Why can’t test prep ALSO deepen students’ understanding of a topic?
Author Archives: sara
Planning for Plan B
It’s about planning for plan B starting on the first day of the semester.
“That Place Sounds Kinda Nice…” (Spoiler: It’s a Cult)
If we don’t teach these kids about cults, they’re doomed. I don’t want to read about some sweet kid from my class getting murdered on a compound in the middle of nowhere. Not on my watch!
Backing the F–K Off
…teachers work in a system that is designed to gaslight them and keep them in an eternal state of moral confusion. One day, we’re getting free coffees for Teacher Appreciation Week; the next, we’re sitting in a meeting with admin backing pissed off parent who doesn’t feel like their child should be asked to redo an assignment on which they cheated.
Prepping Kids for the CommonApp College Essay
Ah, yes. The dreaded Common App for applying for college. The kids stress out about the essay part the most, by far. Lots of complaining…not always lots of actual writing and revising. It’s pretty much the only thing my juniors and seniors can think about from August to November (besides TikTok). It just makes sense […]
“Career Ready”
The seniors are stressed out about job interviews. Majorly stressed out. 20 years ago, when I first arrived at this party, it was a given, at my suburban high school, that upwards of 90% of kids were going to college. That’s no longer the case.
Quick Plug–Gatsby Standardized Test-Style Review Qs Slideshow on TpT
I discovered I’m getting excellent results with this type of daily review, and it lets me prep them for the next round of assessments (sigh). To get up to speed on this entire thing and what pushed me to this point, check out my blog post, That Standardized Testing Grind, from a few weeks ago. […]
Rethinking the Structure of 90-Minute Engagement
Our intensive ELA1 kids weren’t able to do that. When Claire and I designed our 90-minute blocks as a thematic experience, it was too much for them. Even kids who liked the topic would starting wilting at about the 45-minute mark. Even though the lesson designed looked fantastic on paper, it wasn’t working with actual students.
Quick Plug–New, Turnkey Gatsby Unit on TpT!
Just finished up an awesome new novel unit for Gatsby to use with my juniors after spring break. I’ve got them sorted into thematic groups, so they’re practicing close reading and pulling quotes on a single topic as they go through the novel. I’m really proud of how far they’ve come with this skill. I’m […]
The Holy Grail of Inference Bell Work–FREE DOWNLOAD
DAMN these kids are LITERAL. Like, I could leave them a trail of breadcrumbs and they’d eat the bread off the floor and still not find their way home. Not exaggerating. They can’t make an inference to save their lives.
