Chalk it up to too much pressure. It’s the weight of the world. There is all this anxiety about taking the first step. The old Head & Shoulders advertising slogan lingers in the back of my mind — you never get a second chance to make a first impression. This is what I feel every … Continue Reading
Greetings from the Columbus airport where I’m awaiting my flight home from NCTE. By the time this is sent out, Thanksgiving plates will be cleared, the Iron Bowl will be decided (Roll Tide), and our thoughts will be turning to Monday morning. Before time gets away, I wanted to leave a few observations from this … Continue Reading
A recent study revealed that only 12% of teachers are “very satisfied” with their jobs. That number has dropped 27 points in the past decade. It is staggering to think that 88% of teachers are not “very satisfied.” The symptoms of this discontent are pervasive, but the root causes go beyond the typical explanations such … Continue Reading
I’ve finally brought back to life one of the most popular posts on APLitHelp with updates of how the unit has grown since its conception (see what I did here). I’ll first share an introductory activity that Melissa Smith created that was included in the original post then jump into my activities and resources. Using … Continue Reading
If you head to Merriam Webster you will find that an essay is: an analytic or interpretative literary composition usually dealing with its subject from a limited or personal point of view. This definition is somewhat near sighted. I stopped at the first one. If you dig a little deeper, though, you will see that … Continue Reading
Much of the real work of writing is done in the revision stage, but getting student buy-in can be challenging. Since I only teach AP Lit, my students are primarily writing timed essays which is a quick pass at literary analysis, but the far majority of writing is not done in a timed setting. In … Continue Reading
A few years ago, I saw a piece on 60 Minutes that reported on the “flipped classroom.” It had an interview with Solomon Khan, and it highlighted how teachers were assigning his videos for homework in math classes, allocating class time to provide guided practice as students worked their way through math problems and exercises. … Continue Reading
I have a hard time saying no to things. Inevitably, this means that I volunteer, throw my name in the hay, and offer myself up when I should occasionally keep my mouth shut. Consequently, I have to create systems that enable me to work efficiently and effectively. Here are the five rules I am using … Continue Reading
Today’s post is written by Brian Hannon. If you’re familiar with Brian through LMS Curriculum, you already know the quality of his resources are AMAZING, and this unit is no exception. The entire unit is linked at the end of his reflection on it. Thank you, Brian!! Pretty much every year prior to this one, … Continue Reading
Wait a minute… if you hand out a study guide and ask students to find the answers in the textbook, that doesn’t count as close reading? That is what some of my high school teachers did. They had stacks of ’em. Finish one ditto and they would whip out another. Classwork and homework simply became … Continue Reading
