Group items tagged

"Morone, with the backing of the high school district's administration, has developed an "open classroom" curriculum for all of the sophomore honors English students where students are given independence to demonstrate they have mastered the same standards the school has been using for years. "We are using the same core texts, the same curriculum designed by the school and approved by the board of education - but the way we are approaching the curriculum is very different," Morone said. "The first word that has to be put out there about it is that it is non-linear." Dr. Barry Bachenheimer, the regional director of curriculum in the district, said Morone's class is part of a "larger idea" of allowing flexibility to foster learning in the Pascack Valley High School District - which includes the "Pascack Period," a weekly 88-minute period where students can study, work out or sign up for non-traditional classes taught by teachers and even students. "

A simple idea for incorporating non-fiction - it is all around us.

reading non-fiction as inquiry - plug in author for scientists in the chart to add an inquiry angle to the text.

A list of 20+ non-fiction writers under 40. There is a bio for each with a brief discussion of his or her work.

Tips for teaching and studying non-fiction. Genre study

Short non-fiction pieces

"In an education landscape that dramatically deemphasizes creative expression in favor of expository writing and prioritizes the analysis of non-literary texts, high school literature teachers have to negotiate between their preferences and the way the wind is blowing. That sometimes means sacrifice, and poetry is often the first head to roll. Yet poetry enables teachers to teach their students how to write, read, and understand any text. Poetry can give students a healthy outlet for surging emotions. Reading original poetry aloud in class can foster trust and empathy in the classroom community, while also emphasizing speaking and listening skills that are often neglected in high school literature classes."

"Through independent reading children gain a wealth of background knowledge about many different things, come to understand story and non-fiction structures, absorb the essentials of English grammar, and continuously expand their vocabularies. "

Without question, Tom Robinson would be better off today. In fact, Tom Robinson could live a life completely unimaginable and unrecognizable to the characters in Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" - the groundbreaking book, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this week.  No lynchings.  No all white male juries.  No presumption of guilt based on skin color.  No state-sanctioned discrimination. Yet, Tom would realize a sad, but undeniable truth -- that racism is still alive and all too well in contemporary America.  He would know it in the economic injustice that has left a disproportionate number of African-Americans -- 25 percent -- living in poverty.   He would see it in the criminal injustice that has left a disproportionate number of African-American men - 6 times the number of white, non-Hispanic men -- living in jails and prisons.  And he would feel it in the hate-filled, racist rhetoric that still defines too much of our political discourse - rhetoric that questions the Civil Rights Act, rhetoric that questions the birthplace of our President.

"A recently published game called "Gone Home" is testing the traditional progression of learning by flattening the story. Players have questioned whether it qualifies as a game since it doesn't include traditional points, prizes and leveling up (the game is self-titled as "a story exploration video game"). Critics have praised "Gone Home" as a new way of storytelling, and it's beginning to make its way into the classroom, as a viable substitute for traditional text. The game is non-linear and players have a great deal of agency for filling in the gaps to arrive at their conclusions.*"

"so much depends upon a red cup filled with coffee or holiday latte fixins.  But does it really? Rutherford's William Carlos Williams started his famous 1923 poem "The Red Wheelbarrow" in a similar fashion, yet a recent controversy swirling around one particular red cup is either a non-issue unworthy of verse or a revealing commentary on modern culture, depending upon who you ask."

The challenge is pretty straightforward. Choose a topic you care about, gather evidence from both New York Times and non-New York Times sources, and write a concise editorial (450 words or fewer) to convince readers of your point of view. Because editorial writing at newspapers is a collaborative process, you can write your entry as a team effort, or by yourself. When you're done, post it in the contest form below by March 29, 2016, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern."

"In an education landscape that dramatically deemphasizes creative expression in favor of expository writing and prioritizes the analysis of non-literary texts, high school literature teachers have to negotiate between their preferences and the way the wind is blowing. That sometimes means sacrifice, and poetry is often the first head to roll. Yet poetry enables teachers to teach their students how to write, read, and understand any text. Poetry can give students a healthy outlet for surging emotions. Reading original poetry aloud in class can foster trust and empathy in the classroom community, while also emphasizing speaking and listening skills that are often neglected in high school literature classes."

"We need to do something unobvious in our reading choices: we must choose complete fiction and non-fiction texts that can be easily read and grasped literally by all students, so that summarizing is easy; yet, be texts in which the main ideas are not obvious. Otherwise, there is little use for true comprehension, specific strategies, or distinctions between ideas and information."

"Two African-American members of the state Assembly have introduced a non-binding resolution calling on school districts in New Jersey to remove "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" - widely acclaimed as one of America's greatest literary works - from their curricula."

""The high school structure doesn't work for every student," said West Seattle Principal Ruth Medsker. Often big high schools like West Seattle require students to be compliant in order to fit in and that can lead to disengagement. Medsker is interested in finding models within her large school that offer something different to students who want it. "How do we make the system fit the child instead of trying to make the kid fit the system?" she asked. Teachers at her school are exploring this question in a variety of ways, including through a pilot advisory-type program that began with a cohort of 25 tenth graders. "The idea was these students have promise, they have skills, they have things to offer, but something about our school system wasn't working for them," said Matt Kachmarik, who acted as the advisor, social studies and English teacher to this group of students. As much as possible, school staff tried to give these 25 kids schedules that would allow them to take classes together. They also focused on non-cognitive skills using reflection, team-building games and discussion to tease out what was going on outside of school, as well as barriers to learning inside its walls. "I definitely have some students who are among the deepest thinking of anyone in the entire grade," Kachmarik said. Some of them are under a lot of stress or have experienced trauma or just don't have strong executive functioning skills, but they've found a home in what they call the Focus program."

" five articles that use photography and narrative to reveal the texture of teenage life; next, 11 articles about young people making a splash in the world; and, finally, three news articles about teenage life that we think might provoke interesting classroom discussions. Let us know what you think and how we could make this feature more useful for your classroom. The next installment will be published on July 11."

This site offers thousands of books through the ages on-line. You can take pieces of all fiction and non-fiction and use them in your classes in various ways.