It’s about planning for plan B starting on the first day of the semester.
Category Archives: Differentiated Instruction to Address Behavior
Ideas for differentiating instruction via accommodations and modifications to address students’ behavioral and academic PLEPs to increase normative behaviors
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.
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.
Black Speculative Lit: Stories for Teens That “Don’t Suck”
There’s a renewed interest in the genre right now, since Octavia Butler’s Kindred was made into a series for Hulu (BTW…it’s really good). Speculative lit is a genre that gets teens thinking about the world, the consequences of actions, and the fickleness of history–one SMALL change can create a massive ripple effect.
“But I Read It On the Internet!”
I f–king hate TikTok. It’s like heroin for distractable teenagers, which messes up my instructional flow, but even worse, they believe EVERYTHING they see on there. And I mean EVERYTHING. Flat Earth? Must be true. 5G chips in vaccines? Factual. Eating a tablespoon of cinnamon? Great idea. The internet can be a blessing if you […]
That Standardized Testing Grind
Ugly truth. Standardized tests matter. I f—-ing hate them, but it’s not up to me whether or not my students take them. And I needed to help them be ready.
Don’t Kill Shakespeare!
I think they’re pleasantly surprised how many of the insults and roasts in Shakespeare still make sense today. I’ve really enjoyed hearing them refer to one another as “three inch fools” for the past month. See? Sometimes they do pay attention! “College and Career Ready.”
I’m YouTube Famous(ish)!
I am excited to announce that I have recorded enough voice-overs for the Adapted Literature books to start an Enraged2Engaged YouTube channel! I feel extremely fortunate to have friends and co-workers to add their uniqne voices for these modified texts. It is always gratifying to work with a team and bring new materials into the […]
Concierge Education
I have hesitated to write about this topic because I feel that negativity can overtake the discourse pretty quickly, but I’m going to make a valiant effort to address it with solutions (at the end), as opposed to just bitching. I mean, I plan to bitch, but in a, like, cathartic way. So, here we […]
Social Skills in the Age of Corona
I know a lot of teachers are pretty pissed off about how this school year is shaking out. It’s been tough on us. At first, I was really depressed about having to start from scratch redesigning everything about my social skills class so it would address current issues and function in a remote environment. I mean, when you’ve mentally prepared yourself that it’s about to be Your Year, a pandemic is a solid kick in the teeth. But I pulled up my Big Teacher Panties (thanks, COVID Fifteen!) and got to work.
