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Category Archives: Uncategorized
Increase Engagement with Real-World Activity Tie-Ins for Literature
One of the obstacles for reluctant learners is that they may fail to see the relevance to their own lives. Writing essays seems unrelated to the types of jobs they expect to have. More so if they don’t expect to … Continue reading
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Wrap-Up the Year with Real-World Writing
The end of the school year can make it challenging to hold students’ attention. The end is in sight and focus dwindles. Real-world writing is a great way to keep attention and engagement up. There’s no question of “when will … Continue reading
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Engaging Activities for Practicing Literary Analysis
Literary analysis is an important activity, requiring students to dig into the text in a thoughtful way, finding support in the very words and phrases and ideas of the text. It’s different from research writing or opinion-based papers. Students, at … Continue reading
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Texts and Activities for Women’s History Month
March is Women’s History Month. The month may also include the end of a marking period (or trimester), state testing, and/ or spring break. While it may not be possible to dedicate time to a whole unit related to texts … Continue reading
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Skip the Book Report: Try these Creative Projects Instead
Book Reports area common sight, still, in many classrooms, including secondary classes. They’re easy to implement, for both whole-class reading, but also for the increase in small-group or individual book choice selections. In fact, book reports (and their close cousin, … Continue reading
Posted in Secondary Education, Teaching, Teaching Ideas, Uncategorized
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Ways to Group Students (and when to use which)
Group work is a regular activity in many secondary classrooms. It offers many benefits, including collaboration and cooperation. Students show increased learning in well-structured group work, related to the discussion of content and problem-solving. There are also benefits in division … Continue reading
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5 Ideas for Studying Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” Speech
Most secondary students are familiar with the speech, or at least the main idea, by the time they are in a secondary ELA classroom. And that’s actually an advantage. That means that additional study can scaffold on what they already … Continue reading
A Fresh Start for Second Semester (for year-long or new classes)
Second semester is a dividing point in many secondary classrooms. More so if the second semester class is separate from first semester. Maybe you have new students from schedule changes or adjustments around semester-based classes. Maybe it’s a whole new … Continue reading
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The Value of Teacher Mistakes
Growth mindset. It’s okay to fail. Grit. There’s a lot of talk these days about helping students to make mistakes, to try things and fail, to persevere. And these are definitely important lessons for our students. But they’re also important … Continue reading
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Using the Grade Book for Data-Based Teacher Reflection {with Freebie}
The end of a term is a good place to pause and reflect as a teacher. Maybe it’s the end of the semester, trimester, or even marking period. Maybe you have most or all of the students again the next … Continue reading
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