I was looking at the last date I wrote a blog post, and it was right before the pandemic hit. So much has happened since March 3rd of last year! Why have I waited so long? Well, I'll tell you, it's been HARD. Finishing out last school year was difficult, but I didn't know what… Continue reading I Miss Being a Teacher
Category: Secondary English
Timing is Everything- Using timed essays to teach expository writing
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
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!
Grammar, Grammar, and More Grammar
It's been a while since I talked about grammar, so I thought I'd revisit it now. It might be because I'm smack in the middle of trying to run through topics my 8th graders should already know like subjects and predicates, but it's also something that some teachers struggle to get into their plans. Maybe… Continue reading Grammar, Grammar, and More Grammar
The Results are In: Classroom Management is Scary
This past week I posted a survey on Facebook that asked just one question: What back to school topic concerns you the most? I was actually kind of shocked when I got my answer- classroom management. This got me thinking about how I felt about it. I recently wrote a blog post about this very… Continue reading The Results are In: Classroom Management is Scary