During my first year of teaching high school, I inherited a remedial reading class that consisted of about eighteen unmotivated juniors. Having just finished a graduate program in educational psychology with emphasis placed specifically on reading and literacy, I saw this as an opportunity to take all of those research-based best practices and make readers […]
literacy
Posted inBook Review, Featured, How to Fix Education, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Book Review: Vocabulary StrategiesThat Work: Do This – Not That!
[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”] In Vocabulary Strategies That Work: Do This-Not That! Lori G. Wilfong does an amazing job of bringing to light the importance of students actually learning vocabulary and making it useful instead […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Using Threaded Discussion to Generate Peer Feedback
Peer feedback is an essential tool to build stronger writers. But how exactly does one encourage fruitful peer feedback? I struggled with finding the best method that would stimulate meaningful comments among my students. At first, I would have students exchange papers and use generic checklists with items like “Is the thesis statement clear?” or […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Written Text or Audiotext in the Classroom? We Should Have Both
I am passing out Brave New World to the 10th graders.“Is there an audiobook for this?” a student asks.“Why not just read the book?” I respond.“I can’t read this without help,” explains the student.“I’ll see,” I sigh. I admit that in the past I had been a little frustrated at these requests. I felt as though the […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Fulfilling The Interdisciplinary Dream
The education world is all about buzzwords. From early classes in all disciplines to graduate level courses in specialized topics, practitioners are constantly throwing around terms like “differentiation”, “STEM” (now STEAM), “flipped classrooms”, “high-stakes testing”, “collaborative learning”, and “MOOCs”. These catchphrases live in the hearts and minds of professionals from first-grade math and high school […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Shakespeare Doesn’t Have to be Scary! Six Tips to Help you Start Teaching Shakespeare and be Glad You Did!
In my first year of teaching, I wanted to teach a Shakespeare play, but was completely intimidated by where to start. I befriended the most veteran member of our English department, an actress, director and drama teacher, who gave me fantastic tips and assured me that I would love it and that students would, too. […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Kill Your Idols: A Case for Contemporary Literature
When I go out to eat, I often eavesdrop on the conversations of my fellow diners. Not long ago, I overheard a particularly interesting discussion between two teachers. They were discussing a familiar quandary among English teachers: What are the virtues of teaching classical literature to a generation who just doesn’t get it? It’s a […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, How to Fix Education, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Uncategorized
The Emperor’s New Clothes: There’s No Magic Answer in Reading
Let us face it- in education many of us are waiting for some fairy reading tales to come true. For instance, we may be hoping to meet Prince Charming and live in his magnificent castle. However, nobody wants to walk down the street without clothes, even in our nightmares. I contend that most commercial reading […]