With the rising emphasis on preparing students for standardized tests in reading, writing and math in the classrooms of the U.S. today, it's easy for the "other" subjects — Science, Foreign Language, Social Studies, the Arts and so on — to feel neglected. As an English teacher, I feel the disparity too, especially in teaching the upper grades.  Continue reading...

Here in Portugal, teachers of English have been scratching our heads a bit recently over what words should sound like. We found it to be quite a conundrum.  Continue reading...

Unless students are nautically inclined, they might not be able to distinguish different geographical terms relating to bodies of water like strait or gulf. Here's a worksheet teachers can use to help them navigate the tricky sea of words.  Continue reading...

We recently spoke to Alex Rappaport and Blake Harrison, founders of the innovative educational company Flocabulary, about how they were inspired to infuse challenging vocabulary and educational content into rap music. In this interview you'll learn more about why they feel rap music is the perfect medium for their mission... and you'll get to sample one of their flocabulous videos.  Continue reading...

We are often reminded that much of the English language is derived from the language of ancient Greece. However, students might not realize that some of our English words actually double as the names of Greek letters. Here is a worksheet that asks students to explore a few Greek letters on the Visual Thesaurus and to discover their additional meanings. Download the worksheet here.

I'm going to let teachers in on a little secret. One of your best allies in top-notch instruction is your school librarian.

However, it always amazes me how many teachers fail to think of the librarian as a teaching partner.  Continue reading...