I'm working on writing a book. It's surprisingly hard to say people, as if it's something I've been hiding for a long time. ''Hey, there's something I've always kept hidden from you. I'm really a geek.'' I suppose it's a little like an intellectual coming-out. I'm expecting people to say, ''That's okay, John. We love you for who you are - even if ...

I’m such a geek when it comes to teaching. Two weeks after the school year concludes, I’m ready to start again. Since I can’t have a classroom full of students to teach, I go back and revise and adapt my curriculum lessons during July and August. This year I have some more revisions to make, [...]

With my Sophomore Honors students, the final unit remaining is the persuasive speech unit. Generally, the students do quite well with these 3-5 minute speeches, and I require the following: three types of sources (i.e. periodical, internet source, survey, scientific study, interview, etc.), a minimum of eight solid facts, an anecdote on the ...

I can't believe it.  Spam is making a come back!  I don't mean spam on your computer.  I mean Spam as in a food product.  Both "spams" fall into the shunned category of life.  Who wants spam on their computer?  Who admits they eat, or shudder the thought, like Spam?  I heard on the news yesterday that ...

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 in the novels. Prior to reading To Kill [...]

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, and the heroic cycle. Everyone dove right in to the the work. While watching the film I ...

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 journal, study the film using literary terms, analyze critical quotations in the novel plot how ...

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, I’ve changed my procedures when grading large assignments to reduce [...]

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 classes: Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “The Eagle” (also great for alliteration) He ...

Sunday, May 11, 2008 8:40:46 PM I am currently working on my Master's degree in Education. I was recently asked to identify a power standard and create a context/scenario that would allow my students to master this power standard in an engaging way. Below is my response to this challenge. I welcome any advice, comments, and ideas before I ...