Teaching Matters: Prefix/Suffix Study

Embed from Getty Images   “First of all, there was a volcano of words, an eruption of words that Shakespeare had never used before that had never been used in the English language before. It’s astonishing. It pours out of him.” Stephen Jay Greenblatt, (1943 – ) American literary historian Prefixes and suffixes remain essential structural components in the English language....

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Seeing the World Through Photographs: Using Photography as a Conversation Tool in English Class

“There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.” —Ansel Adams (1902–1984), American photographer and environmentalist If a picture is worth a thousand words, what are they? How can we use photographs as a conversation tool in our English classrooms? Photographs capture a moment in time, significant or insignificant. Many people enjoy taking pictures of new places...

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Teaching Matters: Preparing Student-Centered Materials for the Classroom

  “If it is language that makes us human, one half of language is to listen.” – Jacob Trapp (1899-1992), American religious leader   Part 3 of Teacher Edition Tuesday, a weekly series based on ten teaching tips from the recently released Compelling American Conversations – Teacher Edition! We previously discussed the importance of classroom design in fostering a communicative learning...

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Search and Share Speaking Activities Can Flip English Classrooms and Become Complete EFL Class Lessons

  “Education is a kind of continuing dialogue and a dialogue assumes, in the nature of the case, different points of view.” ~Robert Hutchins (1899-1977), educator and philosopher How can we create more speaking opportunities for students in our English classes? Why not ask students to select articles, charts, and videos that they would like to share with classmates on particular...

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