This year, I had the opportunity to read for Question 3, the Open-Ended Question. I was excited with the assignment since I had never formally read for this essay at any of the readings, but I was also a bit concerned about the accuracy of my performance because of the sheer variety of responses I … Continue Reading
As Susan said about Q1, the operational Q2 passage, “The Rock Eaters,” and prompt were definitely accessible for most students this year. I still looked at a few drawings, read a few song lyrics (“In the Heights”), and even saw one person who wrote out the numbers from one to one hundred (!), but for … Continue Reading
And that’s a wrap on another reading. This year I read for Q1 – “The Barren Moors.” In general, the prompt and poem were accessible and students tended to write a lot. Compared to prior years (with the possible exception of “Shaving”), there were few blank responses to the poem. So let’s break this down. … Continue Reading
As English teachers, we get asked a lot about our reading lives. People assume that we are well read, and I often joke that if reading Frankenstein or Fences 100 times defines well read, then yes, I assume I am. Truthfully, reading can be difficult for teachers. Teachers often take work home, find ourselves mentally … Continue Reading
We’ve all seen the gifs and memes of teachers running out the door on the last day of school and trust me – I’ll be leading the way! But before I do, I am building in some time for reflection while the year is still fresh in my mind. (I recognize we’re all at different … Continue Reading
Happy National Poetry Month! One of the single most transformational things that has happened in my classroom over the last decade is working with poetry collections instead of picking and choosing poems to read. Whether reading a collection as a whole class or students exploring them on their own (as in our poetry blogging assignment), … Continue Reading
This post written by Matt Brisbin originally appeared on APLitHelp.com and has been updated for this repost. “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” – Albert Einstein I want to tell you about an idea that has the potential to completely … Continue Reading
When Gina Kortuem asked if I would be interested in a crosspost about summer work, I immediately answered yes because my summer work has slowly morphed over the last few years. I was not at all surprised when I read Gina’s post Why I Ditched Summer Reading to see that she and I have been … Continue Reading
A couple of weeks ago I outed myself as having an UnInstagrammable classroom by posting these pictures in the FB group and received c the response. Like minded souls followed up with pictures and comments of solidarity from their classrooms with stacks and piles of who even knows what all. Shout out to the few … Continue Reading
Last week I overheard a conversation from a group of students that went something like this: Student 1: I really think I should apply to College X as a backup school but don’t have time to write or revise my essay to the school’s prompt, so I guess I won’t. Student 2: Well if it’s … Continue Reading
