Passionate student writers rarely lack ideas, but instructors can help them narrow those ideas down by choosing to write what makes them feel the most. Authors Matthew Clark Davison and Alice LaPlante instruct students to write what’s “not fair.” Unresolved emotions, from hatred to love, offer great fuel to new writers seeking direction.
Category: High School Disciplines
The Best of Both Worlds: Using Print and Digital Tools in your AP® Literature Course
As an older Millennial teacher, I find that I am stuck between two worlds: the one I was born in and the one in which I grew up. The one I was born in was analog: paper, pencils and highlighters, and books. The one I grew up in—although it was ever-evolving—was decidedly not analog. It was keyboards, screens, and software updates. Like me, students are caught between these two worlds.
Creating Connections: Tips for Writing Effective Test Questions
Tests are a learning experience for the test-taker. Tests are not only a way to find out how much students know, but they are also a way to guide the test taker as to what is most important about what they are learning. Whether it is for a chapter test, a semester exam, or a test bank, I write questions that focus on details and the big picture.
Behind the Scenes of THE NORTON GUIDE TO TEACHING IN DUAL ENROLLMENT CONTEXTS
When teaching dual enrollment classes, it may be difficult to craft lessons that meet the spectrum of your students' needs and educational interests. W. W. Norton composition and rhetoric editor, Erica Wnek, emphasizes Norton's commitment to dual enrollment instructors and illustrates the importance of supporting dual enrollment courses.
Using the Norton Critical Edition of WIDE SARGASSO SEA in a High School Literature Survey
Pamela J. Franics, PhD, outlines the many ways the Norton Critical Edition of Wide Sargasso Sea brings a deeper analysis to her classroom, including teaching her students the importance of critical literary lenses, context, and backstory when analyzing text.
What I Wish My High School Teachers Knew When I Was in High School
Award-winning children’s author Rex Ogle suggests assumptions that kids are either “good” or “bad” leave little room for nuance. Despite gaining a reputation as a “bad kid,” Ogle highlights the teachers who saw past this label and recognized his potential.
Setting Up High School and Dual Enrollment Courses
Rebekah Johnson taught high school Spanish for eight years in the US and the UK. She spent much of that time as Head of Department, training her colleagues on best practices for teaching and the incorporation of Canvas into the classroom. She's currently an Educational Technology Specialist at Norton.
Transforming Good to Great: Tips for Elevating Your Letters of Recommendation
John Danchisko is a National Board Certified Teacher in Secondary English/Language Arts with eighteen years of experience in public schools east of Pittsburgh, PA. In the spring of my first year of teaching high school, a student sheepishly requested a letter of recommendation for college. I agreed and approached a seasoned teacher to ask how …
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The Ultimate Remix: A Student’s Journey from Final Project to Published Author
Katelyn is a senior at Miami University studying Emerging Technology in Business & Design, as well as Digital Marketing. When I clicked the submission button on the final project of my senior year of high school, I wiped my hands clean and promptly pushed that assignment to the back of my mind like any other …
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Getting to the Heart of Positioning Language: Who Is “They”?
Deanna Brossman started teaching English in Geneseo, Illinois, in 2001. She earned her MA in English literature in 2007 and National Board Certification in 2012. She teaches dual credit composition, AP English Language and Composition, and a transitional English course for seniors wanting to strengthen their fundamental reading and writing skills before college. She and …
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