I had a great start to my week! I absolutely enjoy my classes, and my new collegaues seem to be adjusting and fitting in well. Here’s how my week went with some key lessons. College in the H.S. (American Lit.) I started the kids with a dozen literary terms. I created a chart with the following columns: literary term, definition, example ...

At last, I will be able to prepare for my classes today! The last three weeks have been nothing but department and building issues; “putting out fires” is what I tell people I’ve been doing. We have one English position to fill, which will be filled with a substitute until the five day hiring window closes. I think all of the ...

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 ...

I have a fantastic week ahead. In my American Literature course we are finishing Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Raven.” Then the students get to finish their final projects, which they created for themselves. In my College in the H.S. class we are reviewing for next week’s final, and then these ...

My classes were awesome this week! American Literature: These kids have jumped right into The Crucible and explored the play wholeheartedly. They're asking the right questions and seem genuinely enthused to start each day. I think the groups I created are finally creating the collaboration I wanted to see. College in the High School: They love ...