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It is beyond frustrating when students don't pass in their work - or do their work in class. First of all, they aren't building the skills they need, and they put themselves in danger of not passing the course. And because you aren't assessing their work, you don't know if they are really "getting … [Read more...] about 5 strategies to get students to complete their work

My guess is that you have come dangerously close to losing your cool over cell phones in your classroom. Maybe you have even totally lost it with a student who won't put one away. I certainly have, and instead of risking my job and my sanity, I found some ways for dealing with cell phones in the … [Read more...] about Dealing with Cell Phones in the Classroom

I just received a question about how I grade homework, and I realized my answer was a bit long and might even require a blog post. So here I am. The teacher wanted to know if I gave a summative grade (counts in the average) or a formative one (for feedback only). The short answer is that IF I … [Read more...] about Why I don’t grade homework

Literary analysis is difficult for most students, and I believe it's mostly because they get overwhelmed with the process. That's why I do my best to scaffold the steps they need for success. Today, I'd like to share one of my favorite (and most successful) strategies: literary analysis with … [Read more...] about Literary Analysis with Quotable Quickies

One of the my favorite active learning strategies is the write-around. It's quick and easy to use, and it is perfect for building the skills that students need for analysis. Let me show you how and why it works. Start with an open-ended question A successful write-around starts with a question … [Read more...] about Active Learning Strategies: The Write-Around

There's nothing better for an English teacher to walk around the classroom, listening to multiple groups of students excitedly talking about the books they are reading. That's what can happen when you run a book club with your middle or high school students. But how do you plan one? How do you keep … [Read more...] about Strategies for Successful Classroom Book Clubs

Here's a quick tip for you that will help your students improve their ability to analyze and write about text. The best part is that you will be scaffolding the process of literary analysis with assignments that take minutes to grade! Sound good? Read on! I kid you not when I say that I spent … [Read more...] about Scaffolding the process of literary analysis

What's the best way to get our students to engage in deep and meaningful learning?  I don't have the answer, but I do have a lot of questions.  And it's my curiosity and desire to learn that drives my search for that answer. One method I use to get my students' heads in the game are question … [Read more...] about Questioning Strategies in the Classroom

I'm always looking for ways to get kids engaged in critical thinking and higher order discussions. I've tried a lot of things over the years, and hexagonal thinking has emerged as a favourite for me and my students. Read on to find out how to use hexagonal thinking activities in ELA … [Read more...] about Hexagonal thinking activities in ELA

If you're wanting a meaningful unit that your middle or high school students will get into, you should seriously consider doing one that features dystopian fiction. Why? Dystopian fiction is a genre that has long fascinated readers - and movie-goers.  Stories set in dystopian worlds became very … [Read more...] about Dystopian Fiction

Have you ever experienced this? You announce to your class that they are going to start writing an essay, and the mood in the room shifts. Arms cross. Faces close off. Groans and grumbles are heard. This is what happens in my classroom the first time students write an essay, but then we embark on a … [Read more...] about The Writing Process

I'm a huge believer in the power of the habit. The more a person practices something, the more it gets embedded in the brain. That's why I put a lot of energy into building the habit of using the right terms when I'm teaching students to analyze text. And that means that even when students are … [Read more...] about Teaching students to analyze text