Hi all, I have always been a big fan of reading journals. I leave them open enough for students to engage with texts in the ways that interest them, and present them with opportunities to form connections with paired texts / global and individual life (I teach at an IB school, so deeply encourage this to 9th and 10th grade classes as a way to prep them for Learner Portfolios). However... my 9th grade class this year has been particularly resistant to keeping up with their reading journals, and complain that the general "freedom" to write what they want makes the journals feel tedious. I under ..read more

Hello! I'm in the South Carolina PACE program and plan to be a first year teacher this coming fall. I had an interview on 4/15 and followed up via email on 4/22 when I hadn't heard anything yet. It's now 4/24 and still radio silence. I know things are busy because it's contract time, but I also need to make sure I can get into the July PACE classes. If I can't get into the July classes, I will have to wait until December and will have to do the first semester of the year with absolutely zero classroom experience or guidance at all. When should I follow up again? Should I follow up again at al ..read more

I'm working on replanning units for next year. I have a rhetoric unit first up, and I like to have students examine speeches for their rhetorical impact WITHOUT context. For example, I have one from Adolf Hitler where I changed the references to Germany to [country]. It's one of his earlier speeches, and we pick apart a section for the goals, ideas, and types of rhetoric he uses to persuade his audience. I also used Churchill's "We'll fight on the beaches" speech to contrast and show power on the right side of history, but I'm not sure I really chose the best speech from Churchill to contrast ..read more

I have really enjoyed my job teaching 7th grade ELA. I have been at it 15 years, and aside from a mostly unpleasant 3 year stint in 8th grade, it's all I have ever known. I really like 7th graders. They really get excited and start to like you after a while as long as you stay consistent and funny. However, the past few years have left me feeling very stuck for a variety of reasons. Our school keeps pushing initiatives nobody wants, like competency grading and PBL. It's just a constant drip drip drip of awful ideas, every new year a fresh assault on common sense. We teach these lessons about ..read more

Hi all! I am looking for some professional development courses/book recommendations to do over the summer. I have just moved to 9th & 12th grade ELA after teaching 6th for 4 years. I am specifically looking for resources that will improve my practice in writing, grammar, and vocabulary instruction. I teach with some struggling students so especially anything on how to run elementary level interventions that don’t embarrass a high schooler would be great. Thanks for any help you can give :) submitted by /u/Specialist_List6385 [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

I like to give the kids PDF copies of our books, and my Flowers for Algernon is not good. It's missing random words, misspelling Charlie's misspellings, and for some reason won't find certain words when I use CTRL+F. I would be extremely grateful! (Google was not helpful.) submitted by /u/Ben_Frankling [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

I’m looking for some of your favorite activities you use for CEA writing and reading comprehension. We’ve been working through a YA novel the past couple of weeks and I feel like it’s time to mix it up a bit regarding the things we do. It is tough because I teach a small class - 6 students in total (SPED). Anything beyond just pure worksheets and graphic organizers is appreciated! submitted by /u/MRPOOKIE89 [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

Looking to read something as a class for the last few weeks of school. Got these from the Gateway Awards (we're in MO) and was curious if any of you have read these yet! View Poll submitted by /u/Ok_Statement_6757 [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

Hello! I am coming up on the end of the year (and the end of my student teaching), and I want to end with something a bit more upbeat and fun! I also want to end on a high note. We just read "Anthem" by Ayn Rand, and I don't want to go back to a dryer text, or something from their books. I have 12th grade, and many are checked out already. Any suggestions? submitted by /u/Exotic-Complaint-420 [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

Most lists I'm finding online are focused on production and the theatre, but I'm more focused on scripts for reading, not performing. submitted by /u/Censius [visit reddit] [comments ..read more