“I’m Done!”
You’ve been there before…three minutes into a writing assignment and students shout: “I’m done!” They have answered the prompt, in their...
How Do We Trust That Which We So Readily Accept: Reputable vs. Non-Reputable Information
If you have come from my post on facts and opinions, welcome. If not, welcome. People absorb information. Oftentimes without wondering...
The Perfect Paragraph
Let’s talk about the building blocks of writing. You need words. Yay, we knew that. Luckily for most teachers, students come to us...
MLA Format — How to Be Classy and Professional When Writing
This will be a quick read. I hope. Unless I ramble; I tend to do that. As an English teacher, I have a fondness for a perfectly formatted...
English Teacher Pet Peeve #1 — Writing as Punishment
You know, teaching English is hard. We have to teach kids how to hone the craft of writing and how to sharpen the skills of reading. If...
To Revise, Be a Bat or a Boat or a Plane.
What do all those seemingly-random nouns have in common? Radar. Kelly Gallagher — and some equally-great teachers here at school — use...