Author, Scott Nailor
Tag Archives: high school english
Alternative Resources for Flipping Your Lessons
As I have learned more about the Flipped Classroom and as I have searched for smart, innovative ways to practice these methods, I’ve been a little disappointed. I do like the idea that flipped lessons enable teachers to better differentiate their instruction and hone focus on mastering skills, but it seems those who are leading this movement are focusing mostly on science and math to the neglect of the humanities and language arts in particular. Khan Academy and at The Flipped Class Network, for example, have countless math and science videos but very few that are useful to us in the humanities. Given this lack of resources for language and lit, I came up with some alternative sources you might consider if you want to try flipping your middle or high school language arts lessons. Some easily overlooked places you might find these useful videos (often referred to as “vodcasts” … Continue reading
Posted in Flipped Classroom, Informational Texts, Presenting, Technology Integration
Tagged classroom technology, Common Core Standards, engage students, high school english, High School Lesson Plans, middle school lesson plans, online lesson plans, technology integration, Technology lesson plans
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Flipping your Classroom
I have been hearing a lot lately about the “flipped” classroom. If you haven’t heard about it yet, Holly Epstein Ojalvo and Shannon Doyne of the New York Times provide a succinct definition: “an ‘inverted’ teaching structure in which instructional content is delivered outside class, and engagement with the content – skill development and practice, projects and the like – is done in class, under teacher guidance and in collaboration with peers.” It all started when a couple of teachers started recording their lectures and posting them as Power Points on the net for students who were absent. And that is the essence of it really. You provide content for the students to access outside the classroom and structured exploratory activities and lessons based on that content in the classroom. This “flips” the teacher’s role from class lecturer (information provider) to class guide through activities based on the pre-assigned content. … Continue reading
Posted in Common Core Standards, Flipped Classroom, Technology Integration
Tagged classroom technology, Common Core Standards, engage students, flip classroom, flipped classroom, flipped lesson plans, high school english, High School Lesson Plans, interactive lesson, Language Arts Lesson Plans, language arts websites, middle school lesson plans, online english, shakespeare, technology integration, Technology lesson plans
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BBC’s ‘State of Debate’ Game Worth Playing in the Classroom
For a while I have been hesitant to write about games in education. I think it’s the old-school teacher in me. Or, maybe it’s the stigma attached to electronic games in school based on the common assumption that they present distractions from and not opportunities for meaningful learning. But recent research suggests otherwise. In fact, a 2009 MIT study suggests well-designed educational games are valuable tools for developing skills in communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and even innovation. Unfortunately, many educational games only present rote learning—repetition of addition and subtraction, for example. But some games are designed to encourage and support critical thinking. The BBC’s “State of Debate” is such a game. It is very well-designed, it is interactive, and it encourages students to think critically about persuasive arguments. Even hardened critics among us will see this one is a game worth playing in school. In the classroom In “State of Debate,” students are … Continue reading
Take “The Brainstormer” for a Spin
A small group of aspiring authors from among my students just started an after-school creative writers’ club. They meet bi-weekly to share ideas, to collaborate, and to encourage each other to write. So the gathering of this new group got me wondering…what kind of cool resources are online for students interested in creative writing? After a little digging around I found a fun application called “The Brainstormer” created by graphic artist and illustrator Andrew Bosley. The Brainstormer, a simple but innovative tool, is comprised of a set of three wheels that you spin virtually by clicking the center for random ideas about things like conflict, setting, and character to spark the imagination. You can also select ideas manually by moving each wheel to a desired topic. This application is also available through the iTunes App Store for $1.99 so students can download it to their iPhones, iPods, and iPads. This … Continue reading
Teach Students to Use the Power of Images with Worlde, Creatly, and Statworld
The other day a student stood in the middle of my classroom holding his cellphone at arm’s length, pointing it at the white board. I was about to tell him to put it away, but then I realized what he was doing and it gave me pause to think…he was “taking notes” by snapping a digital picture of what I had written on the board. So I wondered, what if I asked him to use those images in his next essay? Isn’t this a way to integrate technology into the language arts curriculum—taking digital pictures and using them with text? But really, when is the last time you asked your students to include images in their essays? Probably never, right? When students include pictures, it’s usually to adorn the cover of the essay beneath one of those annoying plastic report covers. But consider how many images the average student encounters … Continue reading
Posted in Informational Texts, Lesson Plans, Reading, Technology Integration, Writing
Tagged classroom technology, digital text, high school english, High School Lesson Plans, interactive lesson, language arts, Language Arts Lesson Plans, language arts websites, technology integration, Technology lesson plans
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Diigo: A Powerful, Hands-On Research Tool for Students and Teachers
Informational Texts Common Core Standard #1 – Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Remember back when we were in school and research meant pouring over books in the library with a stack of note cards? When I was in college, I became very handy with Post-it® notes and multi-colored highlighters for finding “textual evidence.” I miss those days hunched over a notebook amid piles of old books. I loved rolling up my sleeves and immersing myself in the physical work of learning. Students seldom set foot in brick-and-mortar libraries for research anymore, and they rarely flip through actual paper books or periodicals either. Most research is done with electronic resources now, and I don’t know any current students who know what a library card catalog looks like (you know, the ones with the long, narrow … Continue reading
Bring Shakespeare to Old Time Radio–Common Core Standard 9
Most students are probably not aware that copyright protection laws are relatively new, so they might be surprised to learn just how many famous authors like Shakespeare borrowed and adapted others’ ideas. They should already know (I hope) that Stephanie Meyer’s books aren’t entirely original vampire stories, but they probably don’t know how many earlier “versions” of Romeo and Juliet you can find. Common Core Standard 9. Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare). Although there are many authors who treat themes and topics from earlier works in their own, Shakespeare is one of the easiest to approach with students simply because one can find more information online about him than nearly any other author. If you are lucky … Continue reading
Posted in Audio, Classical Literature, Common Core Standards, Drama, Lesson Plans, Shakespeare, Technology Integration, World Literature
Tagged classroom technology, Common Core Standards, digital text, high school english, High School Lesson Plans, interactive lesson, language arts websites, middle school lesson plans, romeo and juliet, shakespeare, technology integration
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Blending Art, Literature, and Problem Solving at the J. Paul Getty Museum
Common Core Standard 7 for Reading presents teachers with many possibilities for mixing all kinds of art forms with literature. Music, photography, painting, sculpture, and many other media are easily brought into the classroom today because of the internet…the important thing is to use these resources heuristically. 7. Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” and Breughel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus). Teaching students to analyze subjects or scenes in comparative forms gives us an opportunity to explore with them the traditions of storytelling—the many and various ways stories can be told and have been told throughout history. Poetry, short stories, plays, and even novels and epic tales have important connections to art and present new, thoughtful ways to analyze and evaluate themes. To start, you … Continue reading
Posted in Classical Literature, Common Core Standards, Lesson Plans, Reading, Writing
Tagged classroom technology, Common Core Standards, high school english, High School Lesson Plans, interactive lesson, Language Arts Lesson Plans, language arts websites, online english, technology integration, Technology lesson plans
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Broaden Students’ Cultural Perspectives with Project Gutenberg
Common Core Standard six of “Reading: Craft and Structure” provides an important opportunity to expose our students to different perspectives from cultures other than their own. This standard also gives us a great reason to explore some of the thousands of free texts that Project Gutenberg has to offer including many collections of short stories which can be downloaded to just about any digital device from an e-reader, a pc or laptop to a smartphone or tablet. 6. Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature. I found some excellent collections of short stories grouped by nationality and by topic. You must scroll to the bottom of the short stories bookshelf page, to see “Other” collections grouped by themes. With Halloween coming right up, I’m working on organizing a few … Continue reading
Posted in American Literature, Classical Literature, Common Core Standards, Lesson Plans, World Literature
Tagged classroom technology, Common Core Standards, digital text, etext, high school, high school english, High School Lesson Plans, language arts, Language Arts Lesson Plans, online lesson plans, technology integration, Technology lesson plans
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Common Core Reading Standard #5—Analyzing Plot
Looking at CCS standard for reading #5, I am encouraged to see critical thinking required of our students. It is important to ensure that skills like problem solving, analyzing, and evaluating are at the core of our reading, writing, and speaking skills curricula. It is also essential that we keep in mind the goal of generating independent, self-directed (and self-reflective), life-long learners. 5. Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise. For standard #5, the key term is “analyze.” In Bloom’s taxonomy, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation are the top tiers we strive to reach. A lesson plan from teacher Patricia Schulze provides some excellent opportunities to use technology for this standard. The technology for the lesson comes from a site you are probably familiar with—Read, Write, … Continue reading
Posted in Common Core Standards, Lesson Plans, Reading, Writing
Tagged classroom technology, Common Core Standards, digital, engage students, english, high school english, High School Lesson Plans, interactive lesson, Language Arts Lesson Plans, technology integration, Technology lesson plans
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