Last fall, one of my students, a junior, pretty much felt that he did not need school, especially English. Reading was a waste of his time since he was already an accomplished musician. His milieu was notes, not words. Even…
Author: Dawn Hogue
More on summer reading
Shmoop has announced its first ever summer reading list. I have read nine of these books, and there are a few titles here that I’ve wanted to read. Maybe there is also a book here for you!
Last day. . .
The walls are bare. Things are put away. I imagine if I shouted, there would be an echo in this classroom. The transition to summer is always tinged with complex emotions. We, who have built a community through the year,…
Summer Book List
School may be almost over for awhile, but for me, my best reading days are ahead. I already have six books in my queue, and I hope I can get to them all before I need to read my assigned…
AP Testing is not far away
Spring is Here! That means daffodils and testing season. The AP English Lit exam is May 6 and the English Language test is May 12. For students who want some extra last minute help, try these resources: AP English Literature…
Sharing
I just added a new lesson to my Teacher’s Toolbox page. I started this page because there are good lessons that I am willing to share. We can all use a good idea now and then. The new lesson: Three…
Thinking again about poetry
Thanks, in particular, to Poets.org, National Poetry Month is an easy thing for teachers to add to their curriculum or school culture. It’s not always easy to get students to see value in poems, but if they can like a…
How do you pronounce?
Here’s a very cool site that everyone will need at some point in their life: howjsay . Just type in a word and click submit. I used it to verify a couple of AP vocabulary words that I thought I…
How to Keep Kids Engaged in Class | Edutopia
Teaching is about engaging students in meaningful activities so they can learn something relevant and important. It’s not about preaching from the pulpit like it might have been in earlier eras, where children were meant to sit quietly and absorb…
Out with textbooks, in with Shmoop
In the past week, I was asked to take a look at and promote two educational websites. Getting the word out about their wares may be best achieved through word of blog. I am happy to give them some press…