something to make me laugh. Then James Lane’s Unkind Ravens and Murderous Crows arrived in my mailbox, and the day was suddenly a little better. Yes, it’s attached … Continue reading
How do you choose a movie? My husband and I don’t see many movies, but when we do, we are often influenced by movie trailers–especially those shared by friends and family. So I was interested when a recent National Public Radio (NPR) broadcast featured Mike Woolen, who has created trailers for movies including Birdman, Boyhood, … Continue reading
Do you teach Shakespeare? Interested in a new twist on iambic pentameter? Enter William Shakespeare’s Star Wars, by Ian Doescher. William Shakespeare’s Star Wars (subtitled “Verily, A New Hope”) is a retelling of the Star Wars tale as it might have been written by the bard himself. Imagine Luke Skywalker, Hans Solo, wookies and robots, … Continue reading
It is easy to complain about how celebrity culture can be an unhealthy influence on young people. The world is full of “superstars” whose behavior is not what we want our students or our children to emulate—to say nothing of their grammar. But I recently read about a teacher in Brazil who turned bad-celebrity-grammar into … Continue reading
It is June in Michigan, which means the world is finally green again and the school year is ending. Sometimes, near the end of the school year, you need something that is just fun. If it meets a curriculum goal, that’s great, but there are those moments when we all just need a moment of … Continue reading
David Wiesner’s classic picture book Tuesday is a delight, and inspiration for creativity from preschool to graduate school. Tuesday is an almost wordless tale that begins “Tuesday evening, around 8:00.” It uses a series of wondrous watercolors to recount the story of swarms of toads and flying lilypads as they adventure through the night. Here, … Continue reading
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