Storytelling and the Personal Narrative
Because I teach seniors, I start the year with a short unit on the personal narrative and college essay. It helps me get to know ...
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- Aug 2
- 2 min
More Fun, Less Stress
July has come to an end and it’s that time when the thought of school starts to plan its seed in every teacher’s mind. What will this year
110
- Jul 18
- 2 min
Modern Learning with Free Literacy Blocks
There are many students that love literature for the world it creates, the brand-new world that exists only within the front and back cover
137
- Jun 13
- 2 min
Free Literacy Block Reflection
The end of the school year is the best time to get ideas for next year. All the successful and failed experiments are still fresh in my...
192
- May 30
- 3 min
Graduation Video Essay
Every year, I like to complete the final assignment I give to my seniors. I ask them to create a video essay that responds to the...
129
- May 5
- 2 min
Literary Podcast Unit and Podcast Project
It’s fun to end the year with a project that students will remember. Instead of a traditional final, there are a lot of ways ...
235
- Apr 26
- 2 min
The Personal, Philosophical, and Political Response to Literature
It’s spring, which means it’s time to get creative. At this point in the year, students should be close to meeting our expectations ...
81
- Apr 14
- 3 min
The Basics of Film Interpretation
Teachers want their students to be readers, and not just readers of words. We want them to read the world around them: the streets ...
193
- Mar 24
- 3 min
Mini Writing Conferences: 4 Stages of Feedback
My students write most of their essays by hand in class. There are a lot of reasons for that, but at this point in the year ...
203
- Mar 9
- 2 min
What is a Teachable Moment?
Last Sunday night, I watched a prerecorded episode of 60 Minutes, “Canada’s Unmarked Graves, Sharswood”. The Sharswood story described...
184
- Feb 23
- 3 min
5 Ways to Introduce a Novel
Some books, maybe most, don’t require much introduction. Novels, to some extent, exist in their own world.
261
- Feb 16
- 2 min
Short Story Adaptations
Creating a short film used to be a long and difficult process, so I gave up on it. But then it became much easier to shoot and edit video.
197
- Jan 24
- 3 min
The Best Engagement Strategy: Scaffolding and Guided Notes
It feels like it’s getting harder and harder to keep the attention of our students. Every teacher knows that if a student doesn’t use ...
246
- Jan 11
- 3 min
Teaching Media Literacy With Short Stories
It’s not easy to find literature that gets students to talk about the world they live in. It can be done with any novel ...
138
- Dec 21, 2022
- 3 min
Man vs. Machine: AI and ELA
AI is all the buzz lately. No need to teach writing anymore, a computer can do it...
386
- Dec 6, 2022
- 2 min
7 Ways to Make Learning Personal
It’s difficult to find a book that every child will love. They like contemporary stories that seem similar to their own ...
166
- Nov 22, 2022
- 2 min
Learning and Exercise: A Conversation with ActivEd Founder Dr. Julian Reed
Every teacher is familiar with the kind of student who struggles to pay attention for a long period of time...
167
- Nov 17, 2022
- 2 min
How to Avoid Teacher Burnout: 3 Solutions
For me, stress always hits at the end of a marking period. I suddenly realize how much I need to grade . . .
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- Oct 28, 2022
- 3 min
Extracurriculars and the Work-Life Balance
When I look back on my teaching career, some of my favorite moments actually happened outside the classroom. For some reason ...
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- Oct 17, 2022
- 4 min
Creative Writing: The Be-All and End-All
I used to get moans when I asked students to write a poem. But in the last few years ...
929
- Oct 5, 2022
- 3 min
How to Close Read Poetry or Prose: 5 Steps
Close reading may be the most important skill taught in an English class. It’s the heart and soul of what we do: uncover the world ...
558
- Sep 27, 2022
- 3 min
Academic Success Explained in 7 Steps
It’s becoming more and more common for students to think that they shouldn’t have to work for an answer or a solution to a problem...
361
- Sep 15, 2022
- 2 min
How to Teach Literary Techniques
Literary techniques make literature, literature. Without them, we’d be left with words and facts...
343
- Sep 9, 2022
- 2 min
8 Video Poems to Watch in Class: Performance and Poetry Film
Most students treat poetry like a highly academic art form meant for scholars. Most people feel the same way about visual art ...
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