Assessments, Best Practices, Reflections on Pedagogy, Teacher Tips, Technology Tips
Meredith Dobbs
Beyond the Test: 10 Innovative Ways to Assess ...

Are your students moaning and groaning over taking another test or writing another essay? While these are tried and true methods for assessing many skills, I have been on a mission to find more innovative, unique ways of assessing student growth and learning.

Beyond the Test: 10 Innovative Ways to Assess Secondary Students
Best Practices, Close Reading, Essay Writing, Lists, Writer's Notebook
Meredith Dobbs
20 Great Quotes to use as Mentor Sentences in ...

One of the best ways to teach students how to integrate literary and rhetorical devices into their writing is to imitate the style of great writers. Here are 20 Great Literary Quotes to use as Mentor Sentences in Secondary ELA...

20 Great Quotes to use as Mentor Sentences in Secondary ELA
Best Practices, Essay Writing, Literature Articles, Reflections on Pedagogy, Writer's Notebook, Freebies
Meredith Dobbs
The Writer's Notebook in Secondary ELA: ...

The Writer’s Notebook is the heart of the English classroom. It is the place that holds a student’s reflections on literature and life...

The Writer's Notebook in Secondary ELA: Introduction & FREE Guide
Bundles & Units, Close Reading, Lesson Planning, Literature Articles, Poetry, Writer's Notebook
Meredith Dobbs
The Romantics vs. the Imagists: A Comparison ...

Contrasting literary movements as a pedagogical approach to teaching literature is a debatable method, but I have found that juxtaposing literary movements...

The Romantics vs. the Imagists: A Comparison of Two Different Styles
Lesson Planning, Writer's Notebook, Holidays, Close Reading, Poetry, Bundles & Units, Best Practices
Meredith Dobbs
The Complex Themes of Winter Poetry: Creating ...

This winter season, I found myself missing the snow for the first time in my life because we made a big move from a cold climate where we have lived for the past six years to a warm climate where there is no snow.  I never fully realized... 

The Complex Themes of Winter Poetry: Creating a Winter Poetry Unit for Secondary ELA

Art and Film

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Satire Through Subtlety-- Using the Comics of Savage Chickens to Teach Satire in High School English

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Satire Through Subtlety-- Using the Comics of Savage Chickens to Teach Satire in High School English

I am a HUGE fan of Doug Savage's Savage Chickens "comics."  Savage Chickens is a single-frame comic drawn on a sticky note that illustrates the life of chickens whose experiences reveal the "savage" truths of the human existence.

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Jack the Ripper + "Mack the Knife": A Nonfiction Lesson on Deciphering Tone and Bias Through Diction

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Jack the Ripper + "Mack the Knife": A Nonfiction Lesson on Deciphering Tone and Bias Through Diction

Murder stories are highly engaging topics for secondary students… and for all students alike. But bringing the crime story of Jack the Ripper into secondary ELA is a sure-fire way to keep students engaged and motivated. Crime stories even motivate at-risk students through engaging content. Jack the Ripper is one of those iconic mystery stories that captures the imagination. Crime stories provide an excellent means to engage the writing process.

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Three Famous Christmas Speeches to Inspire Writing

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Three Famous Christmas Speeches to Inspire Writing

It's the "most wonderful time of the year" once again!  Every year, the holiday season inspires new movie ideas, and some of these movies go on to become some of the most beloved films of all time with some of the most well-known movie speeches in film history.