by Brian Sztabnik In preparation for a mini lesson on body paragraphs that I taught this week, I purchased an essay-writing unit on Teachers Pay Teachers and was woefully disappointed. It packaged the same-old basic formula with fancy fonts and pretty borders: I find that this type of formulaic approach to writing does more harm than … Continue Reading
1 – Overload – The work of teaching will never end, so you must choose when and where to end it. There’s simply not time to do everything required of the job; make peace with the fact that some things can go undone. 2 – Assume the Best – Enter each conversation, class, and day … Continue Reading
Frustration Here’s a frustration I grappled with earlier in the year and a quick-fix solution. Sometimes, I would work to make a lesson engaging and dynamic and with it came all this excitement to teach it. But that faded fast because when I was in the moment, I recieved nothing in return. There were a … Continue Reading
“The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books: To read a book, it helps to have read a book in high school.” by Rose Horowitch in The Atlantic published October 1, 2024. Once again, high school English teachers are pinned as the problem of America’s “reading crisis.” This clickbait headline will affirm public opinion that … Continue Reading
Over the years I have helped hundreds of seniors with their college essay, providing advice on how to nail the opening, find their voice, write with clarity, and reveal something authentic. I distilled the most common mistakes into a blog post that has done well on this site, and I created a slide deck that … Continue Reading
Today’s post is written by Brian Hannon, a long-time friend who shares our love for teaching and poetry. (And is just fun to be around in general.) I share Brian’s LMS Curriculum website at my APSIs each summer and literally hear teachers gasp when they see the amount of quality lessons provided – for free. … Continue Reading
One of the most common questions I receive at APSIs centers on how to structure an AP class. This is not an easy question to answer since there is no one right way to approach the class. The CED even states: “This publication is not a curriculum. Teachers create their own curricula by selecting and … Continue Reading
2023 Digital FRQ 3 Prompt: Many works of literature explore a character’s sense of lacking something important inlife. The character perceives an unfulfilled need which may be emotional, spiritual, financial, orsomething the character does not understand or cannot articulate. Either from your own readingor from the following list, choose a work of fiction in which … Continue Reading
The only other time I scored for the prose question was the infamous Zenobia question of 2018 (taken from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Blithedale Romance). Although many students misinterpreted the nature of that relationship, I remember really loving the Zenobia prompt. This year, I enjoyed reading for the prose question once again. This year’s prose excerpt … Continue Reading
This reader reflection was written by Brian Hannon and Susan Barber, and we acknowledge this post does not earn the sophistication point. I (SB) was so excited to read for Q3 this year since it’s the question I have the least experience with both at the reading and in the classroom. I’ve only read for … Continue Reading
