Our ELA Facebook friend Heather Nicole Teraila just posted the results of a super-cute characterization activity her students completed on The Outsiders Continue reading
Inspired by a meme in The Teacher Next Door’s awesome Facebook feed (you follow her page, right?), here are three new posters to help with back-to-school decorating. Pick your favorite or post ‘em all! Continue reading
Last week, Stanford researchers released a “bleak” report showing that more than 80 percent of students can’t determine the difference between real and fake news. (Alas, it seems this is something adults struggle with, as well.)
The severity of students’ lack of media literacy was shocking to the study’s authors who were “taken aback by students’ lack of preparation…Many assume that because young people are fluent in social media they are equally savvy about what they find there. Our work shows the opposite.”
What to do about this? I’m going to start by Continue reading
An email conversation from blog reader Lynn this weekend (used with permission) might help all of us as we set our classroom reading routines Continue reading
You gotta pity the Class of 2017. This spring, juniors will be hit with a triple-whammy – the timed essay of the EAP (it’s a California thing), Common Core SBAC testing, and the premiere of the new SAT in March. Yeah, these kids will be at the forefront of some high-stakes testing and you know what they say about life on the cutting edge – it often makes you bleed. Continue reading
Try a fresh spin on the tired book report assignment and use “book talks” instead. A book talk is just an informal conversation with the student wherein I determine whether the student actually read the book. No more speeches, no more poster boards, no more fatigue. Continue reading
I’m always on the prowl for engaging news stories that will give my high school English students access to high-quality writing on topics that will actually hold their interest. It’s not easy. Continue reading
