Bring personal expression, creativity, and relevance back to your ELA classroom.
The day I realized my son and daughter could not recall having written one poem or piece of non-academic writing in their entire high school careers was the day I clarified my thinking about my own teaching. Students need memorable, creative opportunities to fully grasp the power of writing. Personal expression — and by extension, creativity — must be a driving force in my classroom. What’s the point of learning in-text parenthetical citations, how to write a literary analysis, or knowing how to summarize a text if one feels no personal connection to those tasks?
Whether we’re reading or writing in my ELA classes, we are always mindful that what we are really doing is finding our own humanity… expressing our personalities, tapping our creativities, and digging for relevance to our own experiences within the texts we read and write.
You can teach creative writing AND prepare your students for college and career. Let’s learn and share.
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Please contact me to let me know about creative ways you’re teaching ELA to high school students. I am especially interested in the following:
- headline poetry lessons and activities
- writing contests for middle school and high school students
- American classics and diverse text pairings
- jaw-droppingly (that’s a word, right?!) effective writing lessons for middle and high school students
Use my contact page, email me at elabraveandtrue@gmail.com, or leave a comment on any blog post.
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Some Recent Posts
- Headline poetry and serendipityIt’s okay to go with the flow… or not Concrete Prayers Concrete prayers Repel, repel A doomed self-regard & remake common children into Hydrangea tides. When creating a headline poem, it’s okay and good to let the words find you.Continue reading “Headline poetry and serendipity”
- The New York Times announces two new writing contestsBoth ask students to record their lives in the year 2020 Last Thursday, I attended a webinar titled “Giving Students a Voice: Teaching with Learning Network Contests.” It was hosted by The New York Times’ Learning Network. Teachers from aroundContinue reading “The New York Times announces two new writing contests”
- Six writing prompts for Article of the Week essaysOffer students more ways to respond If you’re a fan of Article of the Week (AOW) assignments and student choice, then this post is for you. Side note: If you’re unfamiliar with the AOW assignment, scroll to the bottom firstContinue reading “Six writing prompts for Article of the Week essays”
