The best way to demonstrate that you understand something is to explain it to someone else. Allow students the opportunity to demonstrate that they understand a concept by flipping expectations and allow them to create assignments rather than complete them. Introduction This lesson focuses on having students READ A SHORT STORY and then break into small groups (I … Continue reading Teaching Literacy Skills through Assignment Creation
Students need to be empowered to become agents of change in the world. Digital communication and social media are powerful tools that our students are already familiar with; showing them how to utilize these tools to enact real change allows them to reshape the media landscape that surrounds them. Having already looked at targetted writing … Continue reading Gender Lesson: Reshaping Gender Normative Roles
Advertisers constantly push messages at our students. Our students need to learn how to push back at the advertisers. Having already presented on the importance of creating better advertisements, this lesson will encourage them to take on a Role, select an Audience, choose a Format, and finally select a Topic as they write a piece … Continue reading Gender Lesson: The Gender R.A.F.T. Assignment
It's important that students know how to identify and name problematic messaging in the media they consume. From Facebook to Twitter to Television and Websites, our students view hundreds of advertisements a day. Having already seen how problematic messaging exists in the media we consume, in our past lesson, this lesson will arm our students … Continue reading Gender Lesson: Using the Media Triangle to Annotate Advertisements
Advertisements often have problematic gender messaging; however, advertisements can also be used to combat negative messaging, drawing attention to problematic norms. Building on the negative messaging from The Past is Present - Part 1 students should have a strong notion of the problematic messages that are inherenant in media pieces, and gendered advertisements. This lesson will … Continue reading Gender Lesson: The Past is Present – Part 2
Ads from past generations had problematic messaging. This has not changed. The negative gender normative messages will be addressed in this lesson. Having already familiarized students with the concepts raised from The Gender Box, and enhanced through the study of the short story X: A Fabulous Child's Story it's time to take those concepts and use them … Continue reading Gender Lesson: The Past is Present – Part 1
By confronting prejudices and allowing students to speak openly about their experiences, the foundation developed from from The Toy Box is strengthened with shared experiences and concepts. Students will look further into the gender normative roles they may feel they need to fulfill. This lesson is part of a large mini-unit on Teaching Gender Representation in the … Continue reading Gender Lesson: The Gender Box
Regardless of age, everyone has a memory of a toy that they loved when they were a child, or a toy they wanted but they were never given. The things we play with help determine the people we grow into. This lesson focuses on separating boy toys from girl toys while pausing to take a look at why we … Continue reading Gender Lesson: The Toy Box
Palm Stories are short stories that students write using nothing more than the palm of their hand, and a little bit of imagination. Teachers ask students to close their eyes and picture a number of different things, making point form notes along the way. At the end of their meditative journey, they will have the … Continue reading Writing a Palm Story: Ideation for Creative Writing
In traditional classrooms the entire class reads one novel, as the teacher guides their students through the text. This is not the case with Literature Circles. Literature Circles allow students to choose texts that resonate with them; choice allows for ownership, which heights student engagement with their text. In literature circles, small groups of students … Continue reading Literature Circles – An Introduction
What Binder Education 