by Kristin | Apr 4, 2023 | Reading Comprehension, Teaching the Standards
No one goes into teaching thinking “I can’t wait to help my students with reading comprehension testing.” Yet it is one of the necessary, and I do say necessary, parts of teaching English language arts and reading. Teachers cannot escape some sort of...
by Kristin | Mar 28, 2023 | Short Stories, Reading Comprehension, Teaching the Standards
The poetry of Edgar Allan Poe has challenged readers over the last hundred and fifty years; however, when we think of Poe, we might first think of his short stories. Eerie and suspenseful, Poe’s most taught stories include “The Tell-Tale Heart,”...
by Kristin | Mar 21, 2023 | Reading Comprehension, Teaching the Standards
A Reading for Comprehension Test is usually dreaded by teachers, parents, administrators, and students alike. We know that our students are always growing, but high-stakes tests tend to bring out the fear and overwhelm within all of us. We cannot escape some sort of...
by Kristin | Mar 14, 2023 | End of Year, Back To School, Teaching the Standards
Are those ants in your pants or are you just a teacher nearing the final days of the school year? Seriously, as the countdown to year end happens, both teachers and students start to get a little lackadaisical. But year end fun activities can save the day(s). To keep...
by Kristin | Mar 7, 2023 | Reading Comprehension, Teaching the Standards
As English teachers in middle school and high school, we’re not often teaching students primary reading skills like phonemic awareness or phonics. More often than not, students arrive in our classes having learned to read already (or should have). While reading skills...
by Kristin | Feb 21, 2023 | Poetry, Rhetorical Analysis, Teaching the Standards
Walt Whitman, an important 19th-century poet, has been a part of the American literary canon for over a hundred years. His poetry “transcends” because of his consuming focus on freedom in both personal and societal constructs. One can clearly see similar...
