One thing students – and adults, for that matter – struggle with is the use of apostrophes. It’s difficult to watch people of all ages butcher the proper use of this fickle piece of punctuation, but it seems to baffle those young and old. A simple way to teach apostrophe usage is to use holidays. […]
language arts
As a Student, I Needed A Culturally Responsive Curriculum; As a Teacher Lets Change That
By Joshua Dean When I was in High School, I never questioned the curriculum much. I was too busy thinking about football or my high-school sweetheart. As a graduate student pursuing an MFA in Poetry, I read the Dreams Songs without causing a stir in class. Even when the professor mentioned that John Berryman wrote […]
The Royal Wedding: Why Should We Care? One American Teacher’s Perspective
The news broke this morning: another school shooting, this time in Santa Fe, Texas. I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want to entertain the thought that this most recent massacre is the 22nd school shooting this year. I can’t bear to think that ten more families will be planning funerals and that […]
Project-Based Learning: A User’s Guide
Over the past several decades, trends in education have come and gone or been resurrected with a new name. “Group work” is now called “cooperative learning.” Teacher-centered learning in the form of lecture and discussion in secondary education has taken a back seat to student-centered learning where students have a greater voice in determining how […]
Using Popular Music in the Secondary Classroom
Teachers born between 1950 and 1980 makeup both the baby-boom generation and those known as “Generation X.” The music with which they grew up is a reflection of the historical periods that produced it – Vietnam, the Cold War, the Fall of Communism, September 11, 2001, and the events that followed. Teachers of social studies […]
Using “Hamilton: The Musical” in the Classroom
Hamilton in the Classroom Unless you have been living under a rock, you have probably heard of the Broadway musical Hamilton, the hip-hop and rap production of the life of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, written by an award-winning musical playwright, composer, and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda. Many of your students know the play well. In fact, […]
Jumping into the Deep End: Creating Excitement in Learning
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][bctt tweet=”When did we get so busy teaching we forgot children learn? I don’t think teachers have forgotten this, but there seems to be a demand from above that is pushing this […]
Read Alouds – Not Just For Young Kids
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][bctt tweet=”Reading aloud is still an important part of language arts for older students as well as younger ones. “]Reading aloud to upper elementary and middle school kids allows them to hear […]