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"The time has come, the Walrus said, to speak of many things..."
May 2008 - Posts
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I previously posted about the possibility of losing more than one great teacher at my high school because of the administration, and now it’s official. Math Genius left and now Promising accepted a job just down the road. In a conversation with Read More...
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Naperville Central High School Principal Jim Caudill plagiarized a speech given by a student 11 years prior at the same event. To make matters more embarrassing, that student is now a teacher at Naperville and was in attendance for the event. An irony Read More...
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Two novels I taught this year were To Kill A Mockingbird and A Gathering of Old Men. Prior to and during reading these novels, I had the kids look at some songs, poems, and historical context. Here are a few of my favorite things concerning the race relations Read More...
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Today we started the film The Matrix and the kids are enthralled. What a great feeling to know they are learning the literary devices and analyzing while enjoying the process.
Also, I introduced the double-entry journal, the Christ-like character attributes, Read More...
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I purchased some movie units from Michael Vetrie, an alternative high school teacher in Sun Valley, CA, and I’m going to try one tomorrow. I will show The Matrix in half-hour segments, so the students can do the following: compose a double-entry Read More...
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I am about to teach Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 to my College in the H.S. class; however, this is my first time teaching this novel. Does anyone have suggestions or advice? I have some ideas but would love to hear what you have to say. Read More...
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When it comes to grading, I don’t mind the small assignments and daily check-off work. It’s the large papers and projects, which consume so much time and cause me stress. I want to get those papers back to the students and off my desk! Thus, Read More...
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I forgot that we’re hosting a BBQ today, so my new post will be delayed a day.
The good news is that after a full day in the yard, the grounds are at least presentable. Read More...
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I will post something new tomorrow, but right now I’m buried under a stack of diction analysis papers I want to finish. I think I’m going to watch Battlestar Galactica (geeking out, as I like to call it) and then crash.
Good night, y’all Read More...
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While I assess diction analysis papers, personal essay, and literary analysis essays this week in the evening, I have scheduled enrichment films for my students. Here they are:
Reading A Gathering of Old Men Malcolm X
Separate But Equal
Mississippi Burning Read More...
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I’m going to use a partner test on Friday with my College in the High School students. I’ve done this before without any trouble. Have you ever done this? How did it go? Did you have to set up special parameters? Read More...
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When teaching denotation and connotation I use numerous poems in addition to the literature we are reading (The Crucible’s use of “cold” is an excellent example if you are reading it, which we just were). Here are three I use with my Read More...
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I often comment that educational solutions cannot solely be a responsibility of the schools. Communities must take the reigns and help solve many of the dilemmas facing education, and the ETS seems to agree with me that poverty may be the largest obstacle Read More...
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To follow my previous post, here is another exercise I use with my students regarding adjectives.
First, I put a list of words on the board all synonymous with “angry:” mad, upset, incensed, perturbed, enraged, disgusted, indignant, annoyed, Read More...
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One of the first sets of literary devices I teach at any level is connotation and denotation. These are two of the most basic diction analysis techniques for students to learn since they are wide-reaching and allow students to discover tone, mood, inferences, Read More...
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I’m currently in my 9th year of full-time teaching, and I’ve learned a great many lessons the hard way as I’ve navigated my way through administrative minefields, labyrinthine bureaucracies, challenging curricula, and diverse students. Read More...
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Here is a list of my favorite literary works of length to teach: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
A Tale of Two Cities Read More...
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Here is a list of shocking statistics (at least I hope they are shocking) about high school students from the author Betsy Hart: “more than a quarter admitted stealing from a store,”
“almost as many [a quarter of the students surveyed] Read More...
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I’ve been beyond busy this weekend and have neglected my blog! Instead of commenting on what I’m doing or detailing the politics of my building, I thought I’d be a bit reflective based somewhat on a post on another excellent blog.
1) Read More...
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