As we all try desperately to cling to the tatters of our sanity leading up to Thanksgiving Break, a fresh, quick, engaging short lesson may be the solution to your “FUCK. WHEN WILL THESE KIDS LEAVE FOR BREAK???” dilemma. Starting NOW and running through Sunday, all behavior and ELA short lessons and short adapted lit […]
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
Video Lessons on Narrative Essay Revision on YouTube (FREE RESOURCE!)
…it’s free…and it might improve your students’ narrative writing!
“Red Flags”–A Social Skills Game That Will Save Society
My students have NO IDEA how to treat other people in relationships OR how to be treated.
Planning for Plan B
It’s about planning for plan B starting on the first day of the semester.
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.”
