English Companion Ning Group

here are the questions that we want to reach in BritLit.........

Word document that explains Dante's fourfold method of interpretation. Via Jim Burke

I'm all for using pop culture references in teaching, and I did read what Shmoop had to say on this particular video, but would you really feel comfortable sharing this video in class and having a discourse on it? I'm a Jay-Z fan and a hip hop lover from its earliest days, but this video and song are reprehensible on so many levels. With so much else that we can "source" for instruction, why this? Please help me understand. And don't say it's a gangsta thang.

To answer your first question about showing the music video: absolutely not. Why this? I'm still struggling with it. We're in an age where we are entertained by self destruction. Kanye (unfortunately, because I was a fan of his earlier work) is definitely becoming one of the monster / Charlie Sheen / Jersey Shore / reality TV burnouts. And yet, there is an audience for it... When I first skimmed the analysis, I thought I'd go back to see if Schmoop was established enough to have a worthy application of Freud to Kanye. Alas, I was mistaken. I haven't become a fan of Schmoop; they've got some work to do. I'm sorry I misplaced my "under investigation" tag in ECN's collection.

good story about Finnish educational system

5 trailers for unique books-- great to inspire reading, or to serve as examples of the clear thinking that goes into creating a great review. My kids were fascinated, great discussion ensued as we plan our PechaKucha book reports

This is an interactive website based on the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books/games. The characters of Harry Potter have been thrown into The Hunger Games (as tributes or mentors) by Lord Voldemort. The player chooses one of the characters and must read each passage, then makes a decision for that character, which could result in becoming the Victor...or "Reenervate" to try again. If you have students who like Harry Potter or The Hunger Games, they will have fun on this website. New characters are unlocked daily & we plan on writing more stories - one with the characters rebelling against Lord Voldemort and breaking out of the arena. It is great practice for reading skills - some characters have longer passages, some shorter. Some have up to 144 different scenarios (that's 144 pages of text). The least amount of reading for a player is 19 pages. So think about your low readers - that may be more than they read in a week by just playing one character. The writers who have/are contributing to this non-profit project include teachers, high school students, college students, professional writers, graphic artists, musicians, librarians, and so many more. We're all fans of both series, of course. :) (For grades 7 and up) I have a free download of lesson ideas for using The Potter Games in your classroom here: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Potter-Games-Using-Interactive-Fiction-to-Improve-Reading

CCSS explanation video of a unit on the Letter

A great introduction activity for Greek or Latin root words. I mean, what kid doesn't like Pokemon?

Get a short story every week in your email inbox, thanks to Library of America.

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Persuasion in political ads for President

analysis of impact of reading, novel especially. validates focus on class SSR, even in 11-12th grade (my groups)

"A simple way to place useful, formative classroom lessons over any Web page. "

David Brooks on how schools are misunderstanding boys. some interesting observations from a non-teacher