In my 20+ years as an educator, I have planned and implemented well over 1,000 lesson intros, taught more than 200 prospective secondary teachers how to plan and implement lesson intros of their own, and formally evaluated intros included in hundreds--literally hundreds--of middle and high school lessons. In short, I have a long and storied … Continue reading Lesson Intros: An Indispensable Formula
Intro Exemplar #1: Persuasive Techniques in Advertising
In a recent post, I shared the formula that I use to develop effective lesson intros. Here, I share an intro that I drafted during my grad school years, when I was asked to adjunct a three-credit-hour course for prospective teachers of English, Social Studies, and Art. Given the variety of content areas, I decided … Continue reading Intro Exemplar #1: Persuasive Techniques in Advertising
Where are their voices?
Where are their voices? Authors of color in secondary ELA units Tracey Kumar, Southeastern Louisiana University Please use the following links to access my paper and presentation slides: Where are their voices Where Are Their Voices Authors of Color in ELA
Understanding Microaggressions
Although racism remains ubiquitous in U.S. society, expressions of racism have changed over the last 50-100 years. Once typified by the use of racial epithets, the maintenance of segregationist policies (i.e., Jim Crow), and the routine wielding of force (e.g., lynchings, cross-burnings), racism is often far more subtle--one might even say hidden, clandestine, or inconspicuous. … Continue reading Understanding Microaggressions
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: A Mini-Unit for Teacher Candidates
Like many teacher educators, I have become increasingly concerned about the lack of diversity in the teacher education curriculum at my institution and so many others like it. To address this concern, I decided to not only begin my six-credit-hour methods course with a mini-unit on culturally relevant pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1995; 2009), but also align … Continue reading Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: A Mini-Unit for Teacher Candidates
Email 202(c): A Critical Last Step
"Whatever you appreciate and give thanks for will increase in your life" --Sanaya Roman In my previous post, Email 202(b): A Critical Last Step, I described the components of an effective thank-you note and provided several examples for each component. Here, I put all the components together to provide full-length examples of thank-you notes. Because … Continue reading Email 202(c): A Critical Last Step
Email 202(b): A Critical Last Step
"Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart" --Winnie the Pooh Winnie the Pooh nails it every time. Of course, not all of us were blessed with Winnie the Pooh's effortless zen-like wisdom. I certainly wasn't. As a child, my mother made me write a thank-you note for nearly every gift … Continue reading Email 202(b): A Critical Last Step
Email 202(a): A Critical Last Step
"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it" --William Arthur Ward Speaking of gift giving.... Imagine you're attending your best friend's birthday party, which you've been looking forward to all week. You spent the entire morning shopping for and wrapping what you thought was the perfect gift. It's … Continue reading Email 202(a): A Critical Last Step
EQ 102 (b): Why We ALL Need It
In my previous post, EQ 102(a): Why We ALL Need It, I discussed how the skills and competencies associated with emotional intelligence (EQ) can help us challenge our everyday assumptions about others--those pesky little snap judgments. By considering our own patterns (and, indeed, imperfections) and putting ourselves in another person's shoes, we can think and … Continue reading EQ 102 (b): Why We ALL Need It
EQ 102(a): Why We ALL Need It
"If you are tuned out of your own emotions, you will be poor at reading them in other people." --Daniel Goleman Emotional intelligence was once known by only a select few: the scholars who studied it, their "crew," and the readers of the stuffy academic journals they published in. However, after the publication of Daniel … Continue reading EQ 102(a): Why We ALL Need It
Tracey Kumar 