In 2019, the College Board released a new, itemized rubric. The new rubric differed from the previous nine-point holistic rubric by breaking the writing down into three sections: thesis, evidence and commentary, and sophistication. When I first saw the new six point rubric, I was so excited for the ...
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The Book Bento: A Visual Literary Analysis Assignment
I first heard about Book Bentos a few years ago on Instagram. “Cute!” I said, then scrolled on. However, the image stayed with me. A few months later I sought it out with Google and saw a few images of Book Bentos.A Book Bento is a flat lay photo of a book, surrounded by images that correlate with ...
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Why I Ditched Summer Reading
This post has been a long time coming, but it’s finally time to air the truth: I don’t assign summer reading. Despite teaching both AP and Honors programs, I abandoned the practice two years ago.And it has been a great choice.I want to begin by acknowledging that what worked for me does not ...
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Literature to Help Build Community in Your Classroom
There are dozens of blog posts out there on activities and assignments that help build community with your students. I’m happy to offer those ideas, but it made me wonder: are there any texts that work to build community when you read them as a group?I was asked this question a few months ago and ...
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13 Ways to Teach a Poem
There are many things I struggle with as a teacher, but one thing that always seems to come naturally is thinking of different ways to approach a text. I get bored easily, so I try not to do the same method or activity too often. You might think this adds up to a lot of planning work for me, but ...
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How Chris Hemsworth Can Help You Teach Growth Mindset
Recently, my family and I were watching the new Disney + show Limitless. The miniseries features Chris Hemsworth and a variety of experts as they discuss elements to living a long life, including fasting, strength-training, and battling stress. The first episode discusses stress, and so far I’ve ...
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