M.D. Saints Writes

National Poetry Month is marching onward almost as fast as the school year is marching onward towards its terminus!  Since testing season is in high gear in many states and districts, it can be a little difficult to push through longer units because students are coming and going from various testing sessions.  Thus, I have found poetry resources to be particularly useful during this time, and even more so these micro-poetry units highlighted below.   Each of the these resources are designed to take only one or two days, and they include the text of the poem and a little author biography introduction to help simplify things. For the most part, these poems…

It’s National Poetry Month!  I was not a fan of poetry when I was in school, and when I first started teaching, I was also not a fan of teaching it.  Students notoriously struggle with, and dislike, poetry.  It’s so…well poetic, that it just takes more effort to analyze.  The figurative language is usually so heavy and the plots usually so brief that students easily become lost.   The memory of feeling so MEH with poetry, and the initial couple of years of dragging my students through Dickinson or Shakespeare sonnets, helped me in refining my poetry-teaching tactics to make poetry units as manageable, simple and fun as possible.  I try to make no assumptions when…

A couple of days ago I received a review on my comparative analysis lesson for Lois Lowry’s The Giver and the 1998 film The Truman Show:  This was difficult for grade 7/8, but, with guidance, it really was a meaningful assignment. They were able to draw parallels and fully engage with the assignment. Thank you! We all really enjoyed this. I’m really appreciative of this buyer taking her time not only to leave a review, but to specify that, despite its difficulty, her students were able to draw the parallels with her proper scaffolding.   I do not make easy lessons, and this has definitely been a process of growth for me over the years…

It is Women’s History month.  I actually did not know there was a Women’s History month.  I sat down to type this out and, somehow, something popped up, I think on Amazon maybe…as I was procrastinating, and I thought huh, did not know that was a thing.  But!  In the event you did know this was a thing, because I’m so out of touch with so many things that are things, I have some pretty great resources that jive well with it.   “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell This classic one-act play is based on the real-life trial of Margaret Hossack for the 1900 murder of her husband.  It’s an engaging read that allows the students to piece…

The march through February continues rapidly apace!  Now that the theatrics of Valentine’s is another year away, I can continue mostly unabated until the end of the year.  St. Patrick’s Day just does not spark the same kind of dramatic flair amongst the children that Valentine’s Day does!  Thankfully.  X) Last post I hit upon some of my favorite Black History Month resources and now I’m touching upon the two more.  (Though Hurston’s “Sweat” is my number one favorite!) “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks “We Real Cool” is a very brief and relatable poem for students to engage with.  It involves some seemingly rebellious teenagers in front of a pool hall, hanging out and skipping…

Ah, February.  Love is in the air.  The balloons, the carnations, the absolutely unnecessary sugar consumption in the halls.  Valentine’s Day, really the whole week of it, is one of those times of the year that I find…trying.  There is added excitement, angst, moodiness and stinky, overpowering body sprays.  Last year I had a dental cleaning on Valentine’s Day; I was not sorry to leave school early for it!  In my experience, it’s a rather distractable, and often times dramatic, few days for the students and therefore, me. To take advantage of the high-flowing oxytocin of the week, while keeping focus and standards, I like to work in a little Bard Bonus unit and cover Shakespeare’s…

Wow, 2024.  Another calendar year down and half a school year to go!  Those two weeks of Christmas break go by so quickly and they can sometimes be so hustle and bustle that there isn’t much time to recover from the first semester to prepare for the second one.  Everything just keeps marching forward. Third quarter, for many (and definitely for me), is generally the longest.  In my district, it’s a time of heavy test prep and very few days off.  We plough through it, and I tick the days off my summer countdown to give everyone a little light at the end of the long testing tunnel.  I have found that during this time,…

The last blog post and email of the year is here!  There is a week and a half left of my district’s semester and boy are we all counting down the days.  Hours even!   The last day or two prior to break is oftentimes one of low attendance and high energy and expectation.  Students are eager to get out of school and begin their vacation, or family time or friend time, or for most of them, just to relish in not being at school.   Unfortunately, it’s been my experience that oftentimes the students who look forward to breaks the most, are the ones who struggle the most and have done the least.  These couple…

And the close of November is upon us.  Where did my favorite month go?  The inflatable neighborhood yard turkeys have given way to inflatable Santas and reindeer and dragons and minions.  So strange.  Why are there no inflatable Thanksgiving dragons? And the countdown to Christmas Break is officially on.  Just over three weeks to go and still so much to cover.  With summative assessments to give, projects to collect (so they can sit untouched over break—everything can wait until the planning day in January as far as I am concerned!) and last-minute Hail Mary PTCs requested by parents, there is plenty to do. This is prime time-guarding season.  Very necessary in order to maintain sanity.  At least so…