1. Pre-published workbook on Ratio and Proportion: Using Proportion to Rediscover the World. is an activity workbook using of the most important tools known to mathematics, ratio and proportion, to solve interesting problems and obtain an interesting view of the world. For example, if the earth were shrunk to the size of a ping pong ball, how large would the sun be?

2. Because kids seemed interested in my personal experiences and as examples to show my students how to write with detail and purpose, I put together this little online journal of those experiences.  The kids were delighted to see me as the kid I once was, and that I made as many stupid mistakes as they were now making. It broke down the barrier between teacher and student. See Stories I never Told my Mother to view some of those stories.

3. One of my tutoring students, Gino, made a web page about his favorite subject baseball to learn and practice his writing skills. (See Gino's baseball web page.) Gino, I am pleased to report, learned some new skills and developed more confidence in his ability to write. I am very proud of him and our collaborative effort.

4. The thematic learning unit on the Gettysburg Address exemplified the best of my teaching seventh and eighth graders in a Computer Literacy class. The main objective was to learn how to use the footnoting function in a word processoring program. Students typed in one of the greatest short speeches ever written and delivered by an American. The learned the history, vocabulary, civics within it to understand the context in which it was delivered, the American Civil War. Abe Lincoln (yours truly) came back from the dead to make a guest appearance and field questions about the Civil War. Just about everyone in the class received A's on the unit.

Being aware of these writing rules when you write and rewrite, will make you a better writer. Be patient: writing takes time and practice. Writing is like shaping a statue out of clay: you are always working and reworking it to fit what you want people (your readers) to see and feel. Like any work of art, it is a sharing of the innermost view of the artist. The well-written piece is worth both the time and the effort for reader and the writer. Be patient, be persistent. --Mr. B.