26 February

THE PSYCHE AND PSYCHOLOGY OF AN AMERICAN TEACHER: A Depth Psychological Approach to American Education

Posted by Dr. Deborah E. Louis
Categories Archetypes, Blog

By Deborah E. Louis, Ph.D. “If there is anything we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.” C.G. Jung, (Collected Works, Vol. …

28 January

Tangible and Intangible Standards: The Argument for Teaching Novels and Dramas

Posted by Dr. Deborah E. Louis
Categories Blog, Core Literature, Literary Analysis, Planning and Preparation, Reading Closely

Dear Dr. Louis, I need your insight and expertise. As so much continues to shift and change in our district, we have had more and more questions about all things related to English Language Arts (ELA) and literacy. Some folks …

08 May

Summertime, and the Reading Is Easy.

Posted by Dr. Deborah E. Louis
Categories Blog, Reading Closely, Vocabulary
Comments 0 comment

Dear Dr. Louis, Our district is considering summer reading. What is your opinion? Delainey Dear Delainey: One answer: the best of times; the worst of times. I say that because summer reading and any outside reading requirement can be a …

15 April

In Search of the Truth: The Dialectical Journal

Posted by Dr. Deborah E. Louis
Categories Blog, Reading Closely

I am wondering about the Dialectical Journal form. My students complete dialectical journals as we read our novels, but I love this form that you attached . . . we do them in a journal notebook in class. Now that …

06 April

There’s No Place Like Tone: Using the Thesaurus to Teach Denotation and Connotation

Posted by Dr. Deborah E. Louis
Categories Blog, Core Literature, Reading Closely, Vocabulary

Dear Dr. Louis, “Quick question — I was just reviewing my notes from the webinars and remember that at one point, an online dictionary/thesaurus was referenced for the term ‘left out’ that helped students consider word choice that held the …

07 April

The Vertical Vision: Hitting on All Cylinders (PART IV OF IV – Writing)

Posted by Dr. Deborah E. Louis
Categories Blog, Commentary, Concrete Details, Core Literature, Embedding Quotations, Grammar, JSWP Methodology, Modes, Ratios, The Chunk, Vocabulary

Dear Teachers, Today is the fourth blog in a four-part series called “Hitting on All-Cylinders” (HOAC). The series began with one of my colleagues asking me how to get everything done in a given year. In other words, her Scope and Sequence (S&S) …

27 January

Life is a Timed Test!: How to Integrate ELA Skills and Concepts to Achieve Goals and Complete the Scope and Sequence

Posted by Dr. Deborah E. Louis
Categories Blog, Core Literature, Grammar, Planning and Preparation, Reading Closely, Syntax, Testing, Vocabulary
Comments 0 comment

Dear Dr. D’, “Our Scope and Sequence is huge, and I do not know how to get everything done and include the Jane Schaffer Writing Program, too. Help!! I’m drowning!” Lisa Dear Lisa, Most teachers feel the same as …

17 September

Archetype of the Month: The King

Posted by Dr. Deborah E. Louis
Categories Archetypes, Blog, Reading Closely
Comments 0 comment

I like to begin teaching archetypes with the fairy tale. One of my favorite fairy tales is “Sleeping Beauty.” At the beginning of this popular fairy tale, the reader is introduced to the King and the Queen. To begin, a teacher …

26 August

Archetype of the Week: The Orphan

Posted by Dr. Deborah E. Louis
Categories Archetypes, Blog, Reading Closely
Comments 0 comment

Getting to know your students is paramount in your year being a successful one. That’s one of the reasons why the Diagnostic Essay is important that first week. Pretty soon, you’ll discover who your kids “really” are, and some or …

11 June

Inference: Unlocking the Prison Door to Close Reading Strategies

Posted by Dr. Deborah E. Louis
Categories AP®/IB, Blog, Core Literature, Reading Closely, Style, Tone
Comments 0 comment

Dear Dr. D’, My 10th grade American Literature students just don’t get it. I mean, when they are reading a fictional piece or a non-fictional piece, they don’t know how to infer. They don’t know how to look deeper into …