Living Language: A New Vision for Teaching Grammar
In the K-12 setting, grammar instruction can be tedious and demoralizing. Too often it becomes an exercise in red-lining students' mistakes.
Writing
No Brainer: AI in the Classroom
Many AI products impact and improve our daily lives. These AI technologies and products may be beneficial to the teachers in the classroom.
Using Urban Legends to Engage Struggling Readers
After teaching high school reading intervention courses for many years, I know that starting with a novel is a mistake—it’s too long. Instead, I use urban legends.
Why Students Hate Writing (From Someone Who Teaches It)
Every year, almost every student says, “I suck at writing. I hate it.” I hear this phrase far more than “Hello,” “Thank you,” or even “Can I use the restroom?”
Expressive Writing on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
I moved to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation as a naïve 22-year-old teacher in 2009, with high hopes and big plans to instill my love of writing in my 80 incoming middle ...
Teaching the Real Purpose of Writing
As teachers, we know that students need to be motivated in order to learn. Especially in English where it requires students to sit and read for an extended period of time, I ...
“But I’m just not a good writer”
As soon as I utter the words “writing assignment” a look of panic appears on my students’ faces.
How to Teach Like a Fool
One of my most influential teaching mentors is a secondary character from a sixteenth century Shakespearean play. I was introduced to the “wise fool” from King Lear in my last ...
Practical Tips to Prevent Plagiarism
Students plagiarize. But they don’t create the problem. Often, teachers do. Some assignments are easy to plagiarize. Teachers need to create assignments that require more than ...
Cursive Writing: Beneficial or Lost Art?
Want to build your students’ minds and bodies, or just need something new to add to your art lessons? You might want to consider re-introducing handwriting.