Blogs on Literacy

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Lee Ann SpillaneMay 14, 2013

"I wasn't actually in love, but I felt a sort of tender curiosity."
-- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

The new film adaptation of The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio might move teens to fall in love with the story of the book, but it won't make them better readers of the novel. Long before the film was announced, I've been using simple technology tools to help my eleventh graders become curious critics analyzing the text patterns Fitzgerald employs.

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Rebecca AlberMay 13, 2013

Adults forget all that they do while reading. We are predicting, making connections, contextualizing, critiquing, and already plotting how we might use any new insights or information. Yep, we do all that when we read.

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Anne OBrienApril 30, 2013

We all know that the demographics of America's public school population are shifting. In 2011, nearly a quarter -- 23.9 percent -- of pre-K-12 students was Hispanic, many either immigrants or the children of immigrants who speak another language at home. And that proportion is projected to grow in the coming years, bringing new challenges and opportunities to schools across the country.

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Heather Wolpert-GawronApril 29, 2013

William Shakespeare was the R-rated writer of his time. His plays were potentially more sexy than any E.L. James novel and oft-times more violent than any Quentin Tarantino film. The words of the Bard make up a universal language, one that can unite cultures with their themes and conflicts. And, more importantly to this blogger, William Shakespeare changed my life.

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Lisa Michelle DabbsApril 18, 2013

"As a child I walked with noisy fingers along the hemline for so many meadows back home." - Jewel

I love to read poetry for many reasons, but some that strike me as being the most important are:

  • Reading poetry relaxes me.
  • Reading poetry makes me laugh!
  • Reading poetry allows me to see into a deeper, more emotional part of myself.
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Todd FinleyApril 16, 2013

To be subtle. To be true. To be original. To be on. • To sing without moving your lips. • To explore the conventions of a thousand genres and befriend a thousand tribes. • To set your love free. • To tweet and be RTed. • To convince someone to give you money. • To get better at doing hard things.

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Jonathan OlsenApril 10, 2013

At its core, the six-word memoir teaches us to be concise but also introspective. Try describing yourself in six words. Not easy, right? So, for English teachers, the six-word memoir is a great way to get students to focus on getting a point across in as few words as possible. Students have to choose words precisely since they can't waste any. The six-word memoir teaches all of us writers a critical skill: words are valuable and have meaning -- don't waste them.

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This year, I admitted a hard truth to myself. I wasn't having my students write enough. In an attempt to follow Kelly Gallagher’s advice that students should write more than we can assess, I decided to have them blog weekly.

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Ben JohnsonApril 8, 2013

How do you tell if someone has been reading a book critically? One way is they have dog-eared the pages, underlined key ideas, annotated the margins, highlighted quotable phrases, and filled the book with tabs on pages of interest.

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Mary Beth HertzApril 5, 2013

Poetry has a very special place in my heart. I started writing poetry in high school and continued throughout college and even into my 20s. Eventually, teaching fulltime, along with other responsibilities, pulled me away from that art form, but I still love to read poetry, and I love hearing it read.

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