Now the first and most important rule of this game is in the title. The yardsticks are never, ever to be used as swords. In fact, I had to tell the kids to start dueling just to get the cute picture above. This vocabulary game or review game is a modification of the Flyswat Vocabulary…
I’m on a quest for one hundred percent engagement. If our kids were more interested in what we do at school, then they will perform better in our classes. This vocabulary game is definitely fun, and it once again takes very little prep for the teacher. You can even have a student help organize the game and make the clue balls. Are you ready to learn how to facilitate Love it or Chunk it?
For the next few posts, I will be discussing some fun vocabulary games that I use with my high school students before vocabulary tests that do not involve the teacher spending an unrealistic amount of time getting it ready. These games can easily be adapted to any kind of test review, and your students will…
One of my favorite projects to teach and one of my students’ favorite projects to perform is a mock trial. They are competitive, can involve fun costumes, and have a real world connection. Students use a variety of skills to perform a mock trial, including public speaking, making an argument, and using evidence. Mock Trials…
Do you know that high schools by the hundreds are failing to keep students at school? Do you know why so many American school children have an attendance problem? Do you know that not all schools are welcoming and inviting spaces? Reality Check: Our kids don’t want to go to school. Problem 1: Schools aren’t…
So, who has time to spend all night grading? Let’s be real here. “Ain’t nobody got time for that.” This is how I do it that saves time. First of all, let me admit that above anything else I LOVE TEACHING WRITING. It’s one of the reasons I became an English teacher. I have a…
One way that I have really learned to save time this year is from incorporating some inquiry-based learning and have students help generate classroom expectations. This also helps allow students to feel empowered over their own learning. I taught a series of ten minute prep lessons with an inquiry-based component at the beginning of school…
I would like to personally thank each and every person who read my post last week that expressed my concerns about Common Core English. My regular teaching blog, which is normally a mode of sharing teaching strategies (and read by a handful of people), turned political last week for the first time. An edited version…
Below, in jargon-free, acronym-free terms, is my list of what I consider to be the worst of the worst with Common Core English.
It’s Lit Time! 