Building Better Thesis Statements
A thesis statements is the road map through an essay. It’s important, yet many students struggle with them. Here are some tips for building better thesis statements.
Tag: teaching english
Word, or sentence? Teaching Theme
Theme. It’s one of the most difficult topics to teach students in language arts classes. And theme is never something they master. They have to work hard to get better at it every year. But is a theme a word, or a sentence? The goal of close reading and annotating
5 Steps to Great Annotations
Annotation is a valuable skill, but what should students actually be doing when they annotate?
5 Reasons You Should Be Teaching More Plays
How many of your students have gone to see a play? I’m guessing many of them have seen a school production. Some might have seen a professional production (and by the way, when I ask my students musicals don’t count.) But the reality is students are much more likely to
9 Creative Activities That Will Work With (Almost) Any Play
These 9 creative activities will get students interacting with drama in fun and meaningful ways. And they work with almost any play.
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
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
Find Yourself Fridays: Character Education in the Classroom
This year I’ve incorporated what I call Find Yourself Fridays. I’m giving my students something inspirational to read or watch. Sometimes it’s something quick, sometimes it takes up a good chunk of the period. But that’s ok. I have to remember I’m hear not just to teach students about literature
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
Rethinking Annotation So Students Will Find it Meaningful
Most of my students don’t like to annotate, and it’s because teachers have made it that way. We’ve used annotation to turn reading into work – and unpleasant work at that. We all agree that annotation is a valuable skill, but too many of our students tell me that annotation
