Robin Rowe
Kimskorner4teachertalk.com was discovered by using typing in "best practices in writing" and hitting the "feeling lucky" button on Google. The first thing I noticed was that the resource list on this site contained web sites reviewed by others, for example the Perdue University Writing Resource site. Normally, I don't have the time to really explore a web site. So, it was fun to bop around the site and discover goodies I could put into my little, black, bag of writing tricks. Unfortunately, I have a very nice collection of techniques, rubrics, and activities from the Writing Project, so many of the offerings on this site were redundant and not as good as those from the Writing Project. The web site provided hyperlinks to sites similar to the Inspiration program (but not as sophisticated), and clip art (less art) sites. There was a link to a site called ReadingLady.com which I hoped would have book reviews for student reading. Instead the site was cluttered with the pros and cons of cell phone use in schools. Such a disappointment! To the positive side, Kimskorner4teachers did have some really fun activities for students. One activity I was excited to find concerned color coding the parts of speech. Each part of speech is given a color of it's own. I think this is a fabulous way to teach grammar in small, painless, and entertaining sections. My students are always happy with any activity that includes markers or crayons even at the secondary level. Finding this one activity made my visit to the site more than worth the time I spent exploring it.
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