Knows and Teaches English as a Subject Matter
Perhaps the most essential component of successful Secondary English Instruction is mastery of the content. I am a compulsive reader and I'm never happier than when there's a book in my hand. This lifelong passion has not only fueled my desire to inspire this appreciation of literature in students of all ages, but prepared me to deliver quality instruction. Words, sentences, grammar, and reading strategies are never far from my mind, even when I walk away from actual lesson planning.
When I read now, I'm constantly translating the words on the page into possible lessons to teach and ideas are always popping into my head when I least expect them: at the grocery store or watching an episode of Survivor. This recurring thought process and focus on bringing my love of literature into the classroom is a big part of what makes me an effective educator. Below are some examples of how I've translated my love the English language and of stories into exciting, engaging lessons.
When I read now, I'm constantly translating the words on the page into possible lessons to teach and ideas are always popping into my head when I least expect them: at the grocery store or watching an episode of Survivor. This recurring thought process and focus on bringing my love of literature into the classroom is a big part of what makes me an effective educator. Below are some examples of how I've translated my love the English language and of stories into exciting, engaging lessons.
Harlem Poems: 8th Grade
I wanted my students to understand the power of poetry and be able to explore powerful questions of their own. To this end, I gave a brief history lesson about the Harlem Renaissance and described who Langston Hughes is. Then, as a class, we read and analyzed his poem "Harlem".
After that, I asked my students to brainstorm ideas of central questions they could ask about their lives right now, just as Hughes wondered "What happens to a dream deferred?" My students built poems that used simile and metaphor to explore these questions and the results were emotional, profound, and impressive.
I love this type of unit, because it is deeply rooted in English, but it also puts the focus on issues that students care about and their emotional growth. It's my goal to make everything I teach serve both of those purposes simultaneously, and this does a good job of achieving that goal
Below, I've included examples of Harlem Poems my students made, along with the scaffolding that I used to lead them to the end result..
After that, I asked my students to brainstorm ideas of central questions they could ask about their lives right now, just as Hughes wondered "What happens to a dream deferred?" My students built poems that used simile and metaphor to explore these questions and the results were emotional, profound, and impressive.
I love this type of unit, because it is deeply rooted in English, but it also puts the focus on issues that students care about and their emotional growth. It's my goal to make everything I teach serve both of those purposes simultaneously, and this does a good job of achieving that goal
Below, I've included examples of Harlem Poems my students made, along with the scaffolding that I used to lead them to the end result..
Argumentative Essay (8th Grade)
One of the main thrusts of the Common Core curriculum for English in 8th grade centers around argument. Among other skills, students need to use credible sources to gather information that supports a claim, explain how/why that evidence supports a claim, and refute opposing claims.
These skills could not be more crucial. They will serve students well not only throughout their academic careers and on standardized tests like the ACT, but also in their lives outside the k-12 world. They'll always need to be able to use logic to make a point, wherever their lives take them.
Because this is so important, our department worked together to create an engaging, well-scaffolded unit for students to begin mastering these skills. We compiled a series of topics backed up with articles that students could use to defend a claim of their choice on a Live Binder. Students could browse through articles and choose a topic that interested them, and since the standards didn't require them to generate a claim themselves, we asked them to choose a stance of a given central question that related to each topic. To start out the unit, I made an intro to argument powerpoint. I used this presentation to help me explain to my students what argumentative writing is and why it's important. At the end of the unit, once they'd done their research, organized their argument, written a rough draft, and revised and edited their work, I presented a Works Cited powerpoint to help them make a works cited page.
I've got examples of student work throughout the process and I'll explain the steps I took my students through below.
These skills could not be more crucial. They will serve students well not only throughout their academic careers and on standardized tests like the ACT, but also in their lives outside the k-12 world. They'll always need to be able to use logic to make a point, wherever their lives take them.
Because this is so important, our department worked together to create an engaging, well-scaffolded unit for students to begin mastering these skills. We compiled a series of topics backed up with articles that students could use to defend a claim of their choice on a Live Binder. Students could browse through articles and choose a topic that interested them, and since the standards didn't require them to generate a claim themselves, we asked them to choose a stance of a given central question that related to each topic. To start out the unit, I made an intro to argument powerpoint. I used this presentation to help me explain to my students what argumentative writing is and why it's important. At the end of the unit, once they'd done their research, organized their argument, written a rough draft, and revised and edited their work, I presented a Works Cited powerpoint to help them make a works cited page.
I've got examples of student work throughout the process and I'll explain the steps I took my students through below.
Rules for Punctuating Dialogue (8th Grade)
While I was teaching a Writer's Workshop elective, I noticed that many students were using creative and descriptive dialogue tags, but that they had trouble with correctly punctuating this dialogue.
To that end, we reviewed the rules for punctuating dialogue, using this Descriptive Dialogue Tags worksheet. I then made an activity for extra practice, so that students would have a chance to apply what they'd learned.
Cashing in on student obsession with One Direction and Carly Rae Jepsen, I combined lyrics from two songs and inserted some of the common mistakes I'd seen in student work. Students then had to correctly format the passage, rewriting the dialogue using correct punctuation. After they worked on it in their table groups, I asked students to describe the corrections they'd made and I re-wrote the passage on the overhead so they could all see how it should've been formatted. This was effective because I made students aware of this collective problem, but it was a fun, light-hearted way to correct this trend. Their dialogue has been much better in terms of punctuation since then.
To that end, we reviewed the rules for punctuating dialogue, using this Descriptive Dialogue Tags worksheet. I then made an activity for extra practice, so that students would have a chance to apply what they'd learned.
Cashing in on student obsession with One Direction and Carly Rae Jepsen, I combined lyrics from two songs and inserted some of the common mistakes I'd seen in student work. Students then had to correctly format the passage, rewriting the dialogue using correct punctuation. After they worked on it in their table groups, I asked students to describe the corrections they'd made and I re-wrote the passage on the overhead so they could all see how it should've been formatted. This was effective because I made students aware of this collective problem, but it was a fun, light-hearted way to correct this trend. Their dialogue has been much better in terms of punctuation since then.