Reflections on teaching, parenting, and living
After studying Clint Smith’s Counting Descent with #thebookchat, I knew that I had found the first poetry collection that I was going to teach. Teaching an entire collection of poetry was something that I had considered, but did not see the full benefits from until reading and working through Smith’s Counting Descent from start to... Continue Reading →
Today AP teachers in 27 states will get their students’ scores, while the rest of us obsessively login and refresh just in case they release them early in our area. Following this score release is always a time for a mix of celebration, sometimes stupefaction, and always over-analyzation. As I plan and think about next... Continue Reading →
To conclude our year in AP Literature, I had students complete a Google Form survey full of reflective questions about our year together. I had students vote on their top five lessons for both enjoyment and academic benefit. While I am so glad that the students enjoyed these lessons, the academic benefit was also there... Continue Reading →
We hosted our first African American Read In this year inspired by the National Council of Teachers of English Black Caucus. Ingredients: 1 part--Enthusiastic students with a renewed love for reading gained through choice and time in class to read. 1 part--An excellent librarian willing to do just about anything to foster student engagement in... Continue Reading →
The first month of school has really been about trying new things in my classroom. For the last several years I would have good intentions to try new approaches in my classroom or teach new texts. I found that if I waited to implement these things later in the year, comfort and routine would take... Continue Reading →
