by mindroar | Mar 5, 2021 | blog, English literature, teaching English, teaching literature, teaching Shakespeare, teaching strategies
If you’ve read my previous post about introducing Shakespeare to teens, you’ll know that a Shakespearean insults lesson is the BEST way to engage students in Shakespeare at the beginning of a unit. If not, read on! This post goes into more detail about how...
by mindroar | Feb 20, 2021 | blog, teaching strategies, teaching study skills
Imagine this, you are at home after work. Teacher-brain has descended and you feel like your brain is processing at half-speed. You walk in the door, hang your bag on a hook, unpack your kids’ bags, and turn on the TV hoping to distract said kids while you cook...
by mindroar | Jan 28, 2021 | blog, reasons why you should, teaching, teaching strategies, teaching study skills
“This is boring!” said Billie-Jean to her friend seated next to her. I wasn’t supposed to hear it, but I did. And my heart sank a little. Medieval history was one of my favorite topics to teach in my Year 9 Social Sciences class. All those castles,...
by mindroar | Apr 16, 2020 | blog, teaching strategies, teaching study skills
The first time I heard about visual note-taking (also called sketch notes or doodle notes), I thought letting kids draw in class was crazy! How could students remember information if it was drawn in their books? How would kids remember all the facts, stats, ideas, and...
by mindroar | Mar 27, 2020 | blog, free resources, Freebie Friday, teaching resources, teaching strategies
I’ve never had to do distance learning or teaching. But, for a semester while I earned my Master’s in Writing, Editing, and Publishing, I had the privilege of tutoring an introductory college/university-level English literature class. But, I broke out in a...
by mindroar | Jan 24, 2020 | #teacherlife, classroom management, teaching, teaching strategies
In my fourth year of teaching, I had a lightbulb moment. Positive praise works. I should’ve known: I’d had professional development sessions on it and read about it in teaching manuals. But somehow it didn’t sink in until I had a student approach me...
