I am a procrastinator--to say the least--so as school was quickly approaching, I began to scramble to put together our first few days. I combed Pinterest, retweeted ideas, organized my Pocket with a BTS category. But still nothing stuck out for me. Thankfully, in mid-July I was part of a grant process that included two … Continue reading Design Thinking as a Back to School Activity
Instruction
Using GAFE to Delay the Grade: A Guest Post from Chris Miller
So Kristy did a guest blog post for Cult of Pedagogy about delaying the grade. In it she expresses her frustration with students’ “intense focus on the all-important grade.” What bothers her the most is that her feedback goes ignored. We English teachers live this every day. I, too, used to shake my head when, … Continue reading Using GAFE to Delay the Grade: A Guest Post from Chris Miller
Personalities in the Classroom: Insights from Anne Bogel’s Reading People
This summer I was lucky enough to be chosen for the launch team for Anne Bogel's book, Reading People. I'll be honest, when I filled out the interest form, I neither knew what the book was about nor what I would have to do if I made it to the launch team. But I jumped … Continue reading Personalities in the Classroom: Insights from Anne Bogel’s Reading People
Reach Out: My Parent Welcome Letter
I know that parents oftentimes don't expect a lot of communication from their child's high school teacher. I am probably an exception. I have found that periodic contact cuts down on the nit picky notes and complaints when parents don't know what's going on. As Wednesday is the first day of school (which translates I'm … Continue reading Reach Out: My Parent Welcome Letter
Focus: Five Things for the 2017-2018 School Year
Last year, after reading an article from Cult of Pedagogy, I decided to focus on Five Things for my school year. This post has been shared a lot this summer (which I find kind of funny since it's from last year, but hey, I'll take it!), and I decided I'd make it a yearly thing. … Continue reading Focus: Five Things for the 2017-2018 School Year
How to Leverage Simple Technology for High Impact Student Feedback
After writing an article for Cult of Pedagogy about delaying the grade students receive to help them focus on feedback, I saw a lot of questions and comments about why I don't giving feedback while the kids are writing. I assure you, I do! But that wasn't the focus of the article. The article was … Continue reading How to Leverage Simple Technology for High Impact Student Feedback
Writing Conferences: How and Why Teachers Should Use Them
Writing conferences are hard to incorporate. Above all else, they're time consuming, but despite being an "extra" part of your writing instruction, they're well worth it. The other day I made the mistake of reading comments on a piece I wrote for Cult of Pedagogy. I narcissistically typed in the title--Delaying the Grade--on Facebook to … Continue reading Writing Conferences: How and Why Teachers Should Use Them
How CSI Helps Students Organize their Paragraphs
A paragraph structure that helps students organize their thoughts into paragraphs.
Who's Next: An Easy Solution to Kids Lining up at your Desk
I've always thought that conferencing with my students is an important aspect of essay instruction. But, dang, it can be overwhelming to have ten kids lined up at your desk waiting for help. While you're trying to focus and help the student, you're peripherally watching the kids in line joking with each other, pushing each other, … Continue reading Who's Next: An Easy Solution to Kids Lining up at your Desk
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