Novels & Notebooks

First year high school English teacher. Follow me on my adventures in teaching!

[novelsandnotebooks]

I'm looking to make a website for my classes to use.  Ideally I would like to be able to have a separate page or heading for each class period and also a blog for each period.  

Any suggestions for what website I should use?

[aredhat-deactivated20190710]

I think this is so great! Thank you teacher for leaving this in the book you gave me!

I’d like to know more about your child through your eyes. The more I know, the better I can tailor an educational and motivational program to fit his or her particular needs.

Please answer the following…

[bethechangeyouwantedu]

Love this!

[novelsandnotebooks]

Reboot!

I haven't used this blog for a while because first I was teaching and didn't have time and then I was job hunting and didn't have time and then I was seriously discouraged about not having a job and didn't feel like blogging about it, but that has all changed!

Because I am officially employed!

I'll be taking over another maternity leave position at my alma mater for a longer period of time than last year (4 months). It's from September until April and I'm seriously hoping the woman will fall so in love with her baby that she won't come back for the last two months of the school year.  It's 11th grade English which means American Lit, and I am so so so excited.  

When I met with the superintendent he said that I really impressed him and that this position would be my "time to shine" because he's really big on finding permanent positions for long-term subs. I was very happy to hear that.

Some things I'm looking forward to this year:

getting to work with the amazing colleagues and new friends I made last year

teaching 11th grade for the first time

seeing my students from last year

helping out with the marching band

5 minute commute!

I can just feel it in my soul.  This is going to be a good school year.

[katy-mylady]

17 Insanely Clever Hacks For Teachers, By Teachers

Prepare to save time and money. Inspired by this thread.

And in this corner - awesome stuff for teachers by buzzfeed.

[ohsnix]

Introductions: Unique Information Sheet for MS/HS 40 Icebreakers for Small Groups [.pdf; HT to ohmuffins for this one] How to Survive the First Day of HS First Day Plans

First Year: My Top 5 [really practical] Tips for First Year Teachers Winning the Hearts of High Schoolers

[mrsjdr]

I don't think teachers know what they're doing.

      At my triplets 4th birthday party our middle triplet got a tummy ache. She was standing in the middle of our living room when she got “the look”. It was all coming up…

To all the tumblr educators who I know do these kinds of things every.single.day without thinking twice. Ya’ll are awesome and if you ever wonder (as I know I sometimes did), it matters and it is making a difference in a way you may not even know. 

[novelsandnotebooks]

I started a new job this week (another maternity leave), and I'm co-teaching some of my classes with a special education teacher.  I've never really co-taught before so I was worried about how it would work, until she told me, "If you get nervous for your first day, just text me and say 'I'm about to sh*t my pants' and I'll calm you down" and "Don't worry about f**cking up.  I'll let you know if you f**k up."  

So I'm pretty sure we're going to get along pretty well.

[novelsandnotebooks]

Net week I'm starting Night by Elie Wiesel with my 10th graders.  I'm looking for good non-fiction sources about the Holocaust, Wiesel, etc.  Suggestions?

[novelsandnotebooks]

Thank you!

[novelsandnotebooks]

I felt that at the end of the story Doodle was just a helpless boy and the narrators is something of a dirtbag.

a student

[novelsandnotebooks]

Being part of any organization that aids commoners could put you on the pedestal of a hero.

a student

[novelsandnotebooks]

When I was a wee lad, I didn't have to things adults do.

a student

[novelsandnotebooks]

Demo Lesson for Administrators

I have a demo lesson tomorrow, but there won't be any students present and I'm not sure what to expect.

Have you ever done a demo lesson for just administrators, no students?  

What was it like?  

Do the administrators pretend to be students, or do you just kind of present the lesson to them?

[novelsandnotebooks]

Online Portfolios

As my job search starts up again, I'm considering creating an online teaching portfolio.  Preferably, a free portfolio.  

Are there any websites you use/would recommend?

[queerqueerspawn]

What light. So breaks. Such east. Very sun. Wow, Juliet.

[theparadoxymoron]

Much dead.

[yeahwrite]

-Shakespeare

[girlcanteach]

Much star-crossed.  Very love.

[novelsandnotebooks]

Mythology Woes

Trying to make a Greek God family tree for my students but can't use any online family tree generators because incest.

[novelsandnotebooks]

SLW Summarizing Strategy

Is anyone familiar with the SLW (summarize, list subjects that emerge, write one sentence about each one) strategy?  It's included in my curriculum but I've never used it before and all of the worksheets and notes that are meant to accompany my curriculum are nowhere to be found.  If you've used it or are familiar with it, can you give me a brief overview?