Tag Archives: Education

A River Runs Through It: A Walk Outside for Students At Home

My Novels class is reading this over the break My Novels class is currently reading (or supposed to be reading — wink wink) this classic novel by Norman Maclean. I’m reading it again alongside them and this morning I arrived at page forty. It’s only 110 pages long, so it’s a quick read. If youContinue reading “A River Runs Through It: A Walk Outside for Students At Home”

Mending Wall: Writing Prompt

Something there is that doesn’t love a pandemic Holed up at home at my dining room table, I’m continuing with my lesson planning as scheduled during our two-week school closing. After our recent Ernest Hemingway unit concluded last week, my plan was to introduce my juniors to Robert Frost. Lucky them. Frost’s poetry is poignant,Continue reading “Mending Wall: Writing Prompt”

Prepping for the Coronavirus break

Paper paper everywhere. Distance learning doesn’t mean high-tech for me. Yesterday at 3:35 pm, my school released until April 1st in an attempt to control the spread of the coronavirus. The night before, I was sitting at my dining room table preparing plans for students to accomplish over the break. Just because we’re not inContinue reading “Prepping for the Coronavirus break”

Watch this TED Talk about coronavirus

…especially if you’re still in school Thanks for stopping by during this busy time! Chime in with how your school is dealing with the coronavirus and COVID-19. My school is still in session and no adjustments are in the works at the current time. I have been told, however, to begin planning two weeks ofContinue reading “Watch this TED Talk about coronavirus”

Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon

Happy Friday Eve! This is a quick pic of Austin Kleon’s book,Steal Like An Artist. In this book, Kleon, the inventor of black-out poetry, discusses creativity, the values of unplugging from technology to create, and tips for producing more. He offers up some solid ideas that I found particularly helpful. Here are two: Don’t throwContinue reading “Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon”

Use this Alphabet Brainstorming Chart

This classic organizer worked for me at the 2020 Write-to-Learn Conference I traveled to the 2020 Write-to-Learn Conference sponsored by the Missouri State Council of the Int’. Literacy Association, The Missouri Writing Projects Network, and the Missouri Council of Teachers of English. Even though I attended only one day of the three-day conference, I’m happyContinue reading “Use this Alphabet Brainstorming Chart”

Friday Eve Photo: Protocol Peer Review Groups for High School Students

Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend and feel free to leave a comment about how your students peer review in your classroom or about your experience with this particular method, PPRG. Here’s a link to another recent post: My Article of the Week Rubric.

Teaching students to write essays that answer the question: So what?!

Asking “So what?” makes the difference My juniors finished reading Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. Instead of taking an objective culminating exam, they will show their learning by writing a literary analysis essay. However, each student will choose the content and the focus of their essays instead of selecting a topic fromContinue reading “Teaching students to write essays that answer the question: So what?!”

Five Articles to Pair with The Old Man and the Sea

These articles are intended to round out the ideas presented by the novella This winter, my junior English students have just finished reading The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway and are beginning to develop their cumulative essays on the novella. To prepare for that, and to build more background knowledge about theContinue reading “Five Articles to Pair with The Old Man and the Sea”