Potential Assignment Topics for English Teachers

This blog post focuses on yet another essential aspect of English learning and teaching – potential ideas for assignments. While students may complain about homework, English assignments (both in-class and take-home) are so important because they promote student thinking, work, and reinforce the material introduced in class.  However, just because assignments are an integral part of classroom teaching does not mean that all assignments are equally valuable or useful. This blog post will highlight (and link to some useful sites) ideas that not only fulfill the requirement of an effectual Language Arts assignment, but can also be fun and interesting for students, as well.

This particular site, Ms. Effie’s English Assignments, offers a wide variety of educational (and just as importantly, fun) ideas to supplement Language Arts instruction in the classroom.  It offers ideas for particular works, such as Beowulf, to autobiography assessment and student activities for students to get involved in.  What is so useful about this link is that not only are interesting and applicable homework assignments provided for certain tasks, but it also describes why these activities are necessary and educationally sound.  For example, the Beowulf link provides an idea such as ‘Reader Response Journal’ topics to promote personal student thinking and writing as they chronicle their experience with the Old English text. Similarly, the Autobiography tab provides ideas as to how to encourage student writing and reflection among students based on their own life experiences, increasing their writing skills and essay abilities.

Ms. Effie’s English Assignments

This particular site, Bright Hub – English Assignment Ideas, is yet another educationally useful site that offers several interesting points of interest and assessment tasks for English teachers to consider.  While many English teachers only focus on such ideas as daily homework or writing assignments, this link discusses the importance of providing students with opportunities to creatively express their opinion, thoughts, and experience with the texts they encounter in Language Arts.  The site describes that group or long-term projects (versus the same individual activities performed day after day) promote student interest and critical thinking, as well as connections from the text to students’ personal lives. Once these personal connections have been made, students will be more likely to want to continue reading and pay attention in class to further understand the intricacies and benefits of literature.

Bright Hub – English Assignment Ideas

Overall, these links provide some great ideas and concept topics to consider for English teachers looking for some new and creative assignment ideas.  If good teachers can provide their students with both fun and relevant homework assignments that reinforce their familiarity with the material in a connective and applicable manner, then students will be that much more likely to find a passion for English and learn more successfully in the future.

Lesson Plan Ideas for English Teachers

As an English Teacher, it is essential to have well-organized, clearly defined, and accessible lesson plans for students. While experienced teachers likely know how to create an ideal lesson plan that will suite their particular students need and accommodate for differentiation in a short amount of time, beginning or prospective teachers may need a bit of assistance.

This particular blog post focuses on not only the importance of having a well-thought-out lesson plan, but also provides a couple of sample links to examine for teachers to use as educational resources.

Lesson plans are important, especially for secondary Language Arts teachers, because they provide a framework from which a classroom lesson can be centered around. With an organized and multifaceted lesson plan, teachers can gauge which types of activities, how much time, and what goals must be accomplished by the end of the class period. Lesson plans provide teachers with the objective of realizing what they expect their students to learn by the end of the lesson, as well as a tangible means of carrying out that objective through class activities, take home projects, and homework.

This particular video from YouTube, English Lesson Plans forEnglish as Second Language Learners, offers an idea of how teachers can best teach students not familiar with the English language adequately in the classroom.  While this video only offers some basic ideas on and guidelines on how to design and implement an effective lesson plan that caters to ESL students in the Language Arts classroom, it nonetheless provides a starting point from which to learn from.

This particular link, The English Teacher, offers Language Arts instructors some great ideas and guides on not only how to create an effective lesson plan for a classroom, but also tips on how to successfully implement it to benefit student learning.  For example, the site provides examples of Creative Writing exercises and lesson plan templates, as well as guidelines to teaching literature and other works.

Hopefully these sites offer some good starting points on creating and implementing your own effective lesson plans in your English classrooms.  With enough preparation and thought, lessons can be accommodated to truly benefit students and ensure they learn what learning objectives are expected of them by the end of the period.

Teacher Resources for English Educators

Just as new technology and styles of learning are coming around in the lives of students, so too is the world of teaching and education constantly changing and progressing.  In order to remain an effective instructor, it’s imperative for teachers to stay up-to-date with the ever-improving beliefs and happenings occurring in the field of Education.

Listed here are a couple of important sites that provide quality information and beneficial resources for middle and high school English teachers.

National Council of Teachers of English

This particular websites, the National Council of Teachers of English official webpage, is an outstanding resource for prospective and current teachers because it provides a vast array of information involving both Language Arts programs and educational news in classrooms today.  This site also offers such significant data as the Learning Standards for both state and national levels that teachers must adhere to, as well as useful links and calendars for instructors to stay up-to-date with what they need to succeed as English teachers.

Web English Teacher

This particular site, Web English Teacher, offers Language Arts instructors (both elementary and secondary) a variety of useful links and pages to take a look at for ideas on improving classroom participation through literary works, as well as ideas to consider for a wide variety of students.  Some of these sample pages include helpful links for English as a Second Language students, poetry concepts and teaching resources, and even topics on English themes, such as Drama and Comedy.

Overall, these two sites offer prospective and current teachers with some great ideas to consider and look at while thinking about instructing their students in the subject of Language Arts. Sometimes just gaining an idea from these pages can help spark an idea that will enable you to truly connect to your students in an academic and personal manner.

About Me - Ryan Arciero

I thought I’d add this blog post to offer a bit of information about who I am as an English and Secondary Education major student, as well as my background and goals for teaching. I went to Providence Catholic High School and grew to have a passion for reading and Language Arts courses there. My mother, an Elementary Education school teacher, inspired within me a love for wanting to pass on my knowledge and love of learning to students.  Both of these factors encouraged me to pursue a career in English and Secondary Education, which is why I decided to attend Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois, as my college of choice. I have been extremely pleased with my professors and class work here, and am excited about continuing my education to teach in a high school Language Arts classroom someday.

In addition to my schooling, I have also finished writing my first novel, The Skyscraper of Babel, a story about five teens who are killed before their time and wake up in the mysterious land of Limbo.

One day, I hope to either incorporate my book into my teaching, or at least use it as a source of modeling for my students who have their own dreams about becoming writers or publishing a work of their own.  In my experience, writing is an excellent and creative form of release that spurs ingenuity and sharper intellectual skills in students who pursue it.  According to educational websites, writing has such benefits as:

-Encouraging students' critical thinking skills

-Promoting better communication and expression in the classroom

-Creating a stronger sense of an inclusive classroom atmosphere

-Foster students' feelings of closeness and appreciation

-Improve student reading and writing abilities through practice

For more information on writing, promoting writing, and the benefits of writing in the classroom, here are a couple of useful and interesting education-related links to check out.

How Writing Benefits Students

Benefits of Writing in Other Content Areas

Thanks for reading about me, and I will stay updated as to my continued educational goals and writing aspirations in the future.  With more reading and writing, I believe that teachers can cultivate more grounded and able students in their English classrooms.

Steps to Success for High School English Teachers

Hello! My name is Ryan Arciero, a Secondary Education and English major at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois.

This is my first blog post for my Technology for Teachers Class. I decided to name my blog "English Teaching" because I plan on using this initial blog to post interesting ideas, new information, effective lesson plans, and other instructor tips to serve as resources for effectual "English Teaching" in the high school classroom. While it is a fairly generic title, I thought such a brief but to-the-point title for the blog would encourage readers and aspiring teachers from diverse English fields to find relevant and useful information here.

This first blog post, "Steps to Success for High School English Teachers," will offer some ideas on how to not only effectively teach English, but also offer some ideas as to what are some important points for all good English teachers to cover.

Here is a very useful link for aspiring English teachers - these 'Tips for Teachers of English' provides simple but effective tips to look professional, teach effectually, and serve one's students well.
Some of these tips include:
-Dressing right: Wearing appropriate and professional attire each and every day provide a solid example for students. Wearing a classy, formal work outfit not only gives you a sense of respect, but portrays you as a capable and effective teacher.
-Expect the Best of Students - When teachers believe in their students, students will be that much more likely to succeed and feel welcome and accepted in their class. When teachers encourage student participation and create a comfortable academic atmosphere, students feel more at ease and capable of succeeding in an English content area.

Thank you and happy blogging!