Imitation exercises are one of my favorite ways to teach students sophisticated writing. In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s powerful rhetoric, I pulled five incredible quotes from his speeches and writings and created sentence frames that students could use with their own content. If you'd like this in handout form, I included this … Continue reading Five Sentence Structures Every Student Should Adapt From Martin Luther King, Jr.
3-2-1: Redefining My Teaching at Semester
It's a new year; it's a fresh start. As millions of American students head (somewhat grudgingly) back to school after the winter break, teachers are faced with the unique challenge of redefining the classroom community after weeks apart. In my secondary classes, January is perhaps even more important than August in terms of developing classroom … Continue reading 3-2-1: Redefining My Teaching at Semester
Meaningful First Days: 3 Ways to Build Community (No Icebreakers!)
I really dislike icebreakers. They make me cringe. When I became a teacher, I swore I would spare my students the torture of icebreakers. That being said, I also realize how important it is to build a classroom culture in those first few days of school. It's taken me a few years to figure out … Continue reading Meaningful First Days: 3 Ways to Build Community (No Icebreakers!)
The 5 Students You’ll Meet in the AP Classroom and How to Meet Them Where They Are
I teach AP Language and Composition. It’s a tough course, and for most of my students, it’s their first AP English course (they take it as juniors, then go on to AP Lit as seniors). In the past few years, my school has embraced an open enrollment policy for AP courses in certain subject areas. … Continue reading The 5 Students You’ll Meet in the AP Classroom and How to Meet Them Where They Are