Calling Fellow English Teachers
I teach 10th and 11th grade English. Since I'm a new teacher I'm still trying to figure things out. I'm trying to figure out what order to teach things.
10th grade in my district is sort of guided by our district standard tests. So, the first main focus is Persuasion. Then we move on to Expository and then Literary Analysis.
My question is this. What do you teach? Do you start with lit terms? grammar? etc? It's amazing that I can't seem to find any info on what other teachers do, like a general outline or something.
Any ideas are appreciated. With my crazy year round schedule, I start a new school year July 5th and would love to be more prepared this year.
posted by Tamara @ 9:00 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Nani, the way you do it right now is pretty much how I do. (when I'm with it that is ) The thing is I want to make sure I'm not missing stuff. Stuff they should know for the next year. Basically what I've been doing is taking whichever focus we're working on, (persuasion, expository, etc)then I look at the state standards and figure out which match the goal and work backwards from there. :)
Thanks for the input.
I think Nani's approach is fairly common now Tamara. Way back in the day we started with Rhetoric, which is what I imagine fills in for 'persuasion'. That 'new' category actually covers plenty of ground, as most of it seen today is not exactly literary at all, but mass market advertising, which of course is important and critical to our modern world. We'd read fantastic old speeches, and hear them on records. (Lincoln's Cooper Union address was a favorite of mine). They still have those, but I'm betting we've moved on a bit from the 19th century. This is where the old 'forensic teams' got their start in HS's, debating the issues of the day, or worse, any fool thing that came to the teacher's head that morning. 'Photosynthesis, a bane to our existence...' Defend or attack?
I always thought the 'expostion' stuff came with the self discovery modules when you were required to write longer essays. That takes plenty fo time to develop.
No one much knows what to do about Literary Analysis. It means too many things to too many people. [See the MLA battles]. Basic understanding is difficult enough in many cases.
But Nani's right here. You have to teach the requirements of the tests. If they don't get those 'basics' down, you'll not last there long. Everything is geared to those 'metrics', no matter if they actually 'mean' any learning is taking place. Sad but true. Cheers & Good Luck! 'VJ'
just testing the co-commnets thing
Well, apparently hypnosis works. Put 'em all under and then teach however you like.
(And then you wonder why I'm not a teacher myself?)
I can't help you, but I think it's awesome that you are seeking advice so that you can be better prepared and better teach your students!! Kudos to you.
Post a Comment
<< Home