Building Reading Skills: Dr. Seuss for Allegory Analysis
As teachers, we strive to get students to perform at the highest level of the pedagogical taxonomy. Personally, I follow Bloom’s and cross-reference with Maslow’s psychological needs hierarchy. But, why…? It’s complicated. I’ll hit that another time. Anyway, the point is that we are constantly trying to get the kids to think in more sophisticated […]
Common Errors to Correct When Editing Your Draft: Shifting Tense
As writers, we have a tendency to change up how we refer to time as we progress through our work. It’s a pain to go back and change all that; but, you gotta do what you gotta do to ensure your writing is understood how you intend it to be. Tense can have a major effect on just that.
How to Write Dialogue: Formatting
As I started to work on my character development, I had to keep in mind that dialogue is a key feature to understanding a character. How they speak can reveal much of their demographics–let alone the content of their conversation. If you didn’t know that, you know it now.
How to Foster College & Career Ready Students, according to Common Core
The type of student that we want to send to college is nothing new. When Common Core compiled their college and career ready list, all teachers–young and new–recognized those descriptions of what we have tried to mold for years. But, we have to admit, how we teach our kids to be like that is a […]
What’s the Difference Between Theme & Motif?
I get it–it’s easier. But, that doesn’t mean it should be done. It kills me when my high school freshmen mix up motifs and themes. Thinking they’re interchangeable, it makes it almost impossible to get them to understand how very different they are. It’s frustrating for me. Motifs are everywhere in life; we need to […]