Category: design thinking

sketchnotes

Using Sketchnotes With Novels and Plays

What are sketchnotes? Sketchnotes are becoming an increasingly popular way for students to take notes for lectures. However, there is much value to be gained from using them along with – or instead of – traditional methods like Cornell notes and annotation. Studies have shown that engaging the visual part

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Student Project Think Tanks

Student Project Think Tanks

We all know the benefit of surrounding ourselves with others whom we can ask for advice. I’m fortunate to work with a bunch of English teachers who are terrific sounding boards for ideas. But it’s also good to take advantage of those who don’t work in my building. I’ve been

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student created essay prompts

Have Your Students Create Their Own Essay Prompts

Sometimes the best lessons come not from great planning and preparation, but out of desperation and necessity. I had my students create their own essays prompts, and it definitely came from a spot where I felt like my back was up against the wall. However it was one of those

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Adding Creativity

Adding Creativity Into Literary Analysis

Preschools are hubs of creativity. When my children were in preschool there wasn’t a day that went by that they didn’t bring home some piece of artwork they made. We accumulated a lot of paper rapidly. Once students get into high school, however, a lot of the creative activities that

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moving from knowing to doing

What Should Students Know How to Do in Language Arts?

I know Othello really well. I have taught it for the past fifteen years and can recite entire passages from memory. I have read extensively about it – everything from scholarly articles to blog posts – and have seen at least three different movie versions of it and a stage production. I

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