5 Steps to Great Annotations
Annotation is a valuable skill, but what should students actually be doing when they annotate?
Category: english
A Workshop Approach to Essay Planning
One of the biggest problems my students face with writing essays is that they don’t do enough planning before they sit in front of the computer to begin writing. Also, even though I tell them that I’m willing to look at drafts before they hand in the final copy, most
Don’t Hate! Annotate! How to REALLY Annotate a Poem
We all want students to know how to annotate and automatically do it when they are handed a piece of literature. The trouble is, for most students annotation is something they do for the teacher, and not for themselves. They don’t take any ownership of the process and don’t see
What Makes a Book Great?
If you’re a high school English teacher – especially of the AP variety – it’s easy to get smug about books. We believe that some books are better than others and that every student should believe that Hemingway is a better author than Sparks or Rowling. We may not believe
What Should I Do On the Second Day of English Class? Read A Poem!
There are a lot of suggestions floating around out there about what to do on the first day of school. But what should you do on the second day in Language Arts? I already did a post on using a short story to establish how you approach the task of
So What Do I Do On The Second Day of English Class? Read A Story!
There are a lot of posts out there on what to do on the first day of school: set expectations, go over the syllabus, do some icebreakers, go get textbooks, cry that your summer is officially over. But what do you do on the second day when it’s time
