What are graphic organizers? That’s the first thing we need to understand. They can be a number of things. They can be a T-Chart, a mind map, a bubble sheet. Essentially a graphic organizer is a fancy way of saying “worksheet”. It’s a document that shows students where they can collect thoughts, and provides a … Continue reading Understanding: Graphic Organizers
The Six Secrets of Change presents a road map explaining how to increase engagement and mobilize action in any organization. Written by Michael Fullan, the ideas put forward directly relate to the Ontario Public School System. The book greets the reader with a phrase that carries them through the entire text: “Learning is not doing; … Continue reading The Six Secrets of Change by Michael Fullan – A Book Synthesis
Did you know that Ontario College of Teachers members have access to thousands of free eBooks delivered right to their door, or ready for instant download through their web browser? This helpful guide, including visual gifs, will have you accessing your professional texts in no time!
Teachers are often interested in inquiry based learning as they have heard that it is a great way to engage their students, and create intrinsic learning opportunities.However, while many teachers know it's an important strategy, they have had little exposure to it. Because of this, I am often asked what Inquiry Based Learning, and Differentiated … Continue reading Inquiry Based Learning: A Practical Introduction for Teachers and Education Workers
Revising a rough copy is one of the most important aspects of writing a strong essay. It's not enough to know how to GO FROM OUTLINE TO ESSAY, one must be ready to revise, revise, and then revise some more. Often times students find themselves struggling to add a paragraph or two to meet the … Continue reading Student Learning Through Digital Essay Editing and Revision Using Google Docs
Having taught your students how to PROPERLY EMBED QUOTATIONS it's now time to jump into the actual process of writing an essay. There are a number of ways to demonstrate this process. The most helpful of which is to give students a clear exemplar of the essay writing process. A Step by Step guide to … Continue reading Teaching how to go from Text, to Outline, to Essay
Learning how to fully embed quotations into your essay is a skill that needs to be explicitly taught. Teaching students how to embed quotations into their essay must be explained from the ground up. Without a solid foundation to build on your students will continue to struggle with the concept. We will look at the … Continue reading Embedding Quotations as Supporting Evidence
When writing an essay it's not enough to simply make claims; you need to support your claims with evidence. Supporting evidence can take many forms, but it often comes in the form of embedded quotations. English courses typically rely on MLA standards when using quotations in papers. While many students are aware that they need … Continue reading The Importance of Supporting Your Claims with Evidence
The Five Paragraph Essay is an artificial construct that does not exist in the wild. No one will ask you to write a five paragraph essay outside of high school. No author sits around writing five paragraph essays. It doesn't matter if you call them hamburger essays, or nacho essays. The five paragraph essay does … Continue reading The Problem with Five Paragraph Essays: Understanding they do Not Exist in the Wild
Having already taught your students how to write a FIVE SENTENCE COMPARISON PARAGRAPH you have the base materials required to construct a Five Paragraph Essay Outline. While the Five Paragraph Essay is far from the best form for students to express their ideas, the organizational skills learned while writing a five paragraph essay will built the … Continue reading Teaching How to Write a Five Paragraph Essay
What Binder Education 