I made my own book using the app. Here it is. Now that National Poetry Month is half over — and with the school year winding down, too — it’s a good time to think about ways to publish your students’ poems. Did you know students can make a professional book for around $8 usingContinue reading “Make Better Poetry Chapbooks with This App”
Category Archives: Miscellaneous
Checked Out: Student Disengagement in the High School Classroom
Is thinking deeply a thing of the past? As I mentioned in my 2022 year-end post, I’ll be spending 2023 reading and researching on the loss of focus (and the disengagement it fosters) that we are witnessing in students today. To that end, I’m on a personal quest to read more about the phenomena thatContinue reading “Checked Out: Student Disengagement in the High School Classroom”
On Tap for 2023: Gatsby, Inspiration & Insights into Student Focus
Plus: my top ten posts of 2022 I savor these last moments of the holidays. They’re the perfect time to reflect, rethink, and redirect my site’s content to better serve you, my dear readers, in the coming year. In doing so, it’s always interesting to learn which posts resonated most strongly with readers throughout theContinue reading “On Tap for 2023: Gatsby, Inspiration & Insights into Student Focus”
True Crime Unit: Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos
Planning for next year? Check out these multi-media resources If your students are into True Crime as a reading genre, or if you’re needing a “ripped from the headlines” unit to breathe new life into your upper-level high school ELA classes, do I have an idea for you! And the best thing about this ideaContinue reading “True Crime Unit: Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos”
Back to School Poetry: The Sometimes Poem from YA Author Kate Messner
Young adult author Kate Messner inspired one of my favorite back-to-school poetry projects for middle schoolers! I’ve updated my post about this activity for the 2021-2022 school term with updated links and a free PDF presentation to download. I hope you try this project. It’s a keeper! Click below to read the post:
Ekphrastic poems for high school students
Bring art into your classroom by including ekphrastic poetry in your writer’s workshop. #poetry #edchat
Make a “Live” Word Cloud with This Super Easy App
I tried Mentimeter.com on the first day of school On the first day of school, I jumped in and tried something new: Mentimeter.com. It’s an interactive presentation software website that helps you increase engagement while gathering valuable information for teaching. I used its popular word cloud presentation, but there are many other presentation styles availableContinue reading “Make a “Live” Word Cloud with This Super Easy App”
A Book Cover Analysis: A Fun Back-to-School Reading Task
When it’s too soon to ask questions about plot and character On Tuesdays in my independent reading class, I prepare a text-based question for students to answer in a paragraph or two on paper. I ask them to do their reading, keeping in mind the question, and then at the end of the house, theyContinue reading “A Book Cover Analysis: A Fun Back-to-School Reading Task”
This Back-to-School One-Pager Works Wonders
Get to know your in-class and remote learners quickly Thanks to Spark Creativity! for this awesome “biographical one-pager” idea that I used last week when school started on Thursday. Read this blog post for all the details and printable downloads. As a mentor or example, I projected mine (see above) on the whiteboard and weContinue reading “This Back-to-School One-Pager Works Wonders”
The New York Times Announces Its 2020-21 Student Writing Contests
And get this: most are now open to middle school students! Yes! The student writing contests hosted by The New York Times’ Learning Network are back! In addition, most are now open to U.S. middle school students starting in sixth grade (for international students, ages 13-18). A couple of weeks ago, I wrote this postContinue reading “The New York Times Announces Its 2020-21 Student Writing Contests”