HC English Department

An interview of Stephen King in which he shares some of his teaching experiences. Jessica Lahey "asked King to expound on the parts of On Writing [she loves] most: the nuts and bolts of teaching, the geekiest details of grammar, and his ideas about how to encourage a love of language in all of our students."

"Be visual and conversational. Be concrete, make your reader see and stop trying to impress. Beware "the curse of knowledge." Have someone read your work and tell you if it makes sense. Your own brain cannot be trusted. Don't bury the lead. Clarity beats suspense. If they don't know what it's about they can't follow along. You don't have to play by the rules, but try. If you play it straight 99% of the time, that 1% will really shine. Read Read Read. The English language is too complex to learn from one book. Never stop learning. Good writing means revising. Never hit "send" or "print" without reviewing your work - preferably multiple times."

"Graham's review of the research doesn't resolve the age-old debate of whether students learn writing best naturally -  just by doing it - or through explicit writing instruction. But there are effective practices where the research is unequivocal. Distressingly, many teachers aren't using them. "We have confirmation of things we know that work, but are not applied in the classroom," said Graham. Here are three: Spend more time writing, Write on a computer, and traditional grammar instruction doesn't work.

"The Great Gatsby author's surprisingly blunt advice to would-be writers"

"Project Ed is a platform dedicated to educational video made for and by 21st century learners. The core of Project Ed is an open, community-driven approach to content. We start by identifying K-12 concepts where a video has the potential to create a meaningful impact.Then we design contests to take these lessons out of the classroom and put them in the hands of digital storytellers. Each contest starts with a "creative brief," that includes everything needed to achieve a specific learning goal. Once the brief is launched on Projected.com, creators from all over craft original narratives to teach in unforgettable ways. Each brief generates hundreds of new ideas and a multitude of submissions. This process brings together the rigor of curriculum experts and the passion of creators to build an open library of effective, engaging lessons."

"Working within an answers-based education system, and in a culture where questioning may be seen as a sign of weakness, teachers must go out of their way to create conditions conducive to inquiry. Here are some suggestions (based on input from question-friendly teachers, schools, programs, and organizations) on how to encourage more questioning in the classroom and hopefully, beyond it."

"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. "

"Corrigan considers The Great Gatsby to be the greatest American novel - and it's the novel she loves more than any other. She's written a new book about it called So We Read On: How the Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures. Corrigan says she loves The Great Gatsby in part because of its message that it's admirable to try to beat your own fate. "You can't escape the past, but isn't it noble to try?" she says. "That's the message here ... to be the boat against the current, even though failure and death inevitably await you. The doomed beauty of trying - that's what this novel is about.""

"In this lesson, students consider the purpose and history of Op-Eds by exploring the Times feature celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Op-Ed page. They then do one of several multidisciplinary activities designed to make Op-Eds relevant to their experience, perspective and learning."

"The Times's Room for Debate hosts six knowledgeable outside contributors who debate whether the college rankings are useful for students or too simplistic. Your Task: Do you think the college ranking system is a useful guide for students looking to find the right college, or do you think the rankings are too simplistic or misleading? Use the six Room for Debate opinion pieces to learn more about the issue and gather evidence on both sides, perhaps keeping track of what you find with this pro-con T-chart organizer (PDF). Then, write your own opinion, making sure you to use evidence from the various opinion pieces to back up your position. (You may even want to rebut a counterclaim within your response to strengthen your argument.)"

"Using the information in the article and the video, write a paragraph arguing whether colleges should continue to spend money on humanities majors when STEM careers are taking precedence after graduation. If so, how should these areas be updated for 21st-century learners?"

"What is your favorite food? How would you describe it? Using the sample descriptions in the article as mentor texts, compose a two or three-sentence description of your favorite food, using figurative language and unusual comparisons."

"The misdiagnosis of bullying is making the real but limited problem seem impossible to solve. Adults are quick to label conflicts between teenagers as bullying. But when everything is labeled as bullying, are we doing a disservice to victims? Ms. Bazelon discusses the need to shift the social norm so that bullying moves from being shrugged off to being treated as unacceptable. But she says we can't do that if we believe, and tell our children, that bullying is everywhere. Your Task: Is there a difference between drama and bullying in schools? Using at least one quotation from the article, create a response to Emily Bazelon explaining your viewpoint."

"In a well-crafted essay, explain three ways drones would be an improvement over traditional methods. Before you do the task, you might… Pay close attention to the instructions. Understand that the prompt is asking only for ways that drones would be an improvement. Watch this video that explains additional ways that drones might be used in the future. Write down all the possible benefits to drone use explained in the article and observed in the video."

"A small group of biotechnology hobbyists and entrepreneurs has started a project to develop plants that glow. Wanting to give new meaning to the term "natural light," these scientists are hoping to grow trees that can replace electric streetlamps and potted flowers luminous enough to read by. What are advocates and critics saying about this sophisticated form of genetic engineering called synthetic biology? Your Task: Summarize the issues surrounding the possibility of developing bioluminescent plants. Be sure to discuss the issues presented by both opponents and supporters of the movement."

"In this Text to Text, we pair President Johnson's "Great Society" speech with an article by Trip Gabriel describing the new face of poverty in rural West Virginia."

"In this Text to Text, we pair Dr. King's pivotal "I Have a Dream" speech with a reflection by the Times literary critic Michiko Kakutani, who explores why this singular speech has such lasting power."

"What are the roots and legacy of minstrelsy and the Scottsboro Trials? How can stereotypes be used not only to reinforce a bias, but also to satirize that very bias? In this lesson, students learn about the minstrel tradition, consider how it echoes through stereotypes of African-Americans today and explore the legacy of black stereotypes and the Scottsboro Trials in popular culture, history and literature."

"Though often considered second best to his "Death of a Salesman" and opening to lukewarm, if not downright hostile, reviews, Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible" continues to be mounted and taught worldwide because it speaks to universal fears of social isolation and the unknown - fears especially present in a rapidly changing world, not to mention in the topsy-turvy social order of school."

"In this lesson, we explore ethical dilemmas that face normal people around the world, in all walks of life. Some of their cases are familiar, while others are obscure. But they hold one thing in common: They feature individuals who followed the guidance of their own moral code, often risking personal injury or community censure to do so. We'll ask students to examine the underlying characteristics of such episodes, and consider whether some acts are more deserving of support than others."