English Education Articles for Teachers - Page 2

Memorization allows scholars to warehouse, if you will, a stockpile of concepts. Important background information will only help learners throughout their lives. Also, the creativity process is a mysterious one. The more useful concepts that students have stored, the easier it is for their minds ...

“In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration.” - Ansel Adams I found this to be true with this small computer lab assignment designed for the end of our study of exploration literature. As we have all learned through our work with you...

  I am like an airplane. I love the sky. Allowing students a chance to express a little bit of who they are, is rewarding for them... I am like a burning candle. I try to light the way for others. I am like a crow. I enjoy eating things out of my garden! It seems so simple, so clich&...

When teens talk about the books on their required reading lists, they might use the word boring. This can often happen because they don’t see the stories as relevant. While an appreciation of the classics is a must, Teen Read Week, which begins Oct. 16th, can be a time to explore the kinds ...

Dr. Eric E. Schmidt, chairman of the board and CEO of Google, Inc. said, in his 2009 commencement speech to PennState, "None of us is as smart as all of us." He spoke this message to college graduates, but it is not any less true for elementary, middle, and high school pupils. Teaching the next g...

Illustrator/author Maurice Sendak brought literature to vivid life with his illustrations long before Where the Wild Things Are was published in 1963. Sendak began illustrating books for his brother at age 11. His artwork came to widespread awareness with the publication in 1957 of Little Bear by...

As a high school English teacher, I think it is very important that my students be able to critically evaluate the reliability of text and identify bias in print. Every year, I implement a non-fiction unit in which students are introduced to a variety of texts and I ask them to examine the author...

I don’t know what the weather was like where you live this winter, but we sure had a lot of snow days! I have a sort of love/hate relationship with snow days. I love the time off, but feel pressured for time when we come back. I found myself in this situation last month. We had just completed an ...

There is an increasing amount of attention being given to homework by school districts, students, teachers and parents. The quality and quantity is being called into question. Some people question whether the work is truly reinforcing instruction or glorified “busywork.”  For those teachers who h...

"The Polar Express" has become a holiday classic. The book, written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg, became a Caldecott Medal Winner soon after it was published. After the movie version came out, this beautiful tale achieved even higher status in our culture. The book is a feast for the eye...

I begin each year with a media unit to introduce students to the power of words. They love looking at ads, analyzing them, and creating one of their own. Following our media unit, we do a autobiography/biography unit. My eighth graders take their writing SOL (Standards of Learning) test in March,...

I remember when I was trying to decide whether to become a teacher or not that I signed on at the local public school to be a substitute teacher. I thought I should see what it was like in the classroom firsthand before I put in so many hours of education. My first sub job was at a middle school;...

The purpose of a English worksheet should be to reinforce instruction and provide meaningful practice. For some teachers, worksheets offer 40 minutes of individual work time. For students, worksheets are viewed as “busy work” that has no relevance; students are generally concerned only with how t...

Grammar is probably one of the most difficult concepts for English teachers to teach, not because the information is complex, but because grammar can sometimes be just plain boring. As an English teacher, my job is to make grammar fun and effective. There are a few things you should keep in mind ...

Nowadays, when teachers say they are going to start a poetry unit, they might be met with moans and groans. While poetry used to be a popular form of expression, it's not something that students in the 21st century are particularly comfortable with. Some students immediately think that it will be...