End of the Year Values
This class is all about the exam; this class is not at all about the exam. – Lisa Boyd We start the year with this quote and talk about living in the dichotomy of learning that prepares students for...
View ArticleIt’s The End of the Year As We Know It
This year was . . . well, y’all know. I found myself in a situation where we had exams on Monday and Tuesday with grades due Wednesday morning. (Yep – done here in Georgia. God bless all of you...
View ArticleInhale… exhale… now write!: What we learned from Winton’s Breath
As Farrah Hilton mentions in her 2021 Reading Reflections, we are amazed at what our students accomplished to sit for this year’s full exam. We commend them on their effort and creativity, especially...
View ArticleDay One Poetry Lesson
After what seemed like the shortest summer ever, we are back to school. First impressions are so important, and on day one I always want to set the tone – not in a “here are the expectations and rules...
View ArticleDay One Lessons (Part 2)
As promised, in addition to my first day lesson, here are a few more Day One lesson ideas which are AMAZING! I so appreciate Lisa Boyd and Valerie Withers who teach in Henry County GA outside of...
View ArticleDay One Activities (Part 3)
Purpose:The purpose of this assignment is to introduce the concepts of literary analysis. Instead of jumping into what teachers expect students to be able to do by the end of the first term (or later,...
View ArticleDay One Activities: Part 4
Instead of the usual “syllabus reading”, I decided to flip my classroom for day one. I posted the syllabus on our schools CMS and created a pair of Google Forms. One is an “About Me” form where...
View ArticleUsing Signposts for Course Alignment
Earlier this summer I was able to spend some time in the Keys and started each morning by kayaking into the water to read. On most days, the water was so inviting – crystal clear, piercing blue, and...
View ArticleThe College Essay
Most of my students start their senior year with a primary focus: applying to college. As a result, we tackle the college essay early in my class – typically on Day 2. True, the college essay is not...
View ArticleSophistication – Exploring Tensions and Complexities (Path One)
The sophistication point on the AP Lit rubric (Row C) is the hardest to train students to achieve. One of the tools available to teachers to help students find it is in the standard phrasing of the...
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