It's raining. Again. I think we've all mutated and developed webbed feet because it. never. stops. Seriously, shout out to people that live in Seattle. You guys must have superhero levels of optimism and happiness to deal with as much rain as you do. Added to that, it's cold, like record-breaking cold. Don't get me… Continue reading The Long Walk to Thanksgiving: Surviving School in the Fall
Category: Classroom
Did Someone Hit Fast Forward? The Speed of the School Year
Seriously? Did someone hit fast forward and not tell me? I feel like yesterday was the first day of school, and now we are one week away from nine weeks exams. How did that happen? How is it almost OCTOBER? Is someone drugging my coffee? Does anyone else feel like it's been difficult to hit… Continue reading Did Someone Hit Fast Forward? The Speed of the School Year
Hero’s Journey and Annotation
A long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away), I started teaching hero's journey when a colleague and I began teaching Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman. If you haven't read that book, or any of his work, PLEASE DO. He is one of the best YA authors out there, in my humble opinion.… Continue reading Hero’s Journey and Annotation
Annotation: Marking a Text with Purpose
For a very long time I struggled with how best to teach students to annotate. I had heard all the advice like, "Tell them they're having a conversation with the text". Or "Have them use symbols to show what they were thinking". Seems simple enough, right? Well, those did NOT work for me or my… Continue reading Annotation: Marking a Text with Purpose
Keep This for Reference- Reference Materials for the Secondary English Classroom
When I first started teaching 20 years ago, I had not given much thought to how I would have students organize and keep the work they did in my class. When it came time to ask for supplies, I defaulted to what I knew, and I had them bring a binder and dividers. I had… Continue reading Keep This for Reference- Reference Materials for the Secondary English Classroom