At some point in every school year, I run out of ideas. I run out of the kinds of ideas that I see teacher-friends implementing in their classroom, and the well of originality has run dry.
I began noticing this phenomenon when I was teaching Honors students for the first time and felt compelled to "go above and beyond" for them since they had obviously been smart enough for the IB Programme that our school offers but opted not to take the English A1 course. It slowly but surely crept into all of my teaching.
Normally, this well of originality runs dry in February\March after I've trotted out all my trick ponies. This year, it happened in November. A week and a half ago, to be exact.
So I turned to the greatest source I could ever consult on the matter: my students. 30 freshmen, 1 sophomore, and 2 seniors all taking Honors World Literature.
To begin with, I picked a book I knew the students would enjoy: John Green's zillion-selling The Fault in Our Stars. This came after a reading of Julius Caesar, the source of the book's title.
I began noticing this phenomenon when I was teaching Honors students for the first time and felt compelled to "go above and beyond" for them since they had obviously been smart enough for the IB Programme that our school offers but opted not to take the English A1 course. It slowly but surely crept into all of my teaching.
Normally, this well of originality runs dry in February\March after I've trotted out all my trick ponies. This year, it happened in November. A week and a half ago, to be exact.
So I turned to the greatest source I could ever consult on the matter: my students. 30 freshmen, 1 sophomore, and 2 seniors all taking Honors World Literature.
To begin with, I picked a book I knew the students would enjoy: John Green's zillion-selling The Fault in Our Stars. This came after a reading of Julius Caesar, the source of the book's title.