English teachers Group at eNotes

John Donne Poem Review: The Sun Rising

I managed not to mention in my post that the movie was Stranger That...

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 18:58:14 PST

I managed not to mention in my post that the movie was Stranger That Fiction. This is what happens when you trim like crazy to stay under 1,500 characters.

I envy wherever it is you teach. I once taught at a middle school whose...

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 18:33:22 PST

I envy wherever it is you teach. I once taught at a middle school whose principal was a former math teacher. I was told in no uncertain terms that poetry was "a waste of time" since it wasn't addressed on Florida's FCAT test. Thankfully, I no longer teacher there, and the sorry excuse for a principal is now retired and no longer hindering the teaching of language arts.

That is a cool sounding lesson. What age group?

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 14:14:55 PST

That is a cool sounding lesson. What age group?

My magic was borrowed from the late Sandy Lynne who devised a strategy...

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 13:15:36 PST

My magic was borrowed from the late Sandy Lynne who devised a strategy called poem sketching. This remarkable man comprised hundreds of word four word groups to be used as inspiration for poetry. These were the "bait". Three of the words would fit one would not. For example: winter, homeless, cold, and garden. First, the students would pick their topic and then their word group (or their words and then their topic). After that they use each...

Perfect Lessons

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 08:22:25 PST

Sometimes a lesson is magic.

Daily, I start A.P. Lit with a poem on the digital display. We read it out loud. Sometimes they identify lit terms in action, or we'll talk about interpretations. Sometimes we just read without discussion.

So, it wasn't unusual for them to see the lyrics to "The Whole Wide World" by Wreckless Eric displayed....

Here are short stories that engage the reluctant readers (and the...

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:57:58 PST

Here are short stories that engage the reluctant readers (and the enthusiastic readers go to town on them). "All You Zombies," by Robert Heinlein. This is the ultimate time travel paradox story. "The Green Hills of Earth," by Robert Heinlein. A great story of the power of poetry, the love of home, and the meaning of sacrifice. "Harrison Bergeron," by Kurt Vonnegut. This provocative story about individuality and equality asks what is...

I have always thought that there are many life lessons (social,...

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:17:12 PST

I have always thought that there are many life lessons (social, political, religious, etc.) to be learned through the sci-fi genre. Harrison Bergeron is one title that I have used to spur discussion regarding freedom and free-thinking in our current society.

I am an 8th grade English teacher with a mixture of students of many...

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:56:43 PST

I am an 8th grade English teacher with a mixture of students of many abilities. We recently comepleted a Time Travel Project by viewing the film "Somewhere in Time". When first introduced to the time travel idea, there were many groans because the students believed that time travel and fantasy itself was a boring topic. Since the film was made in 1980, the classes had never heard or seen it, so it was an entirely new experience for them. That...

In reply to #20: I'm glad you mentioned reluctant readers. I've done...

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:29:01 PST

In reply to #20: I'm glad you mentioned reluctant readers. I've done several presentations about how powerful science fiction can be to get kids who don't ordinarily read for pleasure to read. There's a ton of science fiction out there that does what fiction is supposed to do, which is to engage the reader. But in addition to telling a good story (which is what you find if you assigned detective stories or westerns), science fiction...

Science fiction definitely has its place in the classroom. I have...

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:26:24 PST

Science fiction definitely has its place in the classroom. I have taught many sci-fi short stories including titles by Ray Bradbury, and Kurt Vonnegut. I also use many science fiction titles with my gifted students to help them answer questions about themselves. "Flowers for Algernon" sparks great discussions about IQ and Ender's Game helps many of my socially awkward gifted and talented process their differences. I have also used...

In reply to #18: You're right that a science fiction title might...

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:40:41 PST

In reply to #18: You're right that a science fiction title might alienate some groups of students, but I've found that true of any other book too. Some boys hate Romeo and Juliet because it is a love story. Some girls hate Of Mice and Men because the women in the story are portrayed so poorly. Every novel is a gamble, and none of them will please everyone. I don't see any difference between speculative fiction and science fiction. ...

I agree that Sci-fi should be taught in the classroom , it is such a...

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 05:03:32 PST

I agree that Sci-fi should be taught in the classroom , it is such a valid genre not to mention it really is some of the best social critiques we have from certain time periods, but I also wonder about speculative fiction. It is similar to the Sci-fi genre, but instead of being heavy with physics and actual "science-ness" it focuses on being "extra-human." It focuses on humanity, and all the "-isms" (sexism, racism, heternormatism). I find...

An excellent work for teaching point of view is the story "In a Grove,"...

Fri, 2 Oct 2009 07:07:21 PST

An excellent work for teaching point of view is the story "In a Grove," from Rashomon and Other Stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa This deceptively simple story is told as the testimony of seven witnesses following the death of a Samurai who is on a journey with his wife. Each character has limited knowledge of the circumstances and is limited by his or her own perspective. I have used this story countless times to discuss many themes,...

In reply to #1: I've been teaching a course in science fiction at the...

Thu, 1 Oct 2009 08:51:17 PST

In reply to #1: I've been teaching a course in science fiction at the high school since the mid 80s. I almost always have a split room with two or three big fans, a group of kids who are vaguely interested, and then a group that the counseling department tossed in because they hate reading, hate literature and have had no success in English classes. It's that last group that interests me most and shows why teaching science fiction is so...

There are two basic causes of native language influence on accent of...

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:23:02 PST

There are two basic causes of native language influence on accent of speaking a different language. Not knowing the correct accent or pronunciation. This difficulty is compounded by the fact that it is difficult for individuals to realize correctly what is their own accent. Also when people learn a language from someone with incorrect accent, they have no opportunity of knowing the right accent. The only solution to this problem is to have...

Watch English-language television! Hearing native speakers is one of the...

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:52:19 PST

Watch English-language television! Hearing native speakers is one of the best ways to learn a language. A news channel would be especially helpful because you will see the anchorperson as you hear him/her speaking. National news anchors are trained in speaking with little or no regional accent, so their intonation and stress is quite clear and easily understandable by listeners all across the United States. Good luck in your work to develop...

When I taught 10th Grade, we reviewed science fiction as a genre...

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:39:11 PST

When I taught 10th Grade, we reviewed science fiction as a genre study. The lesson I designed for this unit can be found at this link: http://www.asu.edu/gpawp/diaryfrancis.html. Students would also learn the four motifs of science fiction - space, time, the destruction and recreation of society, technology - and its common themes: Man's destiny lies in space. Our actions today influence time. Technology will either save society or...

What I would recommend you do is practice, practice, practice. I would...

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:03:29 PST

What I would recommend you do is practice, practice, practice. I would also get an esl teacher to help you out as you strive to become better at speaking. Speaking is never easy. I had students one time who had difficulty with their r's and t's. If that is the case for you, then it is quite normal. All you can do is keep practicing and working hard at getting better at it. Never give up. I know you can do it.

I teach a unit within my Advanced Placement Literature Class that...

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:01:54 PST

I teach a unit within my Advanced Placement Literature Class that focuses on dystopian literature that is truly enjoyable. In this unit I love to incorporate some of my favorite SciFi. Brave New World 1984 Never Let Me Go The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy I also teach a selection of short SciFi fiction by Kurt Vonnegut Apart from this specific unit I teach a unit on the hero's journey and Campbell's Monomyth that focuses on Star Wars and...