As educators, we are responsible for cultivating an inclusive learning environment that values and celebrates diversity. One powerful way to achieve this is by providing students with a diverse reading list that exposes them to different cultures, experiences, and perspectives. Here is a reading list specifically curated for your eleventh-grade summer reading list. Each book […]
English Language Arts
We Put “To Kill a Mockingbird” on Trial
Books Are Meant to Be Discussed, Not Banned Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Last summer, I served on the jury of my first murder trial. We heard all kinds of griping testimony, viewed extensive forensic evidence, and witnessed dramatic outbursts from the defense lawyer, […]
How I Used Pokémon to Battle Student Boredom
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Anime has been a powerhouse in pop culture for decades, especially in youth culture. I recall enjoying it as far back as middle school, circa the mid-2000s, on channels like Toonami. Still, I never expected it to grow to […]
Yes, You Can Use Movies as a Teaching Tool
How to Use Visual Texts in the ELA Classroom Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! I’m sure they’re out there, but I have yet to meet the student who insists on reading the book rather than watching the movie version of a story. That said, […]
Why I Stopped Using Writing Rubrics
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! In my English and writing courses, I always love to share the following Anne Lamott quote with students: “…writing needs to breathe and move.” To further expand on this quote, I explain that writing cannot be constricted in a […]
Is it Time to Kill Mockingbird and Embrace Mercy?
Is it Time to Kill Mockingbird? Until recently, To Kill A Mockingbird was one of few classics I actually liked. I’ve usually pushed back against the canon, but I could get behind a story about a precocious young tomboy who helps her father fight against racial injustice. But, as I read it once again with […]
COVID-19 Has Made Me Rethink My Instruction: 5 Online Tools to Use in Language Arts Classes
We’re a week away from returning to in-person teaching for the new school year and the obvious anxieties and fear about being back at school, where the spread of COVID-19 feels inevitable and is on everyone’s minds. This year, teaching will take on new challenges and risks, and no amount of mental preparation will make […]
The Struggles of Grading Writing: It’s the Process That Matters
I absolutely hate assigning a letter grade to student writing; it’s depressing. Not because my students are bad writers because they aren’t. It’s that I hate to see all the mini-lessons, and drafting, revising, editing, conversations, and growing as writers reduced to one letter. A percentage in the grade book. As soon as that grade is […]