Ideas from the Blog

Getting students excited about the idea of reading a full class text can be hard sometimes. But if you employ some pre-reading strategies, you get do just that. My tenth grade pre-IB class has just finished the reader's workshop component of our course, and we're starting our first class novel, A … [Read more...] about Pre-Reading Strategies

I think I could wager a guess that grading journals and notebooks is not your favourite teaching task. They can take a long time to wade through and can become an onerous and dreaded job.  But it doesn't have to be that way! I've got a strategy that helps me grade students responses … [Read more...] about Grade Student Responses Quickly

I get a lot of questions and concerns from teachers who are reluctant to try reading workshop because they have standards that have to be met. I totally get this fear. Workshop requires that we let go of a lot of control. When we do the full class novel we can clearly see the path we need to take to … [Read more...] about Reading Workshop and Teaching Skills & Standards

Would you like your students to have a better understanding of  point of view and perspective? Immerse them in activities that go beyond the definitions, ones that have them looking through the eyes of another. Read on to get 3 ways to teach point of view and perspective with your students. Like … [Read more...] about 3 Ways to Teach Point of View and Perspective

This year I wanted to switch things up. I usually end the semester with a formal debate, but given the cast of characters in my twelfth grade class, I was a little apprehensive about how well they would do. Not many of them were great at discussion; most put little effort into their work. I could … [Read more...] about The Socratic Debate

Worksheets have a bad reputation these days. They are seen by some as mindless busywork with little focus on real learning. That is the case in some circumstances, but only if the work on the sheet is not serving any purpose other than filling time, or hunting and pecking for facts that don't really … [Read more...] about Are Worksheets a Bad Practice?

We English teachers all know that students have a hard time analyzing literature, and we tend to get a lot of plot summary rather than analysis.  So what do we do to help?  Use narrative writing to teach analysis. Telling stories helps us understand the world around us and helps us understand … [Read more...] about Use Narrative Writing to Teach Analysis

It's not just the elementary kids that are climbing the walls before the holiday break; secondary students have a hard time focusing too. And who are we fooling? The teachers would rather be home nestled by the fire, sipping cocoa, as well.  It's going to be a long week because exams are … [Read more...] about Activities for the Week Before Christmas

Reading conferences have transformed the teaching and learning in my classroom, but they can be hard to run efficiently sometimes, especially if you have a big class. This semester, I have thirty-four students in my twelfth grade class, so I was finding it hard to get through all of them in a timely … [Read more...] about Student Bookmarks for Quick Reading Conferences

A reader recently asked me which of my products I would recommend for teaching writing. Her question got me going through my store to decide which are my favourites.After careful consideration, I chose these lessons and activities because they are the ones that not only teach important skills, but … [Read more...] about Terrific Tools for Teaching Writing

Writing literary essays is hard. Students need lots of practice to develop the skills they need to write ones that are cohesive, well developed and organized. But does that mean we English teachers have to be confined to our desks every weekend?  I try to avoid that situation, because, you know … [Read more...] about Teach Essay Writing Skills Without Grading Any Papers

Do parent-teacher conferences cause you stress? Have you ever faced a parent and drew a blank on what to say? I have and it's a scenario I never want to live through again. It happened, not because I didn't know the student, but because it can be hard to know just what to say about each of my ninety … [Read more...] about Get Student Self-Evaluations for Parent-Teacher Conferences