News: January, 2009

Happy New Year! We are hard at work uploading and creating new handouts, worksheets, and PowerPoint presentations. We have revamped (and hopefully improved) our PowerPoints on the French Revolution and Napoleonic Era. Enjoy!

Teaching Tip: Create a Classroom Blog

A classroom blog is a great way to reach out beyond the school walls to parents and students.

Instructions:

1. Open a blogging account on a site like blogspot.com.
2. Name your blog something simple that students will remember, like MSJOHNSONSENGLISHCLASS.
3. Every day before you leave the building, post what happened that day. For example: "PERIOD SIX - ENGLISH I: Today we looked at the use of metaphor in writing, and read an excerpt from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Hound of the Baskervilles. The homework assignment is to answer questions 3, 5, and 7 on page 45 of the textbook. Tomorrow we will discuss these questions in class and begin discussing the development of mystery fiction."
4. If you can't update every day, be sure to do so by the end of the week, making sure to list what was done in class and what assignments were given.

Benefits of a Classroom Blog:

• Students and parents quickly and easily can see what assignments are due.
• Make certain that parents know about the blog, because students may be tempted to keep it a bit of a secret. This way, when a student tells a parent, "I don't have any homework," the parent can quickly confirm it.
• Teachers get a chance to highlight their organizational and teaching skills.
• Supplemental learning can occur. If you're covering Shakespeare, you can post a link to a site dedicated to Shakespeare.
• Parents are connected. Many parents who are dedicated to their children's education cannot contact teachers often, nor attend conferences. A classroom blog keeps parents informed and lets them know that the teacher cares about keeping parents informed.
• Homework can be posted. Many schools offer hosting for notes, PowerPoints, etc. If not, there are free hosting sites available online. You can scan or copy/paste handouts, etc. You can copy/paste the instructions for a term paper. This will give students and parents easy access to "back-up" copies of assignments.
• Students gain access to the educational benefits of technology.
• Teachers are not pestered by students asking, "What did we do yesterday?" Such students can be directed to a classroom or library computer and told to check the blog.