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Jennifer Smyth's Discussions
In what order should a course be taught?
Last time I taught American Lit, I did it from more of a cultural studies perspective than a traditional "literary" perspective - that made it easier to identify themes (our overarching theme: What d…
Replied Sep. 29, 2009
In what order should a course be taught?
What about thematically? If we want our students to recognize theme, it makes some sense to scaffold that understanding in unit design.
Replied Sep. 28, 2009
Jennifer Smyth's Page
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Teaching What Matters published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development offers a lot of information, even by way of attempting to define rigor and its place within instruction. As I look through the text quickly, the authors ci…
A couple comments about Google as below it's mentioned. A couple other comments, too.
Wordpress ROCKS, but luddites find it difficult (if we're reading this, you're probably not a luddite but some of our kids are!).
Blogspot can do what Jennifer Sm…
All great points. Great question.
Mark really nails it with the difference between the teachers and the powers that be. I have recently found that many in power have made rigor to be (in essence) what the teacher can do to improve the student learni…
Fabulous list! I am an advocate and implement everything on your list- wait, let me look at it again before I make promises! Academic rigor is also a concept promoted at my school, and we often wonder what does that look like? I have something for y…
Rigor must have relevance. How do you prove Rigor? Grades in the gradebook show parents that you are doing something. AP courses imply that your are offering rigor. Test scores show that you have met the state minimums....not that there is rigor in…
I agree. BUT, to my bosses...
Rigor means more homework, more entries in the gradebook to show you've done more.
Rigor means more AP offerings than the school down the road.
Rigor means more kids who pass the state test than in that school down the…
Jenn,
Your blog speaks loudly to me. I, too, feel like I'm in this quest to discover what "authentic rigor" is as well as what it is not. One of the struggles I have regularly is trying to balance quality with quantity. To me, rigor is about qualit…
I've been frustrated lately by the way we use the word "rigor." It seems to be a buzzword right now (my state is focused on "Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships" as the three Rs), but I'm having trouble finding a good definition. I know that rigor m…
Valerie,
There's got to be a clip out there that deals with euthanizing an animal. Too close?
Profile Information
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- Hertford County Early College High School
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- High School English Teacher
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- jensmyth
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- jensmyth.wordpress.com
- What are you reading?
- Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman
- How do you define your role/work?
- Writer. Learner. Leader.
Jennifer Smyth's Blog
What Does "Rigor" Look Like in an English Classroom?
I've been frustrated lately by the way we use the word "rigor." It seems to be a buzzword right now (my state is focused on "Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships" as the three Rs), but I'm having trouble finding a good definition. I know that rigor means challenge, but what does that challenge look like? How do I know that what I think is challenging is truly rigorous? What if I'm wrong? Policy-makers seem to be setting this as the "new" standard for instruction without clearly defining it… Continue
Posted on November 8, 2009 at 10:34am — 7 Comments
Comment Wall (11 comments)
- At 9:25pm on October 24, 2009,
Valerie A. Person said…
- Jenn, Zombieland is no longer playing in E. City. So, don't know what to do. Call me (252-207-9670) if you wanna make a trip to Va. to see it. Hey, Mark Samberg used your class blog as an exemplar blog on the 21st century course I'm taking. You are famous, girl! :)
- At 7:12am on October 22, 2009,
Carol Swain said…
- Hey, I just checked this and am sorry I missed it. Let's try something tomorrow or Sunday afternoon. Call me and let me know which because I probably wont be back on this today. Have to get these papers finished and it's going slowly.
- At 5:48pm on October 21, 2009,
Valerie A. Person said…
- I think I can do Sunday matinee. Let me doublecheck and get back to you Saturday, okay?
- At 9:12am on October 21, 2009,
Carol Swain said…
- Hi Jen! I meant to call you last night, but pooped out in front of the TV. I'm reading research papers and hating almost every minute of it. I was going to suggest that we try to hit G'ville this weekend, but there's a volleyball playoff game here on Sat and I have to work it. We should do dinner of something. What do you think?
- At 12:56pm on October 6, 2009,
Carol Swain said…
- Oh on a completely diffrent track...have you seen the new Zuma--Zuma's Revenge. If you download the trial, you can play the sub games continually. That is if you're looking for a mindless distraction...after you've finished all your work I'm sure.
- At 12:52pm on October 6, 2009,
Carol Swain said…
- I haven't gotten that far with my explorations. We had technology training yesterday and progress reports today, so I haven't had time to sit and see what's here. I was surprised I didn't see one for Graduation Project or am I the complete loser who's allowing it to comsume my waking (and sometimes sleeping) life.
- At 1:26pm on October 5, 2009,
Carol Swain said…
- Hi Jen! thanks for being my friend.
- At 2:36pm on September 27, 2009,
Joseph Scotese said… - Hurray! Let me know what you think.
Joe
- At 9:45am on September 27, 2009,
Joseph Scotese said…
- and by the way...AwaytoTeach does not hate you :)
- At 9:03am on September 27, 2009,
Joseph Scotese said…
- No, the problem that you were encountering was because you chose an Avatar that wasn't on the first page - I've gotten rid of many of the avatars and now there is only one page - choose one - or better yet, upload your own picture - it should then work fine.
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Yay Doug! He was one of my teachers in pre-teaching grad school (itp.nyu.edu), and I'm a huge fan of his work. Thanks for posting this, Frank. I'm really excited to see what these guys have come up with this time.
I am looking for opportunities for high school students to publish their writing. I am in VT. We are part of the NWP and can certainly offer that to our students. I know about the Mountain Review, but I would really appreciate other venues where stu…
Oh, a marvelous poem, Carol -- by one of my favorite poets. In graduate school far back in the 60's, I took a creative writing class from Bly at the University of Kansas, and have never forgotten it. Thanks for the connection.
I actually do have a plan (I also have a yearly book filled with objectives). I just can't say I have a detailed plan. I found it easier to plan for 90 minute block lessons than the 45 minutes we have at this school which makes me feel like I am in…
Oh I do! I just had a tutorial with a final year student, who thank me for introducing her to philosophy. It's just that the rest of it sucks up so much time.
Andy,
The fact that you have not heard of it doesn't mean the theory has not had a wide influence. Nearly every school of education in America now promotes "constructivist" ideas, and it is why many of our student teachers are not receiving some of…
How about this for a poetic connection to your posting, Hamilton?
Gratitude to Old Teachers by Robert Bly
When we stride or stroll across the frozen lake,
We place our feet where they have never been.
We walk upon the unwalked. But we are uneasy.…
I really think that PDFs kick SOOO much butt compared to .mobi Kindle Books or any other text with DRMs.
... and xboxes can make lovely computers if you know how to hack them. But that's also illegal. ;)
My husband has a bebook, which will read PDFs and some other formats... I don't know if it does text files or not.
And yet many teachers would grade "gentle seductions" harshly and comment that they "take too long to get to the point" or "meander." It just goes to show the huge chasm that exists between persuasive essays taught in the "Cookie-Cutter School of Es…
While it may be true that in reality there are not that many people reading student work on the Web (who but an English teacher could love a character analysis of Scout Finch??), I wonder if that really matters.
I suspect it does matter. I think it…
"the thesis came too soon"
You are really onto something here, Maja. Why would an authentic audience read on if a writer gave away the point in the first sentence. Most writing, particularly persuasive writing, is a gentle seduction. Follow my thin…
I did an exercise in which my students had to write the same story four times, each time with a different point of view. You could tell which students understood the concept and which didn't pretty easily.
Thanks for this activity, it supplements m…
I do agree that most "great" works of literature tend to be more serious than funny. Even though it's about the bombing of Dresden, Slaughterhouse-Five is pretty funny at times. Catcher in the Rye is hilarious, as is Cuckoo's Nest and Huck Finn (our…
This doesn't help, but it might make you feel better. Many of my college students still don't get it. They have to do a research paper for their first-year comp class, and even with easybib, citationmachine, and all the other aids -- not to mention…
I liked your idea of going backwards chronologically so have tried it this year. So far, the kids are really enjoying it. One big advantage that I see is that Beowolf and Canterbury Tales, the texts from the earliest periods which are challenging be…
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