The Teacher's Almanac

In 7th grade, we are working through the book The Lost Tools of Writing. If you haven't heard of this book before I highly recommend it. The book instructs students on how to write a persuasive essay. As the year progresses, they learn new concepts that help with invention, arrangement, and elocution.  Last week, we discussed the idea of agreement . First, the class learned that while it is necessary to state your thesis statement, it is also important to address those who might disagree with what you are claiming; so you need to include a  counter-thesis. Then we addressed the idea of agreement.  Agreement is the process of thinking through something that both groups agree on. What is something that those who agree with your thesis AND those who agree with your counter-thesis would agree on? The book has students work through a brainstorming process so that they can come up with an agreement.  The idea of agreement is something that we should all understand. I wo...

Today in 7th grade we read the poem First They Came by Martin Niemoller. If you've never read this poem before it goes like this:  FIRST THEY CAME  First they came for the Communists  And I did not speak out because I was not a Communist  Then they came for the Socialists  And I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist  Then they came for the trade unionists  And I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist  Then they came for the Jews  And I did not speak out because I was not a Jew  Then they came for me  And there was no one left to speak out for me. The students read an article about Niemoller independently and then we formed a socratic circle and discussed both the author and the poem itself. Niemoller was a German pastor who was initially excited about a strong leader like Hitler rising up and saving the country he loved. After a few years, once the Natzis began controlling the churches and what they could an...

 How often do we hear our students say, "I'll never use this, why are we even learning it!" As teachers, one of our goals should be to help students understand that what they are learning has relevance to their present and to their future. In 7th grade English, we are currently reading The Hiding Place . On Friday, I wanted to honor Martin Luther King Jr. in a way that was relevant to what we are doing in class, but also to what is going on in our country right now. I showed a video of his I have a Dream Speech  and then we spent some time discussing who King was referring to at the beginning of the speech when he mentions "...five score years ago". We discussed how 100 years had passed since Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and yet there Martin Luther King stood . There was still work that needed to be done. We then discussed his famous quote: "..not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." What did that ...

One of our goals this year for our dialectic grades (7th-9th) is to incorporate the "art of argument" into the classroom. While the students take a logic class during this time, we want them to articulate, defend, and persuade outside of that course as well. So what does this look like outside of a formal logic course?   In personal finance this week, the class is learning about interviewing and resume writing. The essential question for the day is: " What is the purpose of an interview?" As I initially thought about how to biblically integrate this lesson, I did a google search of "interviews and the Bible". As you can imagine, I didn't' come up with much. Mostly, there were links to Bible verses that might encourage you before heading into an interview...not exactly what I was going for.   But then I thought about how often God "hired" a particular individual for an important job. What is that, if not an interview? That got me thin...

I work at a classical Christian school. We tend to stray from a any significant use of technology in the classroom.  Our students are not allowed to have their phones in school.  Last month, our parent teacher association hosted an event for parents to better understand the negative effects of screen time on adolescents.  We're big on discussion, Socratic circles, and relationship building. Today we started teaching online because the governor closed all the schools in Virginia through the end of the school year. We took last week off to prepare and plan. We had 8 days to go from a school that intentionally does not embrace technology to a school that is teaching 100% through distance learning.  What. An. Adjustment.  So how do you maintain a classical model while teaching virtually? Here are some suggestions...but I'd love to do hear your thoughts as this is incredibly new for me.  Diversify the assignments: We know that stud...

Today I tried a new thing in 8th grade English... Annotating With a Purpose . We are currently working through John Steinbeck's The Pearl  and they were tasked with reading one of the chapters as homework last night. Before class I copied a five page section from what they were assigned to read last night. They had already read this material once so it was fresh in their mind. I chose to copy the pages so that they could highlight the actual text, rather than take notes on a separate sheet of paper. Later they mentioned that they really enjoyed that aspect of it. I handed them the copied pages and told them that they were going to focus on three things, which I wrote on the board: When they came across a phrase or idea that caught their eye, either because they thought it was well written, or because it made an excellent point, they were told to highlight the phrase and put a (!) next to it.  When they came across a phrase or idea that brought a question to their min...

We recently began reading The Pearl , by John Steinbeck in 8th grade English. For those who haven't read it (I hadn't before last week), The Pearl is a a short story (novella) that is also a parable. As the gospels are full of parables, I thought this would be an excellent opportunity for deeper biblical integration. While biblical integration is something I try to do to some extent in every class, the kind of biblical integration that encompasses an entire class period can only be done ever so often. Today was one of those days. I began by breaking the students into groups of three and then had each group select one of the following three parables from Matthew: Parable of the Sower - Matthew 13:1-9 Parable of the Weeds - Matthew 13: 24-30 Parable of the Talents - Matthew 25: 14-30 Yesterday in class, we discussed the definition of a parable as well as some of the key characteristics that all parables have. Today, with that information fresh in their minds, eac...

Despite what my blog has revealed up to this point, I do teach a few classes besides 8th grade English! One of those classes is rhetoric speech. Last week we were looking at how Cicero had his students organize their speeches. He divided them into six main parts: exordium, narratio, partitio, confirmatio, refutatio and peroratio (these are the original Latin terms). Once we defined each section, I read them the following text from Acts 22. Acts 22   English Standard Version (ESV) 22  “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.” 2  And when they heard that he was addressing them in  the Hebrew language, [ a ]  they became even more quiet. And he said: 3  “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated  at the feet of  Gamaliel [ b ]   according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers,  being zealous for God  as all of you are this day.   4  I persec...

In 8th grade this week we are finishing up our second Sherlock Holmes story. A few weeks ago we read The Hound of Baskerville and tomorrow we will finish The Sign of Four. I came across this article from The Gospel Coalition (which if you don't read you should-they are excellent!) and couldn't wait to incorporate it into today's class. 10 Tips on Solving Mysterious Bible Passages from Sherlock Holmes You can find the full article at the link above, but it basically gives the reader ten tips (which include quotes from Holmes) about how to dive into scripture and observe like Sherlock. Below is an example (tip # 2): 2. The kind of looking that solves mysteries. Holmes: “You have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room.” Watson: “Hundreds of times.” Holmes: “Then how many are there?” Watson: “How many? I don’t know!” Holmes: “Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is just my point. Now, I know that the...

This week we are focusing on grammar in my 8th grade English class. Nothing gets 8th graders more excited than grammar right?! Wrong. One of the things we're spotlighting this week is how to use commas correctly. In an attempt to make this topic more interesting, I came across this funny meme and decided to show it to the students. One of the Essential Questions for this section of the course is: Why does it matter how we communicate with others? The meme above answers this so well, but in a fun, creative way that will get their attention (hopefully). I started thinking of ways I could biblically integrate this lesson and the above meme got me thinking... Commas DO matter!  Especially if you're the sinner on the cross and Jesus is telling you something pretty important. Luke 23:43 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” What would this verse look like if one of the commas were shifted to the righ...

I try to have a "game day" in my classes at least once a month. Kids, just like the rest of us, sometimes just need to slow down. Playing educational games is such a great way to have them relax, but also keep their minds moving. An added benefit is that many of today's games help students understand how to work together. I try to do one game day near the beginning of the year when students are still trying to get to know one another. Today we had a game day (two weeks into school) and I absolutely loved seeing new students interacting with veteran students. There's just something about the humor of a game that helps walls come down and insecurities fade away. In today's culture, relaxation is almost always tied to a screen of some kind. Video games, television, cell phones, tablets, smartwatches...the list can go on. Our kids are forgetting what it truly means to relax.  The Greek word "Schole" means leisure. One of the goals of classical ed...

Biblical Integration is not just prayer.  Over the past few years, this concept has been reinforced at many of our training sessions. And it's so true! But, while saying a prayer at the beginning of class isn't Biblical Integration, I do feel like it serves an important purpose Last year, I began trying something different when it comes to class prayer. On the first day of class, I have all my students write their name on an index card (are you beginning to get how much I love index cards !). Each day, when class begins, I draw a name at random and ask them what I can pray for. A few students say "nothing", but most of them will fill you in on something going on in their life. I also noticed that last year, as the year went on, students who were initially hesitant became more open. I do this for a few reasons.  1. It helps you get to know the students. Early in the year, I'm still trying to master names and this is a big help! Additionally, I w...

First days back are always so full of possibilities, aren't they! The kids are excited and ready to learn. The teachers are organized and ready to change the world. If only we can bottle that first day feeling and bring it out in mid-February when things get dicey... This semester I've added a few English courses which have required me to use my brain a bit more. I've actually really enjoyed the process of working through the lesson plans and getting a feel for what these first few weeks will look like. Since I am frequently asked, "What IS classical education?" I thought it would be fun to create this blog as a means to answer that. I by no means know fully what classical education is, but I have experienced it from many different perspectives over the years. I'm continually learning more and will share as I go. Hopefully, if you're out there trying to decide how to educate your children, this will help in some way.  Classical education can be done a...