Monthly Archives: August 2009

Aug 27 2009

Lilith Magazine Seventh Annual Fiction Competition

Entry Fee: FREE

Deadline: November 1, 2009

Guidelines: http://www.lilith.org/writers.htm

Lilith Magazine focuses on stories that appeal to Jewish women and the issues in their lives. They award $250 for the first prize in their fiction contest, and publication in Lilith Magazine. Past winning entries are online to read. Send your story of up to 3,000 words to:

LILITH MAGAZINE

250 West 57th Street, Suite 2432

New York, NY 10107

In addition, Lilith Magazine is having a second annual poetry contest. Again, the topic is any subject that will appeal to Jewish women. You may include up to three poems with each submission. The deadline for this contest is November 30, 2009. Check the Lilith website for all the editorial guidelines and sample winning stories and poems.

Aug 25 2009

Teachers Organize Your Time by Using a Timer

Time is the most precious thing a teacher has. Unless you want to be one of those teachers who takes work home every night, works all weekend, and has no social life at all, you’ll need to start early to organize your time.

 

In your first year of teaching, that’s exceptionally hard to do, because you’re still learning what works for you. I tell all of my new teachers to use a timer, so you don’t end up spending too much time on one task and not getting other things done. As you mature in your teaching practice, you’ll find a timer will help you be more efficient, you’ll feel less overwhelmed, and you’ll be able to relax and enjoy your teaching.

 

Teaching Tip: Use a Timer

 

I also follow the Flylady’s organizing tips. She has designed a special system for teachers which will help you organize your time. She calls it FLYing, (Finally Loving Yourself).

 

Flylady’s Teacher Control Journal

 

 

Next month, each Tuesday I’ll have articles for you about Back to School night, dealing with pushy parents, and teaching for mastery. You can RSS feed TeacherWriter or follow me on Twitter if you don’t want to miss a single one!

Aug 20 2009

Writer’s Digest Your Story Contest

Deadline: Bimonthly on the 10th

Entry Fee: FREE

Guidelines:  http://www.writersdigest.com/YourStory/

            Here’s an opportunity to get published both in Writer’s Digest magazine and on their website. Every other month, they give a prompt for a story. Using that prompt, you can write any type of flash narrative you like, up to 750 words. According to their guidelines, they are looking for inventiveness, creativity, and humor. Look in the current print issue of Writer’s Digest for the latest contest prompt. If you don’t want to buy it, many libraries carry copies at the circulation desk. Contest #19 ended on July 10, 2009, so the next two contest deadlines should be September 10 and November 10, 2009. The online submission form makes entering a simple process. Don’t’ forget to read past winning entries before you submit your story to “Your Story.”

Aug 18 2009

Records Management for Teachers: How to Handle All the Papers

It’s never to early to plan how to handle the huge paper load that teacher have to deal with. Plan now, so you don’t get inundated with too much. More than almost anything else, stacks and stacks of papers will depress you and kill your teaching joy.

 

How will you handle grading, notes to and from parents, school records management, assessment papers and assessment records, lesson plans, and all the other assorted papers that will be coming your way?

 

Start by reading this article: Classroom Records Management for Teachers

 

There are many gradebook programs out there, but the one I recommend is Gradekeeper. It works on Macs, PC, and handhelds, it’s inexpensive, reliable, and I’ve used it for 8 years now.

 

Planbook is a lesson planner that I recently found. I tend to go back and forth between paper planners and electronic planners. The thing I like about Planbook is you can embed your teaching documents right into the plan. You’ll never need to hunt down a worksheet or transparency again.

 

 

Next Tuesday, the topic will be how to organize your time.

 If you subscribe to this blog via RSS or follow me on Twitter, you won’t miss a single teaching tip.

Aug 13 2009

Blue Mountain Arts Fifteenth Biannual Poetry Contest

Entry Fee: FREE

Deadline: December 1, 2009

Guidelines: http://www.sps.com/poetry/index.html

Blue Mountain Arts is a longtime publisher of greeting cards, books, bookmarks, and other items that help people express their feelings and stay in touch. They are looking for original poetry, preferably non-rhyming, that expresses an emotion or sentiment, or is inspirational. Winning entries will be published online. Prizes are $300, $150, and $50. Click on the link above to submit as many entries as you would like using the online submission form.

In addition, Blue Mountain Arts takes regular submissions for their greeting card and book market. You may request writer’s guidelines through the Contact Us page, using “Send Me Guidelines” in the subject line, or send an SASE to their mailing address.

Aug 11 2009

Back to School Activity: Creating a Me Bag

What do you plan to do the first week of school? I’ve used this activity for a few years now, and the students love it. It works for all age groups. Students tell me it’s one of their favorite beginning of the year activities that we do.

 

Back to School Activity Idea

 

 

Next Tuesday, the TeacherWriter blog will help you learn how to handle all the papers a teacher must deal with.

 

Don’t forget: you can subscribe to this blog via RSS or by following me on Twitter.

Aug 6 2009

Writers of the Future Contest

Entry Fee: FREE

Deadline: September 30, 2009

Genre: Speculative Fiction, Science Fiction and Fantasy

Guidelines: http://www.writersofthefuture.com/rules.htm

If you’re a new writer, and you’ve not been professionally published in a novel, more than one novelette, or more than three short stories, then you can enter this popular contest. It is judged by some of the biggest names in science fiction today, such as Kevin Anderson, Orson Scott Card, and Anne McCaffrey. The contest began in 1988 and is still well respected.

The website has forums for writers, and plenty of tips for those who want to learn more about writing in these genres. A short YouTube book trailer is on the main page, and an interview with Orson Scott Card is on the “How to Win” page. He talks about reasons why to enter this particular contest.

If you win, your story will be published in the L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Anthology. Prizes are $1000 for first place, $750 for second, and $500 for third. In addition, the winners will receive a trip to the award ceremony in Seattle, and be registered for a week-long workshop. So what are you waiting for? The future is yours!

Aug 5 2009

Writing Fiction at Suite101.com

I just want to share a tidbit of good news. I was working as the Media Literacy Feature Writer at Suite101.com, until just recently. I’ve now taken a position as the Feature Writer in the Writing Fiction section.

Fiction writing is where my heart is at, although non-fiction butters my bread. Well, it doesn’t exactly butter it, I don’t make that much money, but it certainly adds a little cinnamon sugar topping.

I’m looking forward to writing more about fiction at Suite101.com, which means that there will be less of it here. I’ll continue to give notice on all the best free writing contests here at Teacherwriter.net, and I’ll be continuing with my articles about teaching.

You can follow my Suite writing articles by clicking on the green logo to the right of this post. Better yet, subscribe to my RSS feed at Suite101 or follow me on Twitter. Either way, you’ll never miss a post.

Aug 4 2009

How to Organize a Classroom Library

Getting students to read is the goal of teachers everywhere. To minimize the time spent looking for books, and to help students find new genres they enjoy reading, organize your classroom library. It can be organized by genre, or by reading level, and even by themes or authors.

 

I once walked into a classroom where the books for independent reading were simply stacked in a pile in the back of the room. Students had to dig through the pile looking for books. The books were old and battered, and many were damaged. I felt so sorry for the students in that classroom. There’s no reason to have old, disorganized books in your library. Don’t let that happen to you.

 

The Suite101.com article, How to Organize a Classroom Library will show you how easy it is to create an inviting classroom library.

 

Next Tuesday, I’ll give you an exciting and fun back to school activity. Don’t miss it! Subscribe to my RSS feed or follow me on Twitter.