Out of Her Mind -- Musings on Education and Life

  When students are able to clearly articulate what they are learning and what they are expected to do, they will be more successful.  I have been teaching for 22 years, and I have found that it is helpful to begin each new unit of learning by emphasizing a focus standard.  We know that the ELA standards are artfully intertwined, but picking a standard or two to really emphasize helps me to be intentional about instruction and for students to know the purpose of their learning. I am currently teaching English II in North Carolina, and I am helping students prepare for the North Carolina Final Exam.  I have been developing slideshows, guided notes, and graphic organizers to help students understand the academic vocabulary of the tested standards as well as to help them analyze informational and literary texts in the 9-10 grade band. These resources are available individually or bundled on Teachers Pay Teachers .   Add a free copy of   RL.9.10.1 Lit...

Crafting Your Writing for Specific Audiences: A Mini Lesson Essential Questions 1. How does considering the rhetorical triangle shape what we write? 2. How do we write differently for different audiences? Audience:  A Key Component of the Rhetorical Triangle When a good writer writes, she keeps her audience forefront in her mind as she chooses her topic, her words, and even the details to include.  Consideration of audience is so important that it is only one of three elements in Aristotle's Rhetorical Triangle. In order to write effectively, one must first know who (s)he is potentially writing for, considering their values, core beliefs, level of knowledge on the topic, and so forth, or, in other words, considering the demographics  of their audience.  This mini-lesson will help you (or your students) understand just how important it is to write for specific audiences. Following the instructions below to explore how we naturally code switch , shi...