The Lamppost
Resources for High School English
Welcome to The Lamppost
I'm an Ontario High School English teacher, and The Lamppost is where I document and reflect on my journey as a teacher. [More ...]
— Brad W.
Series
21st Century Toolbox
The idea for this series has been brewing for over a year, and a generous invitation to present my ideas to colleagues prompted me to launch it at last. I expect that I will add to and edit what I have here in an attempt to keep the series as current as possible. I hope that it is obvious that this is not an exhaustive list, but a record of what I have actually implemented in real classrooms … [Read More...]
Alternatives to the Five-Paragraph Essay
This series came about because of a growing discontent with the five-paragraph essay that has become a hallmark of High School English. I began to question the assumption that any serious thinking about a topic ought to be expressed with an introduction, three main points, and a conclusion. … [Read More...]
Recently From the Blog
Criteria for including technology in the classroom
I regularly look for ways to integrate 21st century tools and text in the English classroom, and have found myself using the following criteria for evaluating possible tools: 1. … [Read More...]
Featured Unit
King Lear
In this unit, students will learn the story and structure of William Shakespeare's King Lear. Throughout the unit, students will work with a partner to raise questions about the play and post their questions on the class blog portal. This electronic discussion … [Read More...]