A few years ago I was teaching 9th grade. Of course this meant that I had to prepare the students for the expository essay portion of the English I EOC. From a friend, I heard about timed essays. Once I started using timed essays, I have never looked back. I have used them with 9th… Continue reading Timing is Everything- Using timed essays to teach expository writing
One Pagers for the Win!
One pagers! One pagers are all the rage right now, and as a secondary English teacher I heartily support this movement. One pagers are a great way to get a snapshot of a student's understanding of a novel, story, character, or theme without assigning an essay. Through the elements of the one pager, you can… Continue reading One Pagers for the Win!
STAAR Prep for Secondary English- It’s never too early!
If you're like me, as soon as you return from holiday break you begin really thinking about STAAR prep, especially if you have an early test like I do. This 3rd quarter is down-to-business time for me because we don't have much time after spring break before we take our reading test. It's the same… Continue reading STAAR Prep for Secondary English- It’s never too early!
Games for the Win- Using Games to Spice Up STAAR Test Prep
I teach middle school, and mixing it up is really important to keep the kids on their toes especially when it comes to test prep. One of the best things when I was a kid was seeing the TV and VCR set up and ready to go for the class period. Movie day! We don't… Continue reading Games for the Win- Using Games to Spice Up STAAR Test Prep
Surviving the fall- and other tough tasks
I usually use my blog to promote a TpT product or two. This is not one of those posts. Fall is a tough time for some teachers. There's the whole DEVOLSON thing (if you don't know what this is, look it up on Pinterest- you'll find some funny, and very true, stuff), plus the excitement… Continue reading Surviving the fall- and other tough tasks