crossingthehelix.blogspot.com
Crossing the Helix: April 2013
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Writing geeky-chic novels for teens. Two parts geeky, one part chic. Monday, April 15, 2013. When Words Are Worse Than Sticks and Stones. Words will never hurt me, huh? I've talked about it before, how words have power and saying you're teasing doesn't make it okay. It's continued to be an issue in varying ways in my classroom. Smack his arm playfully, act shocked, and say, "I did not! In other words, encourage him to keep saying such things. On a related note, a student has spent most of this year calli...
crossingthehelix.blogspot.com
Crossing the Helix: March 2013
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Writing geeky-chic novels for teens. Two parts geeky, one part chic. Monday, March 25, 2013. Less than the Best Can Be AMAZING. The third quarter of the school year just ended for me. Predictably, I spent much of last week staying very. Late after school with kids desperate to get their grade up at the last minute. If they're willing to do the work, I'm willing to put in the extra time. Then there are the A-minuses. But others are tougher. These are students who may not get math easily, so they work ...
crossingthehelix.blogspot.com
Crossing the Helix: "Teasing Your Friend" Doesn't Make It Funny or Okay
http://crossingthehelix.blogspot.com/2012/10/teasing-your-friend-doesnt-make-it.html
Writing geeky-chic novels for teens. Two parts geeky, one part chic. Friday, October 26, 2012. Teasing Your Friend" Doesn't Make It Funny or Okay. Warning: A rant is about to ensue. It's nothing new. I imagine people have been tossing "joking" insults at their friends since the dawn of time, and especially boys. You've probably heard the type:. Joe, you're such a girl." (Having two X chromosomes is an insult? Hey, Larry likes guys." (Besides it being untrue, what's your point? It drives me nuts. Here's o...
crossingthehelix.blogspot.com
Crossing the Helix: Does It Matter If You Ever Use It, Specifically?
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Writing geeky-chic novels for teens. Two parts geeky, one part chic. Monday, February 11, 2013. Does It Matter If You Ever Use It, Specifically? When are we ever going to use this? Every math teacher's probably heard this at least once, and during some units, at least once a day. (There were years where I never. Heard it. How I long to go back to teaching that way. But I digress.). Here's the answer I've taken to giving my students. It's three-part. I never have to take math again! In your everyday life?
crossingthehelix.blogspot.com
Crossing the Helix: When It's NOT "Just Jealousy"
http://crossingthehelix.blogspot.com/2013/03/when-its-not-just-jealousy.html
Writing geeky-chic novels for teens. Two parts geeky, one part chic. Friday, March 8, 2013. When It's NOT "Just Jealousy". News Flash: Not all teenagers love and adore each other. (They're just like younger kids and adults that way.) When one teen hates another, there seem to be two routes. The hater makes no secret of their hate, broadcasting it to the world, or they act extra. Super-sweet-and-nicey-nice around their hate-ee. The second is just about as obvious as the first. What if they're not? That do...
crossingthehelix.blogspot.com
Crossing the Helix: Going Off-Topic Can Be On-Topic
http://crossingthehelix.blogspot.com/2013/03/going-off-topic-can-be-on-topic.html
Writing geeky-chic novels for teens. Two parts geeky, one part chic. Wednesday, March 6, 2013. Going Off-Topic Can Be On-Topic. When I was in junior high, there was this one English teacher. I never had him, but I heard stories. Stories about the stories. My classmates talked about how all they had to do was make one comment or ask one random question to get him going, and they could keep him talking through all of class. As in, never getting to the lesson. As in, no homework. Will there be a movie?
crossingthehelix.blogspot.com
Crossing the Helix: Less than the Best Can Be AMAZING
http://crossingthehelix.blogspot.com/2013/03/less-than-best-can-be-amazing.html
Writing geeky-chic novels for teens. Two parts geeky, one part chic. Monday, March 25, 2013. Less than the Best Can Be AMAZING. The third quarter of the school year just ended for me. Predictably, I spent much of last week staying very. Late after school with kids desperate to get their grade up at the last minute. If they're willing to do the work, I'm willing to put in the extra time. Then there are the A-minuses. But others are tougher. These are students who may not get math easily, so they work ...
crossingthehelix.blogspot.com
Crossing the Helix: August 2013
http://crossingthehelix.blogspot.com/2013_08_01_archive.html
Writing geeky-chic novels for teens. Two parts geeky, one part chic. Friday, August 2, 2013. In Defense of First Person. The hosting service for my website. Is having a bad day, so I'm cross-posting this here for now.). So here I’ll focus on first person. One criticism of first-person narrative was that it’s what newbie, amateur writers default to, and they don’t have the skills to do it well. But maybe the majority of new writers automatically go with first person? Sure, I can buy that. First person....
crossingthehelix.blogspot.com
Crossing the Helix: TBR Pile Status
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Writing geeky-chic novels for teens. Two parts geeky, one part chic. I've been stuck in writing-only mode for a while. It's time to get back to reading. Every time I finish one, I'm faced with the decision of which to read next. Too many choices! Here's what the pile looks like right now. RC Lewis's favorite books. 3/10/2013 Finished Delirium Stories. 3/10/2013 Finished City of Lost Souls. 3/6/2013 Finished A Great and Terrible Beauty. 2/28/2013 Finished Sisters Red. 2/19/2013 Finished Rage Within. By al...
crossingthehelix.blogspot.com
Crossing the Helix: My Fellow Perfectionists, Let Us Embrace the Suckitude
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Writing geeky-chic novels for teens. Two parts geeky, one part chic. Wednesday, March 13, 2013. My Fellow Perfectionists, Let Us Embrace the Suckitude. I admit it. I've been struggling with perfectionism pretty much my whole life. (You'll have to ask my mom how much of it manifested when I was a two-year-old, I guess.) There's a particular aspect of it that sticks with me. If I couldn't do something perfectly, I'd rather not do it at all. No settling for "okay." No such thing as "good enough. Of sucking ...
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