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9-10 ELA Strategies

How to Create and Use an Annotation Guide for Focused Analysis

The Essay Autopsy: My New Introductory Writing Assignment

Romanticism but Make It Modern: 7 Examples Students Actually Understand

7 More Short Stories to use with Grades 9-10

This Graded Discussion is Perfect for Emerging Learners

Fast and Focused Grading: How to Tackle a Giant To-Do List

Yes, you can get students excited to study nonfiction!

Ditching the Test: Alternatives to a Final Exam

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Do you know how cool it is to watch my 9th grade s

Do you know how cool it is to watch my 9th grade son learn from the ELA bellringers I created in his own English class?!? I helped him study last night and I was having so much fun!

These are linked in my bio if you want to check them out!

#iteachhighschoolenglish #2ndaryela #iteachhighschool

Quotes are back and it is clearly Homecoming week.

Quotes are back and it is clearly Homecoming week. #iteachhighschool #2ndaryela #iteach

Thank you to everyone who reached out about the an

Today in AP Lit we did one of my favorite lessons,

Today in AP Lit we did one of my favorite lessons, analysis and brainstorming for our first essay. Students had read Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” earlier in the week. Here’s the basic lesson structure I followed:
1 - Students worked in small groups to write a thesis. All I gave them was a prompt—no coaching or guidelines. While they worked, I put a simple rubric overview on the board. I used a colored pen to highlight the importance of a line of reasoning.
2 - We shared our thesis statements (which were already very good!) and discussed complexity. On their essay template handout, we discussed different descriptors of the main character.
3 - I emphasized complexity by pairing up two opposing descriptors and we wrote several different complex statements on the board. I asked students to write their own.
4 - I then explained the importance of the line of reasoning. While many students intend to incorporate a line of reasoning, these often get used in only the intro & conclusion. By organizing by complexity rather than lit terms, the line of reasoning is stronger. I tell students lit terms are like sprinkles on a donut—they make the essay better, but aren’t the main foundation for our analysis.
5 - Together, we brainstormed different aspects of the human condition, the “Why does this matter?” of a text. Once we had that done, students were ready to write!
6 - This took most of a class period, so I only assigned an outline over the weekend. Next week we’ll practice writing strong paragraphs so we will have all the fundamentals of essay writing ready for the real deal.

The brainstorming document & essay template are both free downloads from my TpT store! I linked them both in the link in my bio.

#iteachhighschoolenglish #2ndaryela #aplit

My new favorite activity this year is guided annot

My new favorite activity this year is guided annotation. Students need 3 colors of highlighters & markers and I give a half sheet to guide their reading. Sometimes I grade them, other times I use it to fuel our discussions. But telling students what specific things to look for and what to spot in a reread is slowly improving comprehension & close reading skills. (Don’t make my mistake and use colored paper—it changed the highlighter colors! 🤦🏻‍♀️)

#2ndaryela #iteachhighschoolenglish #iteachreading

The thing is—I prepped on Friday too. When will al

The thing is—I prepped on Friday too. When will all this prepping finally lead to me feeling PREPARED?

(Btw I know the answer is never.)
#teachersfollowteachers #2ndaryela #iteach

This week’s featured blog post is based on a profe

This week’s featured blog post is based on a professional development session I led a couple years ago. Explore how different rubric styles can help give the feedback your students need and save you time! Share this out with other teachers at your school—I found most ELA teachers explore different rubrics but other specialties don’t! Link is in my bio or in my stories!

#teaching #iteachhighschool #2ndaryela

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