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The image projected on the screen in the front of the classroom is Magritte's painting of a pipe, including the words, "Ceci n'est pas une pipe." (1) I ask the students to each briefly make a guess why they think Magritte wrote that, since the painting is obviously a pipe. Some volunteers share their guesses with the class. One student nails it. "It's not a pipe; it's a drawing of a pipe!"

It's actually pretty hard for me to write this type of a post. I don't do well with being informational and I'm nervous letting you into my world when it comes to how I actually teach. Perhaps I'm afraid of being judged. Perhaps I will look too traditional or, at the opposite end, too far away from the research-based "best practices." I made a ton of mistakes last year. However, one thing that seemed to work was an increase in motivation to read. I'm not entirely sure why this was the case, but I think it had to do with autonomy, choice, getting help with skills, critical thinking and high-interest texts