I have been a teacher for seventeen years, so yes, there are many lessons or activities that I have done exactly the same every year. I love my discussion on class and power in Romeo and Juliet, I have the same handout that I have been using for my sentence imitation lesson for twelve years, and I […]
literacy
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Please Stop Teaching Students to Identify Literary Elements
I have been trying to sell resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, and I admit to stalking checking out some of the top sellers. Many of them sell handouts or posters, or worksheets that teach students to identify literary elements. In my opinion, this type of lesson is a complete waste of time. There is no […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Embracing Questions: Why I Chose Inquiry Based Learning
Last fall, my principal kept preaching about Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and how the entire faculty should be changing our curriculum to fit this philosophy. Ineffectively for me, all of her examples were math and science related. Scouring the web didn’t inspire me either. My colleagues and I could not picture a way to completely rewrite […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Special Education
The Grieving Year: A Major Professional Error
During the 2014-2015 school year, I landed a brand new job. This teaching gig seemed to be exquisitely designed for me. I had just received my Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing, and I was excited by an opening at my county’s most prestigious arts school. The job ad for a creative writing […]
Posted inFeatured
Using Open Classes in OUR Classrooms
I love to learn. I would be the person in college for the rest of my life if I could fit it in with everything else I do. So when I came across Harvard’s open classes, I was in heaven. Several universities, many Ivy League, offer open classes that are free online and can be […]
Posted inFeatured
Using Literature Circles with YA Historical Fiction
As English teachers, we are constantly told that “choice matters” and “choice gives students a voice.” Multiple experts (Kelly Gallagher, Penny Kittle, Donalyn Miller, Nancie Atwell, Harvey Daniels, just to name a few) have written multiple books and articles on the topic. But I think many teachers struggle with how to incorporate choice into a […]
Posted inUncategorized
Love and Hate for the 5-Paragraph Essay
When I taught high school English, I worked hard to help my students avoid and move beyond the five-paragraph essay. In fact, I almost went crazy trying to pull better-than-five-paragraphs-essays out of my seniors. I was apt to tell students, “you are stuck in a five-paragraph box! GET OUT OF THE BOX!” I swore I would […]
Posted inEnglish Language Learners, ESOL, Languages, Literacy, The International Teacher, Uncategorized
International Mother Language Day-February 21st
By the time you read this article, International Mother Language Day may have or may not have already come and gone, but in case you didn’t even realize it was a day to celebrate, let me enlighten you! Mother languages in a multilingual approach are essential components of quality education, which is itself the foundation for empowering women […]