Oct 26
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is more relevant than ever right now. Here’s four reasons to dust it off and get it back into students’ hands this year. 1. Zaphod Beeblebrox is Donald Trump Regardless of how you feel politically, we can all agree Trump sometimes acts sporadically. I Just finished reading this with …
Oct 22
According to Webb’s Depth of Knowledge, Level 3: Strategic Thinking involves problems with multiple valid answers. Severity charts are the perfect way to do just that. Students need to take into account multiple events, details, points of view, etc. in order to determine and validate their answer. Check out some of my examples below. Character Morality …
Oct 01
The absolute best way for people to learn vocabulary is through natural and repeated exposure: both in conversation and reading. However, I know many of my students are not hearing higher-level vocabulary with their friends or at home, and I also sadly know their reading is often limited to emojis and Facebook posts. So we …
Sep 24
Tape character traits and events to a wall and have students correctly match them to character posters hanging around the room. Leave them up for review throughout the novel
Jun 18
*UPDATE: A new interview between Winona Ryder and Tavi Gevinson (Mary Warren in the Broadway revival) added to the section on The Crucible! American literature loves a good female villain. A woman who is too sexual, jealous, emotional, or ignorant. But isn’t there more to this stereotypical female villain? As an extension to the classics we …
Jun 11
*The list keeps growing – there are six now! Ted Talks are increasingly popular with educators for use with the faculty as well as the students. However, it can be tricky to find just the right talk for the occasion since there are so many available. There’s also the problem of occasional profanity or inappropriate …
Jun 08
A good character map can determine whether or not a student “gets” a story. I have some students who are unable to picture a story in their head. Imagine trying to keep track of half a dozen characters and you can’t picture what they look like or visualize what they are doing. Some students are …
Jun 05
1. Students have something to do in case they finish their work early. Students work at different paces. Often I have a few who finish with five, even ten minutes to spare. With the writing contest bulletin board you always have something extra and meaningful for them to work on. Teachers can post flyers for …
May 26
Most people feel they are not appreciated, and plenty of students need help remembering to thank those who are putting in the extra time and effort to help them succeed. Setting up an appreciation station at your school is the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone. We’re also using it as part …
May 15
Here are all my visuals I put together in PowerPoints and worksheets when teaching students about tragic heroes. Students need a familiar model to reference before taking on whatever complex text we are currently reading. My go-tos are The Lion King and Romeo and Juliet. The Lion King Of Noble Birth/Highly Respected I love these visuals to emphasize …
