April 23rd is the day many celebrate the birth of William Shakespeare, one of the more widely read dramatists of all times. Prepare your students to understand Elizabethan society a little better. Have a go with your students and have them take a Humours Quiz  to determine their own basic personality traits, then see how they’d [...]

Spend some time reading poetry and deciding which poem you like well enough to share with the class. (Please select a new poem; one not done for previous assignments or projects). Steps to Selection 1. Select a collection of poems (a collection by the same or by different authors).  See our class anthology, Poems 180, [...]

Students often are surprised to learn how much they already know or can gather from resources other than the Internet. This  Information Hunt  can help get your students off to a good start researching information for writing or speaking assignments.  Assigning the questions can be a way of introducing inexperienced researchers to a variety of resources…including themselves. [...]

An approach proven successful for me has taken several years to develop.  But it does seem to encourage students to do their best work the first time.  This approach includes incremental grading, allotting in-class time for peer responses to second and third drafts, including the class general grading guideline and a specific grading rubric for [...]

Professional Development comes in two forms: **** Presenting workshop sessions during which one shares ones own experiences **** Attending conferences and conventions to meet, greet, hear and learn from others This fall, I’ll be able to do both.  First, I’ll giving a workshop at the Michigan Council of Teachers of English Fall Conference in Lansing, [...]

  One way you can have your students step back a moment before they begin looking at articles, viewing video clips, and writing summaries and abstracts about controversial issues is to have a short presentation on values and look at how what we value, think is important to and for us, influences our behavior and colors our lenses. Depending [...]

     “Where’s an English teacher when you need one?” began Dr. Robert Probst, at a session I attended at a Conference on English Leadership.  His speech reminded us that like parents, we educators prepare our students to do without us.  In order to achieve this we must understand two concepts we hear about in the [...]

Michael Blau recommends this site with links to videos for teachers. “Bringing multimedia into the classroom is a great way to engage students in learning. Supplementing lessons, opening up new interests, and offering inspiration, online videos make for an incredible teaching tool. In 2010, we covered our favorite 100 video sites for educators, and we’ve [...]

Teacher Resources You May Find Useful Click on any of the lines to be taken to explanations, assignments, and other examples of ways to enhance teaching and improve learning. GENERAL GRADING GUIDELINES General Grading Guidelines for Writing Assignments General Grading Guidelines – Slides BOOK REPORTS Collage on Common Book or Story – See Chapter 1 [...]

It is effective use of time to have student respond in class to the writing of their peers.  Here’s a structure that works well for a 50-60 minute class meeting.  Keep in mind, it may take three tries doing it before students feel comfortable with the process.  Sample guideline for structuring class is at this link to [...]