An English as a second language student will need extra guidance and encouragement to write. Depending on the various stages of English acquisition in your classroom and the grade you teach depends on how you ask for a writing piece and what you can expect the student work to look like. These are some general […]
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Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
6 Tips for Grading Writing
English teachers often look upon their math and science colleagues without a shred of envy while, ironically, they look upon us with pity. “At least, I don’t have to grade essays!” they say. If only, they knew… Along the way, I have picked up a few tips that make grading writing more efficient. I am […]
Posted inCommon Core, Featured, Uncategorized
What Interdisciplinary Writing Assessments Can Learn from Saturday Night Live
This post completes a trilogy of reflections on the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) which will be terminated once the new Smarter Balance Assessments tied to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are implemented. There will be at least one more year of the same CAPT assessments, specifically the Interdisciplinary Writing Prompt (IW) where 10th […]
Posted inLiteracy
Assessments: Upgrading the Age Old Practice of Letter Writing
Letter Writing: I was excited when my Hungarian pen pal’s letter arrived. The Cold War had ended, and I was curious to know more than textbooks could share about life under communist rule. I savored each letter as if it were a dessert and took great care in sending back a response. My pen pal’s […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy, New Teacher Bootcamp
Grammar and Writing- Bring Back the Basics!
By Adrienne Lanier They’re, their, there…Two, to, too! These are common homophones I see misused on social media by even the brightest of professionals. As a professional, do I pause when I notice these errors? Yes! Does this inability to write effectively make me stop to think about their experience with writing at a […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Middle School
Shall We Debate? An Approach to Writing!
Four weeks ago, my students took the practice for the new Tennessee State Writing Assessment. We had no way of preparing for this test because we were told that it would change in a major way. A week before the practice test, I received an email with a link to a sample test. Instead of […]
Posted inToday in History
Today in History: Brown v. Board of Education
In this milestone decision, the Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional. It signaled the end of legalized racial segregation in the schools of the United States, overruling the “separate but equal” principle set forth in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case. On May 17, 1954, U.S. Supreme Court Justice […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Educators are All tortured poets, just like Taylor Swift
In case you’ve been living under a rock, perhaps in the form of ungraded student work that’s slowly suffocating you, Taylor Swift came out with her eleventh studio album, All Tortured Poets, last month. She is, of course, best known for her songs about love, relationships, and heartbreak. But they’re not just about breakups, but […]