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Jul 182 min read
Meaning-Making in ELA: 3 Ways to Get Students Invested
A classroom can be two places at the same time: a place to work hard and learn valuable skills and a place to have fun and make meaning from
213 views
Jan 233 min read
Media and Genre-Based Units
Schools and teachers usually organize ELA curriculum by novel, theme, or genre, or some combination of those three.
260 views
Sep 12, 20233 min read
Storytelling and the Personal Narrative
Because I teach seniors, I start the year with a short unit on the personal narrative and college essay. It helps me get to know ...
196 views
Apr 26, 20232 min read
The Personal, Philosophical, and Political Response to Literature
It’s spring, which means it’s time to get creative. At this point in the year, students should be close to meeting our expectations ...
89 views
Feb 16, 20232 min read
Short Story Adaptations
Creating a short film used to be a long and difficult process, so I gave up on it. But then it became much easier to shoot and edit video.
292 views
Dec 6, 20222 min read
7 Ways to Make Learning Personal
It’s difficult to find a book that every child will love. They like contemporary stories that seem similar to their own ...
176 views
Oct 17, 20224 min read
Creative Writing: The Be-All and End-All
I used to get moans when I asked students to write a poem. But in the last few years ...
933 views
Sep 15, 20222 min read
How to Teach Literary Techniques
Literary techniques make literature, literature. Without them, we’d be left with words and facts...
362 views
Aug 12, 20222 min read
5 Poems to Start the Year
I love to start the year with a month of poetry. The unit gives students the time to read the first novel independently and it functions ..
1,317 views
Jun 16, 20222 min read
Free Literacy Blocks
I’ve been thinking a lot about all the challenges of this past year, but also trying to learn from it. I tried book clubs for the first time
531 views
Jun 1, 20222 min read
The Creative Classroom
I start the school year talking about how language is all around us.
377 views
Jan 24, 20224 min read
Filmmaking Made Easy: 10 Tips
After I taught the elective Filmmaking for the first time a few years ago, I realized how easy it is for students to quickly create a ...
749 views
Sep 16, 20212 min read
Voice to Text: The Keys to Great Storytelling
What makes a great personal narrative? In the beginning of every year, I ask my students to write a story that communicates something...
216 views
Aug 17, 20213 min read
5 Ways to Have a Drama-Filled Classroom
No, not that kind of drama. Performance. Few people know how to act, but everyone knows what a good performance looks like. The words...
188 views
Apr 8, 20214 min read
One Year Later: Reflection
Sometimes I like to complete the essay that I assign my students. In this case, I assigned a reflection on the last year. I also wanted...
143 views
Mar 29, 20212 min read
The Magic of Storytelling: Real and Fictional
I recently listened to the podcast “The Story of Your Life” on Hidden Brain by Shankar Vedantam. I felt like I was listening to ...
213 views
Feb 19, 20213 min read
Magical Realism: Interpretation and Creation
Magical realism goes beyond the place that a metaphor takes us. It goes beyond the realm of comparison.
249 views
Dec 23, 20206 min read
10 Creative Projects for Remote Learning
My colleagues and I recently had a conversation about the rest of the year and what we could do to keep our students engaged....
225 views
Jun 27, 20203 min read
How to Write or Teach the College Application Essay or Personal Narrative
I talk to my students about what I call "The 4 T's" of the college essay - topic, tone, theme, and time.
291 views
Jan 30, 20203 min read
Demonstrating Understanding with Creativity
There’s something amazing that happens in a class when you ask students to write creatively.
77 views
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