Alan Lawrence Sitomer » classroom

Great News Today!! (A Prestigious Award)

Alan Sitomer — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:00:05 +0000

Great news today!! I was just notified that my most biggest writing project ever, was named a Finalist for the 2010 Association of Educational Publishers Distinguished Achievement Awards in the category of Reading and Language Arts.

I really only started…

The Tax Man Cometh today… so I am doing a free webinar.

Alan Sitomer — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:03:46 +0000

The Tax Man Cometh today… so I decided to do a free webinar providing some tool and insights on using Poetry in the classroom.

My theme: Is Poetry Dead?

My answer: Heck no!

In case you haven’t been paying attention,…

Diary of a Wimpy Kid – A Smart Choice!!

Alan Sitomer — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:42:11 +0000

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is about to absolutely rock the Hollywood box office this weekend. And it has been a rip-roaring success in the world of book publishing. As a teacher, when I see this I know that I…

Measuring teacher effectiveness: Day 4

Alan Sitomer — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:30:12 +0000

Okay, so for the past few days I have offered up a perspective on measuring teacher effectiveness, devising a matrix that would include…

* student test scores
* peer evaluations
* administrative evaluations
* student

…

Sensible Evaluations of Teachers… and More Farces from the Front Lines

Alan Sitomer — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:30:12 +0000

Schools are so understaffed on the admin front that sensible evaluations of teachers that are thoughtful, timely and fair to all parties involved seem almost like a pipe dream.

Take my school, for example. We have 4 admins on our…

Don’t you love how everyone feels as if they can do your job better than you can do it yourself?

Alan Sitomer — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:30:58 +0000

Whenever any other adult walks into my classroom, things change. Why? Cause classrooms are fishbowls and when a new species enters the tank, the environment changes.

Sure, in some ways, things will revert back to normal. Especially if I, at…

The “However” category of 21rst century skills

Alan Sitomer — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:00:48 +0000

There’s a part of me that feels as if the discussion I raised the other day about how using technology in way that simply adds up to “digitalizing worksheets” devolved to a place where I feel I wasn’t quite…

Skeptical of drinking the 21rst Century Digital Future Kool-Aid

Alan Sitomer — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:30:28 +0000

There was something exceptionally cool going on in Indianapolis this week during the NMSA annual conference where I just presented. Yet, it was also exceptionally troubling.

In the back of the exhibit hall somebody had set up a “Classroom of…

September 11

Alan Sitomer — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:30:36 +0000

I was in my classroom when the second plane hit the World Trade Center in 2001. I heard about the first plane as I drove into work, turned on the tv in my room and then watched the second plane…

As we all know, gerunds save lives.

Alan Sitomer — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:30:22 +0000

A few weeks ago I talked about H.R. 1895 and The Stand Up Act in regards to providing more strict guidleines for teen drivers.

It just smacked of complete common sense. Well, banning txting and driving is next up. This…