Every semester I tell my students that I learned from them, and I'm sure this is something that most teachers say, or at least think, at the end of the semester. This last semester, Fall 2014, I thought my students should take this to the next level by writing their own pedagogical essays. The logic … Continue reading Students Teaching Teachers to Teach Students by Michael MacBride
Teaching The Giving Tree by Kandi Heenan
[pdf version here: Heenan-TeachingTheGivingTree] Introduction The struggle is real. Defending the significance of using literature across the curriculum is something many instructors face—especially teaching “kid’s books.” Lessons, moral or academic, can be gained from any type or genre of literature. Children’s books specifically, even those as perceivably simplistic as works by authors like Seuss and … Continue reading Teaching The Giving Tree by Kandi Heenan
Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen: Unusual History of Censorship by Laura Cattrysse
[pdf version here: Cattrysse-Sendak’s In The Night Kitchen] Every child has their favorite fantasy book that mom and dad read every night five times before they can actually fall asleep. Maurice Sendak's book In The Night Kitchen is a fantastical story that parents actually enjoy reading because of Sendak's clever rhymes and other-worldly, yet relatable … Continue reading Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen: Unusual History of Censorship by Laura Cattrysse
Approaches to Teaching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Jennifer Thiel
[pdf version here: Thiel-Approaches to Teaching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory] Introduction Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was one of the most popular children’s books in the last 50 years. The following essay is about certain options of how this book can be used in a teaching context. In the beginning I will focus on … Continue reading Approaches to Teaching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Jennifer Thiel
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
Selections by Richard Terrill
Click the link below: DICK TERRILL POETRY AND PROSE
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
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
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
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
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