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Hopeful but also Anxious
Jun. 26th, 2020 12:06 pmAt the end of each school year, I don’t reflect so much as look forward. What can I do next year? What stories can I include? What can I do to teach xyz better (usually a grammar skill)? What resources did I accumulate this year that I didn’t get a chance to use, and how can I use them?
This year, as you know, has been far from ideal, but it is not actually the worst year I had. That was a few years ago, and even then, I looked forward to a new year. Usually, I take a few days to unplug and rest, but then I am eager to make plans.
Today, I hung out with my best friend and while we played badminton and had lunch, we talked a lot about things we want to do different next year. IF I get to go back to my school in Shenzhen, I’ll come back to a different set up than I’m used to. If I have to start the year while still in the US, I’ll need to have units and plans for online teaching. And if I change subject areas, I’ll need to plan for that, too. But I’m a very good English teacher, so I have a lot of resources and options that I can use for my current subject or the new one I want, and I can use it in face to face or online instruction
I spent time on a website called commonlit.org which has a ton of free texts like stories, poems, and informative articles. It has discussion questions that are great, open-ended prompts for students to both dig deeper into a work and make connections with other texts or the world or their own experiences. There are some thematic units with big guiding questions, which is really good for me since some of my standards specifically involve having students read a variety of texts and then use what they read to write essays. There is a text set that deals with the question “is revenge ever justified?” which works well with my persuasive writing unit, and I am really excited to try this. Best of all, it’s a free resource!
Now, because it’s 2020, there is a sharp turn in mood. ( Read more... )
This year, as you know, has been far from ideal, but it is not actually the worst year I had. That was a few years ago, and even then, I looked forward to a new year. Usually, I take a few days to unplug and rest, but then I am eager to make plans.
Today, I hung out with my best friend and while we played badminton and had lunch, we talked a lot about things we want to do different next year. IF I get to go back to my school in Shenzhen, I’ll come back to a different set up than I’m used to. If I have to start the year while still in the US, I’ll need to have units and plans for online teaching. And if I change subject areas, I’ll need to plan for that, too. But I’m a very good English teacher, so I have a lot of resources and options that I can use for my current subject or the new one I want, and I can use it in face to face or online instruction
I spent time on a website called commonlit.org which has a ton of free texts like stories, poems, and informative articles. It has discussion questions that are great, open-ended prompts for students to both dig deeper into a work and make connections with other texts or the world or their own experiences. There are some thematic units with big guiding questions, which is really good for me since some of my standards specifically involve having students read a variety of texts and then use what they read to write essays. There is a text set that deals with the question “is revenge ever justified?” which works well with my persuasive writing unit, and I am really excited to try this. Best of all, it’s a free resource!
Now, because it’s 2020, there is a sharp turn in mood. ( Read more... )
