Methods of Teaching Secondary English

November 21, 2011

remlerengl1101 — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:07:48 +0000

Tonight in class we will discuss Jim Burke’s chapter 12 on digital literacy. We will continue our discussion next week as we move on to Jim Burke’s Chapter 13 about visual and media literacy.

November 14, 2011

remlerengl1101 — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:41:17 +0000

Tonight in class we will discuss the article Ben submitted for last week. We will also discuss writing a teaching philosophy and a resume to help you prepare for the mini portfolio assignment due at the end of the semester. For Monday, November 21, please read and be prepared to discuss Jim Burke’s Chapter 12: “Digital Literacy: Technology in the English Class.”

November 7, 2011

remlerengl1101 — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:38:15 +0000

Your reading/literature lesson plan is due next Monday. Please e-mail it to me by 6:00 on the 14th. Let me know if you have questions before then. We have no reading assignment because I want you to focus on that lesson plan, but next week we will discuss teaching philosophies and resumes.

October 31, 2011

remlerengl1101 — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:18:59 +0000

Today in class we will discuss the Smagorinsky and Whitaker articles that you read for tonight, and we will apply the claims and theories in those articles to teaching literature in the secondary school.

Your homework for next week is to do some research to find an article relevant to teaching reading/literature in the secondary English classroom. I recommend a search using ERIC database. You might also browse the following journals:

English Journal
Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy
Changing English: Studies in Culture and Education
Research in the Teaching of English
English Literature in Transition
Teaching English in the Two-Year College
Theory into Practice

As you search for an article, make sure the one you select meets the following criteria:

It should come from a credible, peer reviewed journal, such as one of those listed above.
It has a theoretical claim to it as well as a discussion of instruction. In other words, it should not be an article that says, “This is what I did, and it worked well for me.”
It should be between four and ten pages long.
It should include documentation of reliable sources, listed on a references page or works cited page.

Please bring a copy of your article to class next Monday. Please email the other two of us a copy of that article by Friday of this week.

October 17, 2011

remlerengl1101 — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:51:25 +0000

Your writing lesson plans are due today by 6:00. Please e-mail them to Dr. Remler so that she receives them on or before the deadline. She will send you a confirmation message when she receives your work.

Tonight in class we will discuss your two articles, one by Donald Murray, and the other by Mike Rose. We will also examine a sample student essay and respond to it employing the concepts discussed in Rose and Murray.

Your assignment for Monday, October 24 is to read and be prepared to discuss Jim Burke’s Chapter 4 about teaching reading in high school. Also, check your e-mail. Dr. Remler has sent you an electronic copy of “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” by Flannery O’Connor. Read that for class as well. Bring a copy of it with you.

October 3, 2011

remlerengl1101 — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:56:25 +0000

Tonight in class we will continue our discussion of teaching writing by examining ways to evaluate writing and ways to comment on writing. We will also take our second language conventions quiz.

Next Monday is fall break (woo hoo!). Don’t come to class.

But do check your e-mail. Dr. Remler has sent you two articles, which she’d like you to read and be prepared to discuss on Monday, October 17th. Also, be aware that your writing lesson plan is due on Monday, October 17th. As you plan that lesson, include with it any handouts you would use. You do not have to include copies of any literature you intend to have students read.

September 26, 2011

remlerengl1101 — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:39:28 +0000

Tonight in class, we will review Burke’s Chapter 7 as we discuss teaching writing in the secondary English language arts classroom. Then we will discuss specific aspects of teaching writing, such as designing a written assignment and responding to student writing. Your homework for Monday, October 3 is to read and be prepared to discuss Burke’s Chapter 11, which has to do with evaluating our students. We will discuss all kinds of evaluations, but much of this discussion will revolve around evaluating students’ writing. In addition to that discussion, we will have our second language conventions quiz. Expect to see questions on that quiz regarding sentence structure, verbals, and the difference between who and whom.

September 19, 2011

remlerengl1101 — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:29:18 +0000

On Monday, September 29, we talked a little bit about the language conventions lesson plans that you turned in. Then we began a demonstration of a lesson on teaching grammar in the context of a work of literature. After reading Guy deMaupassant’s “The Necklace,” we learned what participles and participial phrases are and how they can add description and a little complexity to our sentences. After the lesson, we discussed how to modify instruction to suit the needs of differing learners and how to write an objective for that lesson.

For Monday, September 26, your reading assignment is Burke’s Chapter 7. As well as reading that chapter, please also write at least five questions to facilitate critical thinking or discussion. Bring those questions with you to class.

September 12, 2011

remlerengl1101 — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:13:01 +0000

Tonight in class, we will discuss Chapters 5 and 6 of Burke’s text, with each of you leading the discussion of a chapter. We will also have our first grammar/mechanics/usage quiz tonight. For next Monday, you have no reading assignment, but your grammar/mechanics/usage lesson plan is due that night. Not only will you turn it in, but we will talk about your lesson plans in class, so please bring a copy of it to class for our discussion.

Remember that you will e-mail your lesson plan assignment to me at Nancy.Remler@Armstrong.edu. Please send it as an attachment. I’ll send you a confirmation message when I receive it. Please let me know if you have questions.

August 29, 2011

remlerengl1101 — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:53:27 +0000

Tonight in class we will discuss curriculum design as outlined in Jim Burke’s Chapter 10. We’ll spend significant time working on a draft of a curriculum design, and we’ll review the lesson plan assignments you’ll be doing this semester.

Monday, September 5th is Labor Day, so we will not have class. But when you return to class on September 12, please be ready to discuss Burke’s Chapters 5 and 6. Brenda, you should be prepared to present to the class the highlights of Chapter 5. Ben, you should be prepared to discuss the highlights of Chapter 6. Please let me know if you have questions.