A role seldom mentioned that Matthew Perry championed is his portrayal of Teacher of the Year, Ron Clark, who taught an at-risk class in the Bronx. The Ron Clark Story is an underdog-to-victor story, the hero’s journey in dire circumstances where kids are used to adults in their lives quitting on them. Clark believes in…
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Perfect Pairing: “The Split Cherry Tree” by Jesse Stuart and To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Teachers who are looking for a short story to pair with To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, may find that Jesse Stuart’s short story, “The Split Cherry Tree” works well. In the short story, the protagonist must stay late at school as punishment, which causes his hard-working father to make a visit to the…
Art in the Classroom: Andrew Wyeth
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Art in the English Classroom, Teacher Inspiration, Teacher ResourcesLeave a Reply
Teachers, looking for a filler/one-day lesson? Try using a work of art to inspire creativity. Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World is a perfect choice. Viewers cannot help but be drawn into the painting. Who is she? Is she running away, or running toward the house? What do we learn about her from the details in the…
Sensational Sentences: The Lake House by Kate Morton
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Sensational Sentences, Teacher Resources, Teacher Tuesday, WritingLeave a Reply
If you are a reader or a writer or both, I’m sure you have come across sentences that make you pause and re-read them, not because they are confusing, but because they are so beautifully crafted you couldn’t take it all in the first time. I have a journal in which I copy sentences from…
Teacher Resources: Public Speaking
If you assign public speaking, oral presentations, debate, or any type of speaking in your classroom, I can bet that you are met with opposition from some shy students. Even our best writers, readers, and thinkers can be intimidated by a presentation assignment. The pressure not to mess up can be paralyzing for students. Why…
A Gem of a Poem: “Dreams” by Langston Hughes
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in A Gem of A Poem, Teacher Inspiration, Teacher TuesdayLeave a Reply
Dreams by Langston Hughes Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow. Teachers, are you looking for something inspirational, short, and accessible for the end of the school year? I hear…
A Gem of a Poem: maggie and milly and molly and may by e. e. cummings
A poem to add to any teacher’s toolbox: maggie and milly and molly and may by e. e. cummings. Today’s choice is inspired by my daughter, Mia, whose closest friends’ names all begin with “M” (plus one friend whose name begins with “A”). When she speaks about her friends, ee cummings’ poem comes to mind…
A Gem of a Poem: Morning Song by Cat Stevens
This time of year, most of us are looking for signs of spring – light green buds on the willow tree, yellow blooms of daffodils and forsythia. For those of us who live in climates where the beauty of winter becomes gray and dreary by March, April brings the promise of warmer temperatures and vibrant…
Using Art in the English classroom
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Art in the English Classroom, Teacher InspirationLeave a Reply
Are you stuck for a different writing prompt for your students? I love to visit art museums, and on a recent weekend trip to Boston, I visited the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. I find that I am drawn paintings with light used in surprising or unusual ways. In the painting above, similar to one…
A Gem of a Poem: Mother to Son
“Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes I often see requests from teachers for short poems that demonstrate various poetic techniques. Whether for a quick bell ringer lesson, an intro to a longer unit, or a variation on a theme in a longer work, short poems are excellent tools for teachers to have in their toolboxes.…
