Preventing the Use of AI in ELA: 6 Methods
There will always be new tools to help teachers combat the use of AI. A Chrome extension called Origin by GPTZero provides a writing ...
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- Jan 23
- 3 min
Media and Genre-Based Units
Schools and teachers usually organize ELA curriculum by novel, theme, or genre, or some combination of those three.
235 views
- Dec 21, 2023
- 3 min
5 Fun Ways Students Find Quotes
Teaching students the value of using quotes in an essay is more important now than ever ...
331 views
- Nov 17, 2023
- 2 min
Character Study: A Whole-Novel Activity
Students love to think about how a character develops because they too, because they’re teenagers, experience a lot of change.
187 views
- Oct 17, 2023
- 2 min
The Purpose of Literary Devices and Techniques
It’s easy for students to get caught in the trap of simply identifying literary techniques without considering their purpose ...
353 views
- Sep 12, 2023
- 3 min
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 ...
186 views
- Jul 18, 2023
- 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
153 views
- Apr 26, 2023
- 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 ...
89 views
- Mar 24, 2023
- 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 ...
220 views
- Feb 23, 2023
- 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.
1,014 views
- 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...
411 views
- 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 ...
174 views
- 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 ...
931 views
- 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 ...
798 views
- 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...
364 views
- 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...
358 views
- Jun 16, 2022
- 2 min
Free Literacy Blocks
I’ve been thinking a lot about all the challenges of this past year, but also trying to learn from it. I tried book clubs for the first time
526 views
- Jun 1, 2022
- 2 min
The Creative Classroom
I start the school year talking about how language is all around us.
377 views
- Apr 6, 2022
- 2 min
Autonomous, Relevant Learning and Good Conversation
This week, I asked students to connect the literature we study in class to the modern world. We had amazing, open-ended conversations ...
560 views
- Mar 25, 2022
- 4 min
The Research Paper Made Easy: 8 Steps of the Writing Process
It’s that time of year to assign a college-style research paper to my seniors and I’ve found myself giving more and more time in class ...
362 views
- Dec 17, 2021
- 2 min
How to Make Fiction Relevant
To wrap up my unit on Things Fall Apart, I’m doing what I believe Chinua Achebe would have wanted....
195 views
- Nov 26, 2021
- 3 min
How to Write a Meaningful Conclusion
I’ve long held the belief that we’re doing conclusions all wrong. Traditionally, it’s a moment in the essay where the writer wraps ...
285 views
- Sep 16, 2021
- 2 min
Voice to Text: The Keys to Great Storytelling
What makes a great personal narrative? In the beginning of every year, I ask my students to write a story that communicates something...
216 views
- Jul 11, 2021
- 3 min
Displaying Student Work
A few years ago, I was the advisor for my school’s student-run art gallery. My district converted an old garage used for storage space ...
242 views
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