My focus in this piece will be on inspiring truly close reading and deeper thinking as a facet of ELA instruction. When a reader can go beyond recall; go beyond simple inference and analysis, and go spelunking deep into reflection on and evaluation of story characters and elements (while using the text to support their […]
Literacy
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
“Letters Prove G. Washington a Coward!”- Fake News, circa 1776
Click bait headlines, such as the one above, may not have been “liked” instantaneously around the 13 original American colonies, but fake news and misinformation was still a factor in the news cycle of 1776. A close look at American history reveals that fake news has been around since the country’s inception, and even the honorable George Washington had […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Podcasts in the Classroom: Benefits, Tools, and Tips
In part one, I talked about some of my experiences with and the reasons for using podcasts in the classroom. This week, I will show you some uses, tips, and tools for using podcasts. Podcast Uses and Benefits Real-World Connections while Going Farther with Content Let’s face it. Sometimes our students are disconnected and board […]
Posted inLiteracy
“Last Stop on Market Street” A Picture Book Hero’s Journey
“…and what is that award for?” the boy asked pointing to the right corner of the book. I was showing students in a 2nd grade class the cover of the picture book Last Stop on Market Street, written by American author Matt de la Peña and illustrated by Christian Robinson. The boy was pointing to a black medallion, pasted under […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Podcasts in the Classroom: My Students
Author’s Note: This article is part 1 of using podcasts in the classroom and looks at my classes’ personal experiences with them. Part 2 of the article will focus on the benefits, uses, and tools of podcasts in the classroom. _________________________________________________________ In Spring 2016, my co-taught World Literature class sat furiously writing. On each desk […]
Posted inOpinion
Text Evidence in the Common Core: There Are Such Things as Facts
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were released in 2009. They are now seven years old. I will admit that I was not initially enthusiastic about the English Language Arts literacy standards. I felt they were heavy in non-fiction…(no, wait.. heavy in “informational texts”). The CCSS suggested a typical student should have a reading diet filled with informational texts […]
Posted inParents
Encouraging Children to Read and Write
Originally posted in RealEdReform My own three daughters are insatiable readers, perpetual writers, and the oldest is our first state-level and national level prize winner for her writing. Number two has submitted this year, but she’s only in 10th grade and is just beginning to develop her formidable chops. How did I encourage my children to […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Report Finds Students Cannot Google and Reason at the Same Time
If you Google the explorer John Cabot, you could get a web page from the website All About Explorers that states: “In 1484, the explorerJohn Cabot moved back to England with his wife and eleven sons. He developed his own website and became quite famous for his charts and maps depicting a new route to the Far […]