My Dog Ate My Lesson Plans

Why We Ask Our Students to Write

2011-10-01T08:08:00.001-06:00

Thinking about how students often do not see writing as a way to learn, but how they think of it as a way to be assessed. Writing involves so much of our brain! We need to ask our students to wrote more short responses to what they read.
Read this synopsis of a national report for ideas:
http://www.centeroninstruction.org/files/Synopsis%20Writing%20to%20Read.pdf

Fun Object Lesson

2011-08-24T16:02:00.003-06:00

Today was the first day for homework responsibility. I had a few students who failed to do it. They had great excuses. So I picked up a desk and lifted it over my head and asked them to think of the desk as homework, then asked the students how long they thought I could carry it. After an hour I'd probably collapse. If I could carry it until 10:00 p.m. I'd probably have to be taken away in an ambulance. The longer I carried the desk or put off the homework, the greater the burden. So, better to get home, do the homework early and put the desk on the ground where it belongs.

I Just Have to Say...

2011-08-24T15:58:00.003-06:00

How much I love teaching! Day 2 and my kids are brilliant.
I love the Socratic method-if you don't know what it is, I challenge you to find out. The students make their own discoveries which can be the most powerful way to learn.

How are you all doing after your first few days of school (for some)?

Another Web Resource

2011-03-21T18:57:00.005-06:00

If you like to peruse education websites, I found an interesting one today--Star Wars famous, George Lucas, appears to have a passion for education. I only read one article but found that it rang true: What's the Secret to Effective Classroom Management?
By Maurice Elias.

Basically, trust between student and teacher is what creates the most effectively managed classroom.

Where I am From poetry activity

2011-02-11T21:53:00.000-07:00

One of my student teachers, Kristen, did a fabulous job using this poem by George Ella Lyon as an introduction to House on Mango Street.

Yet Another Discovery

2011-02-07T14:53:00.002-07:00

I previously wrote about poetry or essay cafe because I was pleasantly surprised at how much harder students worked on their writing pieces when they knew they would be reading to the class. This past Friday, I discovered another reason to have essay read-alouds. It is an amazing tool for teaching editing.

I had several students that stumbled over sentences, words or phrases or even did a stand-up-editing-comedy-routine.
I usually edit their work and students must return their polished copy for a final grade. This time, I gave papers back with instructions to edit their own work--they already knew where changes had to be made from reading out loud.

The Library of Imagination

2011-01-25T14:03:00.002-07:00

I wanted to pass on one of my favorite journal prompts.

http://www.walkerdigital.com/video/ The musical accompaniment is splendid.

Questions I ask for the prompt:
How much do you love to learn? Value learning? How important was creativity in the creation of this library and the success that provided the means to build this library? What original manuscripts would you want in your library? What artifacts?

Jay Walker can also be found at ted.com with a personal explanation of his Library of Imagination.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jay_walker_s_library_of_human_imagination.html

Teaching Literature and Reading Wiki

2011-01-23T11:13:00.000-07:00

If any of you are interested in materials on literature circles and reading topics covered in Eng 378, feel free to join the wiki for access to materials after you finish at BYU. :) I am adding a lot of fabulous teacher handouts to the site. Also, I am working on getting Novelinks onto a wiki or blog that is accessible off campus as well.

Technology is more than Wordle

2010-12-31T12:46:00.002-07:00

A really thoughtful site to follow!

Best Thing I've Ever Done

2010-10-22T14:10:00.002-06:00

Just a quick note on teacher blogs: best thing I've ever done. I have two. The first blog communicates assignments due, afterthoughts, a re-cap of the day etc. If a student is absent and asked what he/she missed, I can say, "Check the class blog." This blog also serves as my journal and helps me to self-reflect and see what is needed.
It isn't all business either; students see that I write and reflect too-I do what I ask them to do.
The second blog is for posting student writing. Each student is required to make 5 comments on other writers' work. When I visit the writing blog and see the comments that students are making about each others' writing, I see that something positive is happening. Students have an audience.

Evaluating Blogs?

2010-10-03T21:02:00.002-06:00

My colleague, Gideon, talks about how blogs should be evaluated. How does your blog measure up? :)

The Digital Writer: Criteria for Evaluating Research Blogs

thedigitalwriter.blogspot.com

Looking for a wonderful poetry explication group activity?

2010-08-28T18:52:00.000-06:00

I found this on English Companion Ning and plan to use it. Let me know if anyone else tries it out.

Are You Done?

2010-05-28T07:31:00.003-06:00

For about five years now, I have had to wear reading glasses. It's gotten progressively worse and during my last eye appt., I decided to try contact lenses. Last night was horrendous trying to get the invisible, clear disk out of my eye and I finally had to have my daughter operate. I resolved to never wear contacts again, but this morning with my memory of clear-up-close vision, not having to pull out my glasses to read everything, that simple pleasure will drive me to try contacts again.

Here is the most amusing part and the place where I will try to drive the topic of this post: When I went to school yesterday, (the first time in my up-close contacts) I noticed that my adorable, little ninth graders had acne and facial hair.

I'm glad I spent the year seeing them through my softened lenses. Acne and pubescent hair begging for a razor is not.....................that pleasant.

So the point is, we must look at our students through clear eyes-- we must see their potential, their weaknesses, their need for discipline, love, and appropriate challenges, but is it such a bad thing to see them a little better, sweeter, cuter, than they really are? Isn't that how we want to be seen?

I hope you had a great year and I hope you will post your reflective experiences, both good and bad on this blog so we can all learn from each others' triumphs and mistakes. Please?

Technology Find

2010-03-25T10:39:00.002-06:00

A colleague at my school recently introduced our department to a great website called Edmodo. It's very Facebook-esque, but designed for school use. The basics:

1.You create a class group, which your students then join. This is great because they can't really wander to any other pages because you can only see groups you are invited to join (which a teacher is administrator over).

2. You can post assignments, links, polls, etc. to the group page. The students can turn things in via the website (and it notifies you ever so conveniently), or you can have conversations through the note feature.

I've used it with my 10th and 12th grade classes and they have loved it! Other teachers who have used it have also had a lot of success. One immediate perk is that they enjoy the familar layout- the assignment stays the same, but it seems so much cooler now. Also, the turn-in rate went up a lot for assignments that could be handed in via the website.

I'm by no means an expert on the site, but it's been a lot of fun and very helpful. We also created a department page which is a nice place to share ideas or just talk :)

An Accidental, Wonderful Discovery

2010-03-24T19:42:00.003-06:00

An elementary teacher/friend told me that she held poetry cafe on Fridays. She read poetry, students read poetry... I decided to incorporate poetry cafe on Fridays and let students bring food. They loved it. Then after two weeks of working on a "This I Believe" essay, I implemented essay cafe. I really had no idea how it was going to pan out. Then the magical consequences took effect. The students worked really hard on their essays because they had an audience that they cared about. Each other. They were attentive, respectful and listened because I expected them to make comments about their peers' work.

We finished up a poetry writing unit today and I have to admit, I was surprised at how they worked on their poems, but then I remembered--poetry cafe on Friday! They will be reading their own poems to each other. Once again, they have an audience that matters. Because they are only allowed to make positive comments, they know the writing environment will be positive, supportive and encouraging. Exactly what a ninth grader needs.

I've been pondering this. We have set up this teacher/audience environment. For several years they've been writing for us and only us. Give them a real audience and the passion to write well is born.

At the beginning of the year, writing assignments were met with phrases you recognize all to well: "Mrs. Martinez, how long does this have to be? Do I have to do this?" I cannot remember one of these questions damaging my ears in the last few months.

Writing With the Class

2010-02-20T12:40:00.003-07:00

When I assign a writing piece, I do the assignment too and show the class my drafts. It has created a whole new enthusiasm for writing. Students see my passion, they see that I can write bad stuff too, they see the need for several edits. It makes me vulnerable and more compassionate to the students.

For my next class, I will show my final draft of a personal narrative along with a color coded example of everything I wrote-red for all the cuts I made, green for additions to text, blue for the same text re-written or re-worked,yellow for student suggestions I took note of and implemented.

If anyone would like the color coded example just send me an email: pat.martinez@maeserprep.org

Object Lesson for Teaching Editing

2010-02-20T09:43:00.001-07:00

I am currently focusing on writing in a writing workshop. Writer Tia Nevitt suggests a great way to understand the importance of cutting unnecessary words/paragraphs etc. from our work.
Bring in a favorite DVD that students love and know well. Go to the menu and show the deleted scenes option. Look for director commentary that illustrates the importance of cutting. Remind the students that they don't have to spend six figures in writing and cutting-allow students to interpret the clip toward their writing.

Grammar question

2010-02-05T21:41:00.002-07:00

I can't even figure out how to look this one up, so of course I turn to your fabulous brains for help.

My husband just wrote the following sentence in a formal email:

"I've attached my resume in case either you or he needs a copy for reference."

Should that word in Italics be "needs" or "need?" (And did I put that question mark in the right place?) In other words, does a verb after nouns/pronouns joined by "or" agree with the first or second noun(/pronoun)?

I wait with baited breath on your brilliant responses. :) Thanks all, and hope you're having a great semester!

English Companion Ning

2010-01-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

Love this site! Lots of great discussions and areas created by Jim Burke.

Young, High-Level Readers

2010-01-27T08:06:00.003-07:00

Hey, all. I'm teaching 6th & 7th grade English at a charter school out near Tooele this year, & I've got a question for all of you: What books (/authors, /series, etc.) would you recommend to very young (mostly age 11), very high-level (12th grade +) readers? I've got about a dozen kids that fall into this category, and I'm having a very difficult time recommending texts that will challenge them reading-level wise (or at least not bore them) without having content that's inappropriate for kids that young. Every time I think I've got a good pick, I skim the book again and find that there's too much swearing, adult topics, intense violence, sexual innuendos, etc. It doesn't help that many of the parents of my kids are really sensitive to anything you could remotely call "inappropriate." My only fallback recommendation right now is Shakespeare, since I assume that the adult content will go way over the kids' heads and their parents won't remember it's there. :P Any ideas?

A Fun Writing Exercise

2010-01-06T13:06:00.001-07:00

I was gifted the most unusual Christmas book ever: Red Ranger Came Calling by Berkely Breathed. It would absolutely ruin the book to tell you why it's so unique-finding out for yourself is definitely a part of the reading experience.

What I will say is that at the end of the book, the author uses a local landmark at the end of the book to explain the mystery of a Christmas gift.

I plan on using this picture book in class as a springboard writing assignment. Students will choose a natural or man-made landmark in their city or state and write a legend, story, urban legend about it, in the same way that the legend of Timpanogos was created to explain/enhance the sleeping princess shape of this mountain.

If you are familiar with the book or use it in your classroom, make sure you comment on this post so we can expand the book's use.

Aphorisms As a Writing Genre or Clever Students Like Tickle, Make Teacher Laugh

2009-11-25T09:18:00.003-07:00

We are currently studying ancient Chinese history and the literature companion is the Analects of Confucius. In pondering how to teach the Analects, I remembered the old Charlie Chan movie series. CC uses many aphorisms or maxims, some of which are Confucius quotes. I showed the film Charlie Chan in Paris. Students had a worksheet with his aphorisms used in that movie and were required to listen for and check off the sayings and then create their own aphorisms. I didn't expect such great aphorisms from the students, but they were funny, sometimes profound and allowed students to explore another writing genre. And they loved Charlie Chan. I found a great website that has all the aphorisms listed from each movie. It also included ratings on each movie. I checked the movie out from the library. The website is:
The aphorisms were supposed to be original, so if you recognize one...oops! Still working on plagiarism. Here are a few:
"A turtle on ice can go fast." HH
"Time like brain-always ticking." TR
"Without balance man will fall." KR
"Entertainment is a want, not a need." EB
"Eventually you have to take your high heels off..." I read two of these, so I'm not sure if this is original.
"Using unclear words is like getting lost in a straight hallway." JN
"What is drama without girl/boy?" SV
"Nobody can force you to do anything except your mom." TH
"The wish is not always the star." IV
"There is no roof until there are walls." JW
"Cat have nine lives, dog one." JS
"Good ramen make happy tummy." MW
"Thoughts often grow like ivy." ML
"49 is the new 20."
"Right hands live longer than left hands." VH
"A man may only wear a speedo if he makes it look good." NB
"Lie is like tear. At first too small to see. Then it becomes visible as more lies form." DW
"A good question has many answers." JI
"Before you can touch the sky, you must gather many ladders."CB
"Even the biggest fires go out eventually." DG
"To kill two birds with one stone requires time and practice." CL

I Was Encouraged Today To Make A Post

2009-10-13T20:02:00.002-06:00

I was excited to see activity on this website today, so I'm going to share a successful classroom project.
We just finished Lord of the Flies. After the first chapter, I brought trash into class, literally- boxes, string, paper grocery sacks, shredded material,phone book, (I went through the school dumpster)and told the students that they would be writing a journal in a character-from-the-book POV. They would have to create a journal from stuff that washed up on shore. I also provided paper from a roll of newsprint that they had to tear. I didn't allow scissors or tape.
They tore into the project with such exuberance and created some amazing journals from trash!
I also believe that it helped them focus on the reading. I required one entry per chapter. Each entry was worth 4 points with an extra 2 points for a well crafted journal for a total of 50 points.
The only downside was that I had to bring in the industrial vacuum after class!
Also, we read this novel as a study of the breakdown of civilization. In hindsight I don't think this was the most uplifting piece of literature to start the year. I pleaded with the powers that be to order Paul Fleishman's Seedfolks so we could follow-up with a positive story about the building of a society. We'll start that next week.

Advice, anyone?

2009-10-07T19:56:00.002-06:00

Does anyone know of a good film I could show ninth graders to help them understand/connect with the theme "loss of innocence?"

I just received an offer to teach ninth grade English part-time with the district I've been substituting in. This will last until the end of January, at least, but I hope it might extend throughout the school year. I'm filling in for a teacher who just began a unit in which she planned to show a film that would help the students connect with the loss of innocence theme. Because the movie is rated R, she usually sends out a letter, gets parents' permission, and shows it. I want to find a clean, equally effective film to show, instead. Any ideas????

Students will be studying short stories, poems, song lyrics, The Tiger Rising, Romeo and Juliet, and To Kill a Mockingbird throughout the unit. What do you think, my friends?

Where Are You Teaching?

2009-06-23T15:13:00.004-06:00

I just wanted to start a thread to see where everyone is teaching in the fall. I will be teaching 3 periods of 8th grade at Diamond Fork Jr. High (it's a part-time position). I'm so excited to at least get my foot in the door at an excellent school! Where are you going to be? And if you're not teaching, what will you be up to?

What Would Be...

2009-06-19T22:15:00.000-06:00

What would be your dream novel to teach to ninth graders? I can choose and I want to choose well.

Summer Reading?

2009-06-07T00:19:00.002-06:00

Between finishing up my course work and starting at Evanston High, I'm going to be giving myself a refresher course and starting on my unit plans. I'll be reviewing my texts and notes from all the English Ed courses and catching up on my EJ reading.

Any specific chapters/articles that you found particularly helpful? Suggestions on texts that we didn't use in our classes?

Thanks!

The 125,000 Teacher

2009-06-06T20:23:00.001-06:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/education/05charter.html?_r=1&em

Graduation! Let's sit together!

2009-04-19T00:37:00.002-06:00

Today at the little shindig at the park (if you missed it, you missed out on some amazing chicken, cookies, pasta, brownies, fruit, etc. etc. etc., crazy student teaching stories, and some hard core slacklining!), a handful of us decided it would be fun to sit together at commencement (the all-of-BYU graduation meeting on Thursday). According to the powers that be, everyone lines up for commencement in front of the ASB an hour before it starts (3:00 pm), sorted by college, so we can all march in together at 3:45.

We thought it would be fun to sit together, so if you're coming to commencement and you want to sit with a bunch of English Ed folks, we're meeting at the fountain in front of the ASB at about 2:50 pm on Thursday. Spouses who are also graduating are, of course, welcome. If you get lost or we're not there, text or call me to find us (801-391-0626). Spread the word to the folks in your phone's contacts.

Hooray for graduating!

Cathryn M.

Your Best Friend Should Be...

2009-04-15T12:16:00.004-06:00

One of your best friends should be the YA librarian or the book seller at your favorite bookstore. If you are an English teacher, you love books and you love the impact that good literature has on your students. You have probably experienced the joy of watching a resistant reader become a book lover just because you placed the perfect book in his/her hands. I saw this happen thrice in my student teaching.

Your best friend/librarian/bookseller can keep you posted of the lastest and greatest and this week I was blessed with an unexpected perk.

For years, I have been frequenting the same, small, non-chain bookstore. I have gotten to know the woman in charge of the children's book section and I have purchased several of her recommendations. When I told her that I was a school teacher to be, she took me to a behind-the-shelves place and gave me several reading discussion pamphlets for various books. I was so appreciative that she placed in my hands, two ARC's--Advanced reader's copies-books before publication. To me, these are coveted gifts bestowed upon people like Chris Crowe (in his office one day, I couldn't help but notice a brand new box of fresh and free books).

The Hiring Process and Interview Tips

2009-04-14T13:00:00.007-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, the principal at the junior high where I student taught (Woah! Past tense!) sat all of us student teachers down and gave us tips for getting a job. One of the documents he gave us was these sample questions. (Click for a larger image.)

He said that although these are not identical to questions you'll be asked at other schools and districts, they should be pretty representative.

By the way, if you're not already familiar with the interview process, it usually seems to go one of three ways:

1) If you're in-state and applying to a big district (in Utah, these are districts like Canyons, Jordan, Alpine, Davis, Weber, Salt Lake, Granite, Nebo, and Provo), the district will probably make you do a screener interview as part of your application. These interviews are usually conducted by district personnel, especially Human Resources personnel (read: business majors, not teachers). They may take place at the district office, or the districts will periodically send representatives to the BYU campus and you can sign up to interview with them in the Wilk.

The purpose of the screener interview is to narrow the field of candidates applying for individual jobs. The interviewer will give you an overview of the district's hiring process, take down your contact information, and then ask you a series of general questions about teaching. He will give you a score based on your responses. What these interviewers are really looking for are keywords--buzzwords, really--the kinds of things we hear over and over in the education classes through the McKay building (things like transactional vs. transmissional learning, methods for teaching multicultural students, effective uses of technology, strategies to promote student engagement, discipline and behavior hierarchies, etc.). Don't let this make you nervous! You know this stuff--you just have to remember it. Go over your class notes before the interview and memorize fifteen or twenty of these important ideas (and make sure you can explain them and give examples of when you'd use them!). Some districts--like Canyons in Salt Lake--have this down to such a science that they'll actually check off these topics and keywords as you mention them in response to their questions. The more they check off, the higher your score.

After the interview, the district attaches your score to your application file. Once all your application materials are in, they'll pass on complete files with "high enough" scores (no, I don't know what that means) to principles who are hiring. From there, it becomes your responsibility to check with Teachers-Teachers and individual districts to see when positions open up. You'll either apply for the position through the district or contact the principal directly, depending on the way each district runs (you'll have to investigate each district individually, especially since they tend to change their hiring process from year to year).

According to Oak Canyon's principal, the one that gave us the sample interview sheet above, each position will have between 5 and 60 applicants vying for one job--and English and Social Studies always have the most applicants. If you are one of the handful (usually between 3 and 8) selected to interview for the job, the principal will contact you for a face-to-face interview at the school. This is why it's so important to have a strong resume: Your resume and references are what the principals go off of to decide if they want to have you come in for an interview. That's why your resume is called your "paper interview"--it's what determines if you get called for a "real" interview or not.

Questions at this "real" interview will often be similar to those at the screener interview, but here the principal is more interested in hearing specific, concrete examples of those key ideas in action than about hearing the keywords themselves. Go to the interview prepared with specific stories of moments of good teaching that you had during your student teaching.

2) If you're applying (in-state) with a small district (like Murray) or a charter school, there is often no screener interview--you skip that step and go straight to applying for individual positions.

3) If you're applying out-of-state, the process is slightly different and may involve phone interviews. Check with each individual district and school (call the district's HR department) to find out how their hiring process works and what you need to do to get a job. Ask the HR folks whatever questions you need to--and don't feel like a pest. It's their job to find good people (like you!) to work for them.

Here are some other pointers about interviewing and getting hired that Oak Canyon's principal offered:

As you begin applying for jobs, follow up on your placement file. Call BYU to make sure that all of your necessary documents are in, and call each district individually to make sure they have everything they need from you. If your application/placement file is incomplete, the principal will probably throw it out.
Proofread really, really carefully on all written materials. This should be a no-brainer, but he says you'd be surprised at how many English majors submit resumes with spelling and capitalization errors.
On your resume, make sure that you have extracurriculars listed that you'd be willing to teach, coach, sponsor, or help out with. Teachers-Teachers has a HUGE list of these; snag the ones you'd be willing to do and put that on your resume. Principals want someone who can be a member of a staff team at the school, not just someone who teaches a core subject. Extracurriculars are one way to really stand out--especially coaching.
Once you've applied for a position with a specific school, one of the most important things you can do to get hired is to personally bring your resume and copies of your letters of recommendation to the school. Try to meet the principal or an assistant principal--shake hands, say which job you're interested in, and personally give them your resume and letters. Don't call or email ahead of time; this isn't a formal interview. Don't bring portfolio things like work samples; save those for an interview. Just be present and smiling so that the principal has a face to put with your resume. If all of the administrators are out of the office and will be for a while, you can hand it to a secretary and ask (him or) her to give it to the principal.
Go into the interview thinking, "I'm it. I'm the one they want for this job. I'm the best candidate applying," and have examples of times you were a wonderful teacher in mind to back it up. Confidence sells. Yes, you are just a beginner, but you have the skills and knowledge you need to be a great beginner. Sell yourself!
Ask real questions at the interview. Before you go, check the school's website to get information about specific programs or activities the school has, and find a way to mention you'd like to participate in the future (or at least show that you are aware of this school, specifically). Remember, you're not applying for a job, you're applying for this job. Personalize as much as you can. Ask about extracurriculars--"How can I help?" Ask the principal, "What do you think a good teacher is like?" Ask, "How soon can I contact you about your hiring decision?" And yes, at this point, it is perfectly okay to ask about salary and benefits. Remember, you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. You want to make sure that this job would be a good fit for you.
Don't worry about showing content knowledge. Principals will assume that if you have a degree in your subject matter, you know it. They're a lot more interested in your pedagogical knowledge:

Can you discipline?
Have you shown growth and improvement over the course of your student teaching?
How do you show that you respect students? That you have high expectations for their learning?
How do you respond when kids need extra credit, extra time, or extra help?

How will you keep improving as a teacher?
Do you have a passion for working with kids?
Can you plan well?
Do you have general teaching knowledge--the kinds of things that you're supposed to know to get a teaching license?

Mention general teaching strategies--things like Bloom's, ways to engage higher-level thinking, chunking, moving from more structured to less structured over the course of a lesson, etc.

Do you reflect on your own learning as a teacher?
Do you have kindness, compassion, and patience?
Do you have a fun personality? Are you the kind of person that teenagers want to listen to?

As always, use concrete, specific examples to back up all your claims and all of your answers to questions or statements like that. Tell about the time that Josh was completely unruly but you managed to get him back on track and participating fully in the group project. Tell about the time that you gave a test orally to Jamie because she has a learning disability. Tell about the time that you worked with Andrea's parents at parent-teacher conferences to set up a homework plan at home. Etc. etc. etc.
It's perfectly okay to pause and think about your answers to the interviewer's questions--this shows that you are reflective and considerate of what other people are saying.
Be involved. Make eye contact. Use reflective body language: mimic the interviewer's posture. More than anything, be honest and be real.
After the interview, call back as soon as the administrator says you can--just don't hassle them. If you get a job offer, act on it as quickly as you feel you can. Don't feel pressured into taking a job that you don't feel would be best, but remember that if you make a principal wait for more than a week, odds are very good that he won't keep his job offer open.

That's what I've got, as far as interview tips and the hiring process are concerned. Please feel free to add information that you know of! Edit the post, write a comment, or create a new post with your own tips and ideas.

--Cathryn M.

Party time!

2009-04-07T10:50:00.004-06:00

Hey folks! Gianna and Megan and a bunch of us have been talking about having kind of a mini-graduation party/closing social/holy-cow-we-made-it extravaganza next weekend, and YOU are invited! Here are the (tentative) details:

WHO: You, significant other, offspring, etc.
WHAT: Food, messing around outside, meeting significant others/offspring, saying goodbye
WHERE: Kiwanis park (type in "kiwanis park provo ut" to maps.google.com for location/directions--it's the park southeast of campus, kind of below the tree streets)
WHEN: Saturday, April 18 from 4:00 to 6:00 PM
HOW: Potluck!

Yep, it's potluck, but we wouldn't be a bunch of teachers if there wasn't a writing assignment to go with it. :) Ergo, please go to this document (it's a Google Docs page) and sign up for what you want to bring (you should've received an email inviting you as a collaborator so that you can type into it. If not, email me: cathryn dot matheson at gmail dot com).

We'll have Frisbee, slack lining (thanks, Carolyn), and any other outdoorsy things you want to bring to play. ALSO, bring your favorite student teaching horror story, student excuse for not turning in homework, crazy student assignment, etc. to share and laugh over.

See you there! Happy graduation!

Job Offer: Pleasant Grove

2009-04-02T18:47:00.003-06:00

For various reasons (including the length of the commute from Salt Lake), I'm not taking a job offer from a charter school in Pleasant Grove for this fall. However, the principal asked me to send along names of interested parties I'd recommend. If you'll be in Utah Valley or the vicinity this fall and you're looking for a full-time gig, check the school out here: www.lincoln-academy.org. If you like what you see, email me (send me your resume?) and I'll pass along your info.

--Cathryn M.
cathryn dot matheson at gmail dot com*

*If you're curious about this funky way of writing out emails, it's because I've been told that posting your email address in regular email format on web pages makes it easier for spam crawler bots to find it and send you junk mail/steal your identity/etc. etc. I don't know how true that is, but better safe than sorry, eh?

Hello Post

2009-04-02T18:22:00.004-06:00

Thanks for dropping by! Drop a line in the comments to this post to let us know you're here. To comment, click the blue words at the end of the post that say "(#) comments."

Info about becoming a contributor to the blog (yes, this means you!):
Getting added as an author: http://byuenglished.blogspot.com/2009/04/post-first.html
Posting guidelines: http://byuenglished.blogspot.com/2009/04/posting-guidelines.html

...or these are posted below.

Posting Guidelines

2009-04-02T17:21:00.000-06:00

In order to make this a more search-friendly place, here are some guidelines.

For consistency, if you're posting a lesson plan or lesson idea (even if it's only in embryo form--that's okay!), use "Lesson Plan: ___(Lesson Title)___" as the title of your post. Use great keywords in your title to make it sortable, too--consider including categories in your title, like so: "Lesson Plan: Snapshot Essay (Writing)" or "Lesson Plan: Punctuating Dialogue via The Princess Bride (Grammar)."
Don't forget to use the nifty "labels" feature built into Blogger! When you create a new post, you will see a skinny white text box at the bottom of the main section where you type. In that box, type in keywords about your post (like "lesson plan," "website," "hiring tips," etc.). Use any keywords that make sense to you. If you want to use the same keywords already used on this blog, click the blue words that say "Show all" next to the tiny text box.
Unless you feel a strong urge to post anonymously, sign your posts so we know who you are. :-) It's fun to stay in touch!
Don't forget that you can always edit your post later. (Just sign in to your Blogger/Google account, go to blogger.com, look for "My Dog Ate My Lesson Plans," and click "Edit Posts" in blue. (With that said, please don't edit someone else's post without permission.)

Thanks all!
Cathryn M.

Post the First

2009-04-02T17:12:00.000-06:00

Welcome to a work in progress! Hopefully, this blog will (soon!) become a place where the English Ed majors at BYU can come to dump lesson plans for sharing, post tips for getting a job, or generally write whatever seems to be salient and helpful at the moment.

Join the bandwagon! To collaborate and share on this blog:

Sign up for a Blogger account at www.blogger.com. If you already have a Google account, such as a Gmail email address, you are already a Blogger account holder (Google owns Blogger).
Email cathryn.matheson at gmail dot com and I'll add you to the party! In the subject line, mention "add to English blog," and make sure you include your Google/Blogger username somewhere in the message (it's the part of your Gmail address that comes before the @).
Once you get the confirmation email, start posting! You can get started by copying and pasting your favorite lesson plans with "Lesson Plan: __(lesson title)__" as the post title. Come on, you know we all want them! Or share great websites you've found, news in the English Ed community, tips about jobs and hiring, or anything else on your mind.

Everyone is welcome. Send links to any and all who may be interested. Don't forget to send me links to your own blogs to put on the side here! ---->

Yours,
Cathryn