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Bilingual thoughts on life, language, and all things latina. Ideas on education, teaching, and writing. Poetry con sabor latino.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'writing lessons'
Langston Hughes in the 4th Grade
My students have experienced several different types of poetic forms since September. I use specific poems and certain poem forms (haiku, list poems, auto-biographical) to encourage English language development with my ELLs. Since the beginning of ...
How to Stay Sane...
During the course of the school year, we teach four types of writing - expository, narrative, persuasive, and descriptive.The "How-To" piece is one we practice often; this type of expository writing forces the students to think of steps in a process,...
Gung Hei Fat Choy!
It's Chinese New Year!!! and the Year of the Ox! I've prepared a week of exciting lessons that incorporate China. We'll be reading Yeh-Shen - A Cinderella Story from China, retold by Ai-Ling Louie, and The Greatest Treasure, retold by Demi. I'll be...
Teachers/Writers Book Review: Teacher Man
Several years ago, I read Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes and then his ‘Tis. Both were excellent memoirs, difficult to put down. McCourt’s stories of an impoverished childhood in 1930s Ireland and eventual return to America at the age of 19 we...
My Autumn Eyes Behold...
golden leaves on the lawnscarlet apples in a basketa baby-blue sky above the neighborhoodthe black shadows behind the treesa milky-brown hot cocoa between my handsa cerulean river through the forestan orange sun between the cloudsthe pink faces at th...
Beyond the classroom, in the fall
My students come from diverse Hispanic countries and have only been in this country a year or more. Often, some of the lessons that most general program classroom teachers would present are out of reach for my students, as they have not lived the exp...
A funny topping to write about
My fourth graders, who are English Language Learners (ELLs), are accustomed to writing daily in every subject. On most mornings, I post a few journal prompts at the board, from which they may select one to get them started. Every now and then thoug...
Paperwork and kites
I feel as if though I’ve been hit by a truck. Everything aches, but I’m not sick (at least I don’t think I’m sick.) I am incredibly tired and my feet hurt. When I get home after school I just want to sit and do nothing. I am drained and I...
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Today was Career Day at my school. Again, the intent is a good one, but these things tend to get so tedious! Visitors to my class included a vocational school director, a restaurant owner, an electrician for NJ Transit, a nurse, a bank president, and...
Hectic week ahead!
What a weekend! I spent it all right here, at my computer, preparing a couple of workshops. I'm presenting them at the NJTESOL-NJBE Spring Conference www.njtesol-njbe.org this week.One workshop is about www.colorincolorado.org, a website I've been in...
Garden of poets
I mentioned earlier that it's National Poetry Month. We've been reading and writing all sorts of poems in my 4th grade bilingual classroom. The kids really like Langston Hughes' Mother to Son and got a kick out of Reasons Why. They've been looking fo...
