The other day I announced to my ninth graders that we were about to begin our very last book of the school year, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Some students were, no doubt, excited about the arrival of summer. Others expressed surprise at how quickly the… Read More
All posts tagged “tricia ebarvia”
From the Classroom: One Poem, One School
Every year as April approaches, my colleagues and I gather together to make a decision. What poem will we choose to celebrate National Poetry Month this year? For the last nine years, students at Conestoga High School have marked National Poetry Month with a celebration known as… Read More
Slice of Life 31: Purpose with a capital P
I came across this infographic in one of my social media feeds the other day and immediately saved it. I tried to locate the original source by doing a reverse image Google search, but it looks like the image has been copied/pasted around so much on… Read More
Slice of Life 29: Twitter as PD
About a year and half ago, I was presenting at the PA Writing and Literature Project (PAWLP) fall conference on technology. At the end of the conference, one of the co-directors, Judy Jester, asked me to help her and others “tweet” for the project. “I… Read More
Slice of Life 28: In the Best Interest of Students, Reading
I’m in the middle of (the awesome) Kelly Gallagher’s new book, In the Best Interest of Students. In it, Gallagher takes on the Common Core anchor standards and looks carefully at what works and what doesn’t work. I just finished the section on best practices in reading,… Read More
Slice of Life 27: A Single Story
My 9th graders and I are in the middle of reading Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel, Purple Hibiscus. We are about half-way through the book, and it seemed a good time to hear from the author herself by watching a TED Talk she delivered a few years… Read More
Slice of Life 26: Non-negotiables
A short post today as I get ready to head back to school tonight to chaperone the “Mr. Pioneer” talent show/fundraiser (add this to my growing list of things I thought I’d never do)… I’ve been thinking a lot recently about my teaching practice, why… Read More
Slice of Life 25: First, Do No Harm
A few days ago, I asked my 9th graders to set a reading goal for themselves. For many of them, this goal could have been something as simple as staying focused while reading or stopping periodically to assess their understanding. “What’s your goal, Mrs. Ebarvia?” a… Read More
Slice of Life 24: Your Best Thing
Last year, as I was reading Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist, I came across a passage that struck me: If you ask yourself, ‘What’s the best thing that happened today?’ it actually forces a certain kind of cheerful retrospection that pulls up from the recent… Read More
Slice of Life 23: Five Things I Never
This morning, I asked my AP Lang students to take out their notebooks and respond to the following prompt, “List five things you’ve done that you never thought you’d do.” There were some interesting, if not random, responses. Among them: I never thought I’d get… Read More
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