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…
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.
One thing that I absolutely love being a part of is witnessing other teacher’s lessons and learning from them. We learn so much by watching other teachers in action and applying some of their lessons into our own classroom. We have so many inspiring teachers at our school that I have learned from over the…
So, here’s my dirty little secret: I secretly envy those teachers who have perfectly straight rows, neatly arranged rooms with nothing out of place, and really quiet students. These are the kind of teachers who are strict disciplinarians…the kind of teachers whose kids don’t even breathe without permission. Sometimes I wish, even if only for…
Every experienced ELA teacher has felt that moment of utter frustration when he or she realizes that very few students completed their homework or students completed it but cheated. This is especially true for those dreaded spelling or vocabulary worksheets — the boring, but necessary — or are they? I have recently experienced much success…
It’s Lit Time! 