Effective revision strategies I came across this book, They Say I Say (Third Edition, 2015), when my son’s college English composition instructor required it for his freshman-level course. I thumbed through it, read a few chapters, and found some very concise passages written to help students solve probably the number one problem that I seeContinue reading “Three Points I Pull from “They Say I Say””
Author Archives: Marilyn Yung
It never hurts to ask
…for chocolate and caffeine. Here’s a photo of the summer to-do list that the maintenance staff at my school taped to my door over the summer. It contains a list of the chores that were scheduled to be completed over the two and half months that are quickly coming to a close. One day overContinue reading “It never hurts to ask”
My Students Swept a National Poetry Contest!
Here’s a news release that I sent to a local newspaper. Kirbyville Middle School students swept the junior (grades 6-8) poetry division of the 2018 Norm Strung Youth Writing Awards, a national contest hosted by the Outdoor Writers Association of America, Missoula, Mt. Read about the contest in this post. Joel R., a former eighth-graderContinue reading “My Students Swept a National Poetry Contest!”
Every Teacher Needs a “Why I Teach” Binder
Reading notes from my current and former students is an instant pick-me-up Do you have special notes, drawings, letters or small trinkets that students have given to you over the years? About two years ago, I finally decided to keep track of those treasures by putting them into a box. However, the box took upContinue reading “Every Teacher Needs a “Why I Teach” Binder”
The Triangle Fire and My Students’ Human Rights Dissertations
Triangle Fire forms the first literature unit for my 8th-graders’ human rights dissertations This week I’ve been writing about the unit on the Triangle Waist Co. fire that my 8th-graders start the year with. For them, the last few weeks of seventh grade was an introduction, a sort of “paving the way” for the moreContinue reading “The Triangle Fire and My Students’ Human Rights Dissertations”
Past to Present: How Triangle Fire Connects to 9/11
History won’t be boring if we show how it affects students’ lives today Reading and writing about the Triangle Waist Co. factory fire allows middle school language arts students to make connections between events from more than one hundred years ago to more recent events. This is the unit my 8th-graders will be startingContinue reading “Past to Present: How Triangle Fire Connects to 9/11”
Back-to-School with 8th-graders: A Unit on Triangle Fire
Resources for teaching about the event that put a fire alarm in your classroom On August 15, my 8th-graders will pick up where we left off in May—with a prelude to our study of the 1911 Triangle Waist Co. factory fire and its societal effects. During the last few days of school, we watched aContinue reading “Back-to-School with 8th-graders: A Unit on Triangle Fire”
My closet can wait
I’m ready to take full advantage of the final two weeks of summer Two days ago, I drove to school and made my first entrance into the 2018-2019 year. Three eighth-grade girls were there waving at me from the front door as I loaded up my arms with bags from the back seat of myContinue reading “My closet can wait”
Better the second time around: Whippersnappers
We’re jumping into year two of this 7th-grade PBL project We’re doing it again! My seventh-graders will again this upcoming school year be writing the content for a newsletter for kids called Whippersnappers. It’s an activity my students produce in partnership with the White River Valley Historical Society, a regional organization based in Forsyth, Mo.Continue reading “Better the second time around: Whippersnappers”
Back-to-school poetry: The Sometimes Poem from YA author Kate Messner
A back-to-school poem perfect for the first day (updated 8/21) “The Sometimes Poem” was one of my favorite ways to go back to school with my middle schoolers. I used this project for two years with sixth-graders and loved it both times before I changed jobs to my current high school position. The Sometimes PoemContinue reading “Back-to-school poetry: The Sometimes Poem from YA author Kate Messner”