ELA with Avery

  The Need for Change The world we live in seems to be constantly changing, and often for the worse. Although some are certainly impacted more than others, it’s a dark time to be a student, regardless of your political beliefs. That’s why it is more important than ever that we educators cultivate classroom environments of safety and acceptance. We have to accept that the world that’s been given to us, and teach our students to stand up for what they believe in and for those around them, to make it a better place. We have to teach students how to think critically and for themselves in a world where AI can do work for them and misinformation can be found almost anywhere. We have to make our classrooms yet another source of change, a change toward social justice. The current educational system and traditions have failed too many students, and will continue to do so if we educators don’t work to improve it. We owe it to our students to center social justice and inclusion in our curri...

  The Trouble with Traditional Grammar Instruction Not many people have pleasant memories of grammar instruction from their school days. And who can blame them? Even as a self-confessed grammar nerd, I have to admit there’s not much to fondly remember. Who can find joy in endless red pen corrections with the sole purpose of highlighting exactly what you did wrong?  One common classroom practice that is slowly (and rightfully) being moved away from is Daily Oral Language (DOL). If that name isn’t familiar, the concept almost certainly will be. DOL exercises typically consist of a teacher projecting an erroneous sentence on the board and requesting that students mark up the sentence for mistakes, editing it until it is correct. DOL sounds like a good idea in theory, right? It seems like it would be quick, repetitive practice in an easy practice that forces students to engage in actively thinking about grammar. It sounds like it would build up their writing over time. In real...