MEJ Editor 2014, William D. Dyer

Dyer’s Manifesto: The mission and charge for MEJ moving forward

Dear Current and Future MCTE Members: We are writing in order to introduce to you a significant “make-over” of MCTE’s most important periodical, The Minnesota English Journal (MEJ), and to invite your direct participation in it—as readers vigorously interacting with every article, classroom idea, and reader-posted comment and a contributors of articles of your own … Continue reading Dyer’s Manifesto: The mission and charge for MEJ moving forward

MEJ Editor 2014, Bill St. Martin, Classroom Materials, Literacy

Daylight Savings Time Vocabulary in Context by Bill St. Martin

Daylight Savings Time Vocabulary in Context Bill St. Martin Irondale High School Focus Composition                             Name ______________________________ Vocabulary In Context Building your Personal Thesaurus                              Hour _____________ http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/11/daylight-saving-time-is-terrible-heres-a-simple-plan-to-fix-it/281075/ Column ATarget Word Column BBased on the context, what do you THINK it means? What does it sound like/look like? What parts of the word are familiar? Column CLook … Continue reading Daylight Savings Time Vocabulary in Context by Bill St. Martin

MEJ Editor 2014, Best Practices & Teaching Tips, Michael MacBride, Writing

Two Truths and a Tall Tale: An Ice-Breaker Activity by Michael MacBride

Exposing Yourself to Students: You are a Source! I like to start the semester with a popular ice-breaker activity—two truths and a tall tale. During my first TA orientation, the TA director (Randall McClure) used this activity to get us talking. From that activity I learned that Dr. McClure had in fact been involved in … Continue reading Two Truths and a Tall Tale: An Ice-Breaker Activity by Michael MacBride

MEJ Editor 2014, Best Practices & Teaching Tips, Classroom Materials, Creative Writing, Scott Hall, Secondary

Analyzing Poetry and Songs by Scott Hall

Find a song that has been recorded by several artists (at least 4) over the past 30-60 years (or re-recorded/re-mixed in a new style by the same artist). Listen to each version of the song and take notes about the style. Style includes sounds, vocal delivery, pacing, beat, structure, and lyrics. YouTube is a good … Continue reading Analyzing Poetry and Songs by Scott Hall

MEJ Editor 2014, British Literature, Classroom Materials, Kathryn Campbell, Literature

The Women of Beowulf and Student Responses by Kathryn Campbell

If you’ve ever taught an early British Literature text, you know that strong, multidimensional female characters are hard to come by. Take Beowulf, for example: women are only named after they become wives, with the exception of one monster mother, who is depicted as a vengeful threat who must be vanquished after her son Grendel’s … Continue reading The Women of Beowulf and Student Responses by Kathryn Campbell

MEJ Editor 2014, Best Practices & Teaching Tips, British Literature, Graphic Novel, Humanities, Literature, Michael MacBride, Peer Reviewed, Post-Secondary, Secondary

Comics, Dickens, and Teaching by Serial Publication by Michael MacBride

Teaching the "huge" text s-l-o-w-l-y: taking your time with Dickens and Comic Books How do you teach a 500- or 900-page Dickens’ novel—heaven forbid a 1,500-page Richardson novel? (1) How do you teach a comic book, like Detective Comics, that has been running since 1937, or a comic strip, like Katzenjammer Kids, that's been around … Continue reading Comics, Dickens, and Teaching by Serial Publication by Michael MacBride

MEJ Editor 2014, Best Practices & Teaching Tips, Cassie Scharber, iPads, Technology

The iPad Invasion by Cassandra Scharber

"What I hope for you ... [is] that you think of technology as a verb, not a noun; that poetry drives you, not hardware." - Red Burns Setting the Scene In January 2010, the iPad was born and its birth instantaneously ignited a craze within K12 schools around the county. The iPad’s invasion of Minnesota’s … Continue reading The iPad Invasion by Cassandra Scharber