Green's Growing Minds

 Language instruction may be one of my least topics to discuss in a classroom setting. With so many conventions, grammar rules, and diversity in the English language, it seems like a difficult task to pull off. While in school, many of these topics were covered on worksheets and handouts which were not that effective or impactful to my learning. I do not want to be THAT teacher who covers these topics with a single handout and expect my students to walk away with a complete understanding of the language "rules."  When starting to teach language, I think the best way to frame it would not be as "rules" but as tools for effective communication. Your writing may look different to a friend than to an employer, it's important to show the difference between the two. The English language is also unique in that when you understand the conventions and the "rules" that are present in writing, you can become fluent and use "break" the rules to show inte...

 Reading is often what pushes students away from an ELA classroom. I have heard students in my internship complain that they don't enjoy reading. I will make the comment to them that they just haven't found the right book to read. The more I think about ELA classrooms deeply and as I continue to reflect on my own educational journey, I also heard this comment when I was in high school. As someone who enjoyed a good book and would sit down next to my dad reading the Eragon series, I would get comments about why I liked to read or that they could never sit and read for hours. My enjoyment reading has slowed down the last few years and I often blame it on school and that most of my reading now is for classes that I am in. That doesn't mean that I don't have the love for reading, I've also grown more into my own life. Reading for my back then gave me an escape from my life and my troubles. Now that I am in a part of my life I love, I want to experience everything that I...