Congratulations! You get to write your own course. What happens next? Here’s a list of ten steps that will make this whole process look a lot easier than it is: RESEARCH What is the name of the course, and what are the state, district, school, and department objectives for the course? What is the theme … Continue reading The Over-Simplified Guide to Creating Courses, Unit Plans, & Lessons by Jean Prokott
Becoming THAT Teacher—An Account of One Year of Teaching by Kasden Watson
Like many, I believed that crossing the threshold of the downward ramp, and passing my tassel, meant that I was a full-blown teacher. I had graduated, and amidst the roar of Duluth’s stadium arena, I reflected on all that I had worked for. Each day spent in my cooperating teacher’s classroom, each paper I had … Continue reading Becoming THAT Teacher—An Account of One Year of Teaching by Kasden Watson
#ReadingWars and Equity by Allison Sirovy
Following the #ReadingWars on social media? If you are, you may feel like me—lost and confused. Although I teach middle school English, reading instruction is near and dear to my heart because I teach in a school where many of our readers are considered striving readers. (Please note the phrase "striving readers." It is intentional: … Continue reading #ReadingWars and Equity by Allison Sirovy
Fibonacci Spiral, or Why Four Middle Schoolers Are Enough by Sheryl Lain
A Fibonacci spiral follows the sequence 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 11, etc., where each number is the sum of the two numbers before it; pineapples, starfish, sunflower seeds, snail shells, waves of ocean, maybe even the spiral of the galaxy obey this pattern. So does my writing group. Early in the morning … Continue reading Fibonacci Spiral, or Why Four Middle Schoolers Are Enough by Sheryl Lain
“Cool” Theft: AAVE Appropriation as a Tool of White Hegemony by Anna Lehn
The 1940s archival footage may be grainy, but the big band and its lead singer, Helen O’Connell, are lily white. Her blond perm, powdered nose, and demure blouse pop in the delicate grays of black and white film. So it may come as a surprise to contemporary audiences when she opens her mouth to sing, … Continue reading “Cool” Theft: AAVE Appropriation as a Tool of White Hegemony by Anna Lehn
Didn’t I See That Before?: Edgar Allan Poe’s “Cask of Amontillado” Seen in Saw & Saw IV by T. Madison Peschock
For the past decade, the humanities have been on the decline, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) courses have been on the rise. As recent as February 2020, InsideHigher Ed.com reported that many “humanities programs had been frozen in line with what [is] described as a national trend of declining student interest in these … Continue reading Didn’t I See That Before?: Edgar Allan Poe’s “Cask of Amontillado” Seen in Saw & Saw IV by T. Madison Peschock
Shoes, Rap Music, and Guns: Transitional Objects as Objective Correlatives in Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone by Tanya Stafsholt Miller
When a person has gone through extreme trauma, writing about it can have a healing effect. The act of shaping the words on a page puts the trauma outside the self and becomes an entity of its own that can be shaped and molded. Some trauma victims use writing to expunge emotional baggage—writing it down … Continue reading Shoes, Rap Music, and Guns: Transitional Objects as Objective Correlatives in Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone by Tanya Stafsholt Miller
“It’s Not the Teacher’s Job”: Talking About Death and Death-Related Grief with Picture Books in Classrooms by Jongsun Wee and Heather J. Fye
Introduction Death was not taboo in children’s literature before the 20th century (Clement and Jamali 5), but its presence disappeared from after World War I to the 1970s in Western children’s literature (12). Death is still a controversial topic and difficult to talk about. Some adults may avoid discussing death as they wish to guard … Continue reading “It’s Not the Teacher’s Job”: Talking About Death and Death-Related Grief with Picture Books in Classrooms by Jongsun Wee and Heather J. Fye
What Matters in the Classroom? A Pre-Survey by Jean Prokott
(Download a .docx version of this survey here) Below are various factors that make a successful classroom. Please rank them in the order of which you think is most important (1) to less important (12). On the back of the sheet, justify your order/explain your process. Then, create a graphic organizer that represents how each … Continue reading What Matters in the Classroom? A Pre-Survey by Jean Prokott
Three Poems by Jean Prokott
BIRTH And at night, Uncle Duane would sleep with the upstairs window open in the farmhouse, let the wet, August night saturate the sheets and listen for the gurgling cries of the heifer from her slot in the hot barn. And when he heard the pain of the cow’s echo— not the lull like the … Continue reading Three Poems by Jean Prokott
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