I encourage you to watch The American Teacher, due for release in October.

Many of my former Room 15 rotters will recognize my classroom play, The Tell-Tale Heart. A newly revised version appears in the September 5th Back-to-School issue of Scholastic’s Scope Magazine.  Scope editor Kristin Lewis says your Mr. Lewis “hit just the right note with  his adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic short story … somewhere between totally disturbing and totally delightful.” This traditional re-telling of the gothic masterpiece has previously appeared in Storyworks and Scholastic News, but it has been “aged-up” for Scope’s middle school audience. Add to that Lisa Weber’s equally delightful and disturbing illustrations, and you’ve got a classroom hit.  It’s September arrival will allow us time to prepare it for a Halloween performance–but with any luck, it’ll be one of many plays undertaken by this year’s crop of CPE kids.

To see a copy, try clicking on the cover. Middle school teachers can get a class set by become ing Scope subscribers (click here.) It’s also available in Read-Aloud Plays: Classic Short Stories.

The National Research Council affirmed that National Board Certification has had a positive impact on student achievement, teacher retention and professional development. In the most rigorous and comprehensive study to date about National Board Certification, the NRC found that students taught by National Board Certified Teachers make higher gains on achievement tests than students taught by teachers who have not applied and those who did not achieve certification.  To read the full article, click here.

Have you been wondering why we emphasize play performances in Room 15?  If so, check out this article from Instructor magazine about how effective Reader’s Theater is at building reading fluency and comprehension.  Just click the Instructor logo!