Some wise advice about commentary?

April 15, 2019

At least from my point of view, what Robert Scholes had to say about close reading contains some good reminders. I think we all recognize the New Critical roots of the these IB assessments, both oral and written. And though I suspect not too many of us deliver ‘the’...

Digital Theatre

November 12, 2018

Following up on last month’s post about the suggested option, ‘Literature and Film,’ which focuses on adaptations from text to film, here’s another suggestion for those teaching plays in far-flung places where live theatre is not a matter of...

If You’re Teaching Writing about Africa. . .

August 3, 2018

. . .you might find this wry commentary by Binyavanga Wainaina interesting.  This piece was published in 2009 and maybe we–writers and readers–are well beyond this kind of thinking.  And maybe not. I have found the essay useful in class to remind all of us how easy it...

Live Stream Through a Google Map

April 25, 2018

Did you know that in the same way that you can add a video to a Google slide, you can insert video into a Google Map? (and, of course, you can add a simple web link if the video you want is not on YouTube, but on another source.) Watch this video for a quick tutorial...

Inquiry-based Learning

April 16, 2018

The MYP is all about inquiry-based learning but how much of it goes on in your diploma chemistry. ‘I don’t have enough time’ is a commonly heard sentence in workshops. ‘I can only just cover the content in the time I had, let alone fit in...

Good Ideas for Interactive Orals in the Literature Course (Part 1)

April 9, 2018

Thanks to the energy and inventiveness of two teachers at Sir Winston Churchill High School in Calgary, Alberta, Canada,  I’m happy to share this post and later, a second, with those of you who might be looking for some productive strategies to address the...