This week, the U.S. Senate surprised everyone by unanimously passing a bill that would eliminate our switching of clocks back-and-forth…
essays
Grading Hacks #3: Preserving Mental Health
Ready for six more grading hacks? Let’s take a field trip this week as we talk about the importance of…
Q&A + Grading Hacks Video Series Launch
Fellow English teacher Heather recently asked, “How do you do grades?” With her permission, I’m posting our email conversation in…
Our own worst enemy?
Don’t get mad, but I’m starting to think that much of the misery of grading papers lies in the types…
A Crazy Approach to Improve Teen Writing
The only way I’ve found for students to really grow as writers is for them to write a lot and…
Plagiarism = The Toxic Mold of High School
About eight years ago, I stopped giving out-of-class writing assignments and, instead, decided to have all major papers written in…
5 Things You NEED to Know About the New MLA Works Cited Format
In April, the Modern Language Association folks revamped their suggested citation formatting to be a better fit in our digital…
Tame the Monster!
A new year brings a new opportunity to set procedures that will serve your students while saving your sanity. Here…
Fill the Toolbox
Common Core is in love with argumentation. Thumb through the CCSS and you’ll see that wily little Argument knocked out…
Try, Try Again
It’s mid-December and I’m on my third round of essays. By now, students know what I expect. Or, I should…