A few years ago, back in the first few years teaching at my current school, I was teaching on what was called an "overload" schedule. For those of you unfamiliar, it's the schedule they give you when all the money is gone. For three years I taught six out of seven periods, five preps a semester, ...
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Reflections and Insights From the 2018 AP Lit Reading
Last week I spent seven days in Kansas City grading 1325 essays in a giant room that was too cold and filled with over a thousand tired educators. And it was an amazingly wonderful experience.
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My Journey Toward a Writing Center
Let me start by saying this story has a happy ending. But it begins in a very stressful way.The school year began like any other. I was blessed with an amazing group of sophomores to teach this year. They are kind, funny, and hard-working students. Unfortunately, they also qualify as the most ...
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Word of the Week – A Year-Long Vocabulary Strategy
I'll admit it, I'm guilty of the cardinal sin of English teachers.
I have given out a list of vocabulary words, told students to define the words, and given out a quiz the following week. Most English teachers have. It's not because we're trying to be lazy, I'm sure. It's just that between ...
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Just Caught You Reading
Every spring, I go into the classroom next door and greet the ninth graders with that most dreaded news: they must complete summer reading. Our school implemented a summer reading program a few years ago as a way to engage students in doing something academic over the summer, and to make our ...
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Research Source Sheet – Helping students record research quickly and ethically
As a high school English teacher, I spend a lot of time grading essays. A lot. An eternity, really... But the hardest papers to grade, and to teach, are definitely research papers. And in 10th grade, proper research is not considered simply task, but more of a life skill.
Over the years I've seen ...
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