Posted inEnglish Language Learners

Writing in Reverse: A strategy to strengthen student writing

In the high school English classroom, one assessment continues to reign supreme: the essay. Informative, argumentative, and narrative essays have stood the test of time and for good reason. Essays allow students to showcase a multitude of skills across the common core, from research to literary analysis, creative writing to conventions. Not to mention the metacognitive […]

Posted inAsk a Teacher

My relationship with AI…It’s complicated!

It has been over 2 years since ChatGPT launched, arguably bringing artificial intelligence (AI) into the mainstream.  AI has rapidly evolved into a large collection of tools that address almost every aspect of teaching and learning. They can grade papers or provide individualized feedback, correct grammar, generate ideas for lessons, write standards-based assessments at every […]

Posted inBack to School

Using Thrity Umrigar’s novels to tackle summer reading apathy

One way I suggest engaging eleventh and twelfth-grade readers — especially for summer reading assignments — involves assigning modern novels outside of the traditional canon.  Two books by Thrity Umrigar, The Space Between Us (2005) and Honor (2022) created a high level of engagement in my AP English Literature students at the onset of the […]

Posted inEnglish Language Learners

Biden-Harris Administration Launches “Being Bilingual is a Superpower” Initiative

In a move to underscore the importance of multilingualism in the educational landscape, the Biden-Harris Administration today unveiled the “Being Bilingual is a Superpower” initiative, spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Education. The initiative aims to promote and enhance multilingual education, focusing on advancing high-quality language programs and fostering a diverse multilingual educator workforce throughout […]

Posted inEnglish Language Learners

Three routines to increase student engagement with multilingual students

As an ELL teacher for over ten years, one of the things I am asked the most about multilingual students by classroom and content teachers is student engagement. Sometimes, the questions are about paying attention, lack of motivation, not completing work, staying silent, or just general worries about whether they understand anything at all. Until […]