An archived stack of papers: 'Connections'
Literal.ly
In a stack of papers called Connections.
- Feb
- 01
- 2011
My brother usually sends me funny stuff, stuff that is meant just for laughs but often gets me thinking about how I can use more media in the classroom. That’s just how I spin most things that appear in front of me. It’s a curse, though, because most stuff I can’t see a reason to make appear in front of my students. He routinely adds fuel to the fire of a ... read more
A Contest To Change The World?
In a stack of papers called Connections.
- Oct
- 05
- 2010
The California Museum and Comcast have partnered to put out a contest for high school seniors called Dreamers Challenge. My thoughts on the missing apostrophe held to the side for a bit, How would you change the world? is a great question for an opening-of-the-year project. It’s wide enough that nearly everyone can assert an opinion, yet narrow enough to... read more
WCIDSWT
In a stack of papers called Connections.
- Sep
- 28
- 2010
Why Can’t I Do Something With This?
Good lord, WCYDWT is such a good idea that I want to use it for English. I walk around with a camera, too. I also enjoy my job more today than I ever have. I likewise want to share my passion for not just English but many other subjects. All I end up snapping shots of, though, are misused apostrophes and... read more
Facebook Questions
In a stack of papers called Connections.
- Jul
- 24
- 2010
Facebook is getting a Questions app together. What interests me here is the focus on eloquent writing and reference to other sources. It’s nice to have a company like Facebook on record as valuing those elements of writing.
I like that Facebook is asking for someone to be able... read more
Online Highlighter
In a stack of papers called Connections.
- Apr
- 26
- 2010
Browsing around online, I often find sites full of clutter, but that have an interesting piece or two somewhere on the page. It might even be an article I want to draw student attention to, but it’s drowning in a sea of irrelevance. That one sentence is all kids need to see for me to make a connection or just a passing reference to something. Maybe I simply want to show vocabulary words in action... read more
Moments Like These
In a stack of papers called Connections.
- Aug
- 23
- 2009
The Do First for the day is this: How would you define a moment? Or maybe it’s this: Finish the story “The moment was…” Or maybe it’s a (cheesy) quotation: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” But maybe you don’t have a Do First topic at all. Maybe you just show the video and see what the class makes of... read more
An Unsolved Problem
In a stack of papers called Connections.
- May
- 24
- 2009
Out for a run yesterday, I listened to Act One of a deeply disturbing episode of This American Life. In New York, there’s apparently a place called the Rubber Room. Essentially, teachers report there when the board decides that they shouldn’t be in the classroom.... read more
Colbert Rap Battle
In a stack of papers called Connections.
- Mar
- 29
- 2009
From satire to social commentary to lessons on Power Point, Comedy Central’s got it. But I can’t find the right hook to use this clip from The Colbert Report in the classroom. I want to get the video and edit it down to segments — just show the Power Point piece, just play Colbert’s rap couplet at the end, and the like. But before I do anything, I need to know why I’m... read more
Punctuation Videos
In a stack of papers called Connections.
- Jan
- 27
- 2009
Videos that move quickly through grammar and punctuation basics with just a slight touch of levity and free of all the drudgery of pretty much any grammar workbook? How did I miss this? The fast pace might be bad for some struggling learners, but it’s video so they can play it back again later if so inclined.
... read more
Tuesday’s Inauguration
In a stack of papers called Connections.
- Jan
- 16
- 2009
It’s an important event. I want to watch it. I can’t think of a reason to show it to my students, though. Barack Obama’s inauguration happens on Tuesday (interesting that a Google of “obama” returns an image of Bush as the first result today).
As it ends up, I don’t have a class during that time, so I couldn’t show it to my students even if I had a good... read more