Group items tagged

John Seely Brown is a remarkable thinker. His book The Social Life of Information and his article "Growing Up DIgital" are the result of deep and patient thought about society, education, human nature. This is his homepage that brings together in one place his work, his ideas. Highly recommended reading: 'Growing Up Digital."

Blake wrote and sketched in this notebook, which came into his possession after his brother's death in 1787, for 30 years. The closely-filled pages give a fascinating insight into Blake's compositional process, allowing us to follow the genesis of some of his best-known work, including: A Poison Tree, Infant Sorrow, London, The Tyger, The Sick Rose, and The Chimney Sweeper.

The Birthday Party by Katherine Brush     They were a couple in their late thirties, and they looked unmistakably married. They sat on the banquette opposite us in a little narrow restaurant, having dinner. The man had a round, self-satisfied face, with glasses on it; the woman was fadingly pretty, in a big hat. There was nothing conspicuous about them, nothing particularly noticeable, until the end of their meal, when it suddenly became obvious that this was an occasion-in fact, the husband's birthday. And the wife had planned a little surprise for him.     It arrived, in the form of a small but glossy birthday cake, with one pink candle burning in the center. The headwaiter brought it in and placed it before the husband, and meanwhile the violin-and-piano orchestra played "Happy Birthday to You" and the wife beamed with shy pride over her little surprise, and such few people as there were in the restaurant tried to help out with a pattering of applause. It became clear at once that help was needed, because the husband was not pleased. Instead he was hotly embarrassed, and indignant at his wife for embarrassing him.     You looked at him and you saw this and you thought, "Oh, now don't be like that!" But he was like that, and as soon as the little cake had been deposited on the table, and the orchestra had finished the birthday piece, and the general attention had shifted from the man and the woman, I saw him say something to her under his breath-some punishing thing, quick and curt and unkind. I couldn't bear to look at the woman then, so I stared at my plate and waited for quite a long time. Not long enough, though. She was still crying when I finally glanced over there again. Crying quietly and heartbrokenly and hopelessly, all to herself, under the gay big brim of her best hat.  

Gary Snyder shares his poem about his Mac

This blog post would be fun to turn into a writing assignment: Have minor characters in a novel your students are studying discuss the other minor characters in the manner of Mr. Palmer.

Hi impact, curated magazine of articles and professional resources for those interested in e-learning and online teaching. Published by Dennis O'Connor, Program Advisor for the University of Wisconsin Stout E-Learning and Online Teaching Graduate Certificate Program.

Discussion of Percy's edits of his wife's book

A great article by the late Frank McCourt about teaching creative writing and learning alongside his students.

This exhibition traces the different occupations and preparations that led Whitman to become the author of Leaves of Grass, as well as his subsequent evolution as a poet. Over almost forty years Whitman produced multiple editions of Leaves of Grass.

Example of a student using Google Sites to do his sophomore research paper. Note the traditional aspects and new aspects of research.

The Isis Lecture Pullman gave which focuses on his thoughts about education and literature. A remarkable speech.

Social network for English teachers: "Where English teachers meet to help each other." Created and maintained by Jim Burke. See also www.englishcompanion.com, his other website for his own work.

his is vocabulary material for 131 novels or short stories. Vocabulary words listed for each literary selection appear in the selection and are on The Shakespeare List . Tests and exercises are included for each selection. Anytime a teacher has students r

Website created by author James Patterson who found that his own son did not like reading. Dedicated to books boys will like.

By Betty Sue Flowers. A friend uses this in his law school writing class. Kids in my AP class have found it very helpful.

"Studio 360 explores F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and finds out how this compact novel became the great American story of our age. Novelist Jonathan Franzen tells Kurt Andersen why he still reads it every year or two, and writer Patricia Hampl explains why its lightness is deceptive. We'll drive around the tony Long Island suburbs where Gatsby was set, and we'll hear from Andrew Lauren about his film G, which sets Gatsby among the hip-hop moguls. And Azar Nafisi describes the power of teaching the book to university students in Tehran. Readings come courtesy of Scott Shepherd, an actor who sometimes performs the entire book from memory."