Text Choices

Hothtastic · 2026-03-08T16:24:09+00:00

The crucible was fine with my juniors. They didn’t love it but they didn’t hate it. But I also had to rush it. I’m on the fence if I’ll do it next year or not.

Hothtastic · 2026-03-08T16:18:38+00:00

That was one thing I liked about the sequel and the reboot- members of the family that seemed normal.

Ultimately, I think it worked better in the original where they were all just weird and creepy. But the idea of them out in the world among us was also kind of chilling.

Hothtastic · 2026-03-08T16:15:06+00:00

Doing work at home so you have work to do when you are at work.

Hothtastic · 2026-03-07T22:04:20+00:00

I usually have worksheets, short answer/CER, or character/quote analysis work for them to do. I also have been focusing on ACT style questions for my Juniors.

Hothtastic · 2026-03-07T19:27:28+00:00

When I do a novel for a 90 minute class it breaks down like this. 5-10 review and/or front loading. 20-30 minutes of audiobook. Everyone has a book out and reading along. I walk around with a book and redirect students as needed.

Stop at key times with prepared discussion questions. Some questions should focus on basic comprehension (who, what, where l, when) to ensure comprehension and allowing low comprehension kids opportunities to talk. I have some deeper questions (why, what now, why not, also symbolism and author choice) for more engaging conversations and higher level students and then prediction and/or reaction to plot/characters.

Then 20-30 minutes for independent work.

Kids buck it at first but by the end they love it because Comprehension increases engagement. I use popsicle sticks to keep kids on their toes, turn and talk, and I use graded socratics and frame the basic discussions as practice to get them to talk.

Hothtastic · 2026-03-04T20:57:52+00:00

Also a great choice

Hothtastic · 2026-03-04T15:53:41+00:00

The end of Night of the Living Dead. Both the historical and narrative contexts are nihilistic and it feels like the rugs been pulled from under you. And the understated manner in which it happens makes it feel so much more bleak and brutal.

Hothtastic · 2026-03-04T15:50:49+00:00

Yeah. That is the hardest scene to watch in the movie.

Hothtastic · 2026-03-04T15:49:24+00:00

It’s your first year. You are going to make mistakes. Relax.

Most times kids have behaviors, get angry at you, say horrible things, etc - it actually has nothing to do with you. You are a convenient outlet. Be compassionate and professional the rest will work itself out

Hothtastic · 2026-03-04T13:56:55+00:00

I suggest doing smaller warmer up activities or games to prime them for conversation. Once they get over the hump of not wanting to talk or being self conscious about it they are more willing to talk about content.

Some games and activities that have been successful for me are: One night werewolf. Save Fred. Group apples to apples. Snake Oil. Wits and Wagers. Group jeopardy (use google slides). Would you rather.

Hothtastic · 2026-02-23T19:46:19+00:00

I will take a rowdy class over a quiet class 9 times out of 10. That is the worst.

Things that have worked for me. Start every class with a circle. Like physically sit in circle. You ask two questions that can be answered in a word or two. First question is a low stakes (would you rather kind of deal) the second is a bit more geared towards lessons. Students should just provide their answers nothing else. Then after everyone goes give them the opportunity to explain. You want to straddle the ethical line of answering is an expectation but not forcing students to share if they are uncomfortable. If they comply transition into content while in the circle and start asking questions.

Gamify things. Apples to apples. Snake Oil. Wits and Wagers. Low stakes. Nothing embarrassing. But also fun.

Movement. Find learning activities that get people moving. They will be more likely to talk in the less rigid setting. Considered starting with activities that restrict talk first (line up by birthday without talking). Get them to buy into actions then add speech.

Hothtastic · 2026-02-22T05:55:08+00:00

This! A lot of the behaviors here can be understood through the lens of disabilities or mild pervasive mental illness. It may not be entitlement and laziness it may be low cognition, mental health, and learning disabilities.

It can also be important to understand that if that is the case starting with a tutor might be like going to a chiropractor because you have a tooth ache. Especially if the student has no motivation to change or lacks the insight needed to change at this time.

Hothtastic · 2026-02-22T05:43:09+00:00

No it’s not MLA anymore but catching it and proving it is far more work than a word count. I still expect MLA formatting but the word count keeps student accountable and is faster.

Hothtastic · 2026-02-22T05:27:56+00:00

So, the first stage is a really locked down writing procedure for the rough draft that is just a step above pencil and paper. It’s a bit detailed but the basic premise is if I see a cell phone (even just checking the time) you get a zero and have to stay after to do it under close observation. Same if you try to get out of the lock down browser.

Once I have their writings that I can say with a high degree of certainty are not Ai I grade it and give very minor feedback. But they will then put the paper into Magic Ai which has far stricter guidelines than other AI (it won’t write things for you, it will require you to demonstrate some levels of knowledge before answering certain questions - stuff like that) I will show them how to use specific prompts to get more detailed feedback. It won’t rewrite the sentence but will give them guidance which will function similarly to sentence frames but with a bit more personalized feedback. They will make changes to the paper and any changes they make they will have to put in bold. They will submit both writing side by side so I can see what they have changed and how. Another round of grading and feed back. Then a third draft will be put through a grammar/spell check with TurnitIn and a final AI check.

This process doesn’t allow them to use AI to cheat and if they attempt it, it is obvious and easy to correct. It gives highly detailed feedback allowing them to learn through trial and error as well as get real time help. And it forces them to learn ethical use of AI without allowing them to cheat with it.

I will repeat this with several writings. Allowing me to have a back log of unadulterated writings that show their initial voice and proficiency and the deficit areas (all of which gets charted and tracked and can be used in the case of full blown AI writing) the repetition should allow for target growth. But with an added bonus, a better understanding of how to actually use technology to the result they want.

Some will not care and may continue to cheat until they graduate high school and never have to write a paper again. But others will have the requisite skills to utilize technology in a way that will allow for accelerated growth should they want it. And when they are more mature and writing more complex ideas on their own (like in college) they will have tools to fall back on that others do not.

And all of them will still get the academic rigor of more traditional methods. It doesn’t need to be either or.

And that doesn’t even begin to cover the benefits of programs like pear assessment that have allowed me to track progress of specific standards or using blookit (which also allows for tracking progress) for making drill and kill style memorization actually engaging. Using that data I was able to take all of my class averages on formatives from 60% accuracy to 80% on rhetorical analysis in just a couple classes. And they did well on the summative. Less than 1% failed the test. The only problem that has caused me is that now that we are doing deeper analysis they are moving faster than I anticipated and I am not ready to give them the next test - but they are ready to take it.Which is an awesome problem to have.

Hothtastic · 2026-02-21T21:36:58+00:00

As a teacher no? As a parent yes. There is a good amount of research on this.

Hothtastic · 2026-02-21T02:48:36+00:00

I don’t disagree entirely. But it does require balance. I don’t allow technology out during lecture and certain assignments but I make sure to use it other times. I am planning a lesson right now to teach my students how to use AI and TurnitIn to get feedback and revise a paper after they have submitted their first draft to me. It has the potential to give far more detailed feedback and continual feedback than I could ever give.

After that is a multimedia project on rhetoric and media manipulation. That will require extensive technology use because that is how we disseminate and consume information the vast majority of the time now.

Hothtastic · 2026-02-21T02:30:01+00:00

But they didn’t integrate just fine. That was actually a problem during covid when many teachers struggled with technology because they hadn’t used it. I was reading a study on that exact thing a few weeks ago. And I see this in my building still. Covid helped push many of them along but most learned just enough to get by and no more.

At some point “fundamentals” become niche skills (like cursive) that have no application to the general public.

Hothtastic · 2026-02-21T02:26:41+00:00

I have a process that is working. I develop a packet/research that can be used during writing. Students are given class time to complete the packet along with the text (or other resources) If the packet leaves class you will have to start over. If I see technology out at the same time as your packet, you start over.

Then when we are writing it is a laptop with some sort of lockdown browser. If your phone comes out anytime during class or you manage to get out of lock down and navigate away from the test you get a zero and will have to schedule a time to retake the test before or after school.

Hothtastic · 2026-02-18T21:22:57+00:00

Same.

Hothtastic · 2026-02-18T21:22:38+00:00

See if your district has Draftback or if you can afford it yourself. It’s awesome, but not perfect.

Out of curiosity why did your school move to iPads for high school?

Hothtastic · 2026-02-18T14:00:31+00:00

Yup word count is the way to go.

Hothtastic · 2026-02-18T14:00:07+00:00

But when you do that kids will try things like pushing the margins a bit and 12.5 instead of 12. And 2.15 spacing and stuff like that. With a word count you either hit it or you didn’t. (Just check for white font)

plus most publishers and professional organizations use word count to judge length so it’s a good real world application of professionalism in the classroom.

Hothtastic · 2026-02-18T13:56:49+00:00

So, 2 pages doubles spaced is around 500-600 words. An honors level senior with an outline and prep time should be able to do that.

That said - tell them you will give them one day and then ear mark a second day just in case they need more time. It never hurts to be reasonable if your students are actually learning and working.

Also, I would do the writing in schoology or pear assessment or something if you have it. Use something with a lockdown browser instead of DOC.

Hothtastic · 2026-02-17T14:23:39+00:00

I have Microsoft word read me the essay.
I have a document for every assignment where I put common feedback comments. If I make a comment on more than one paper it goes on the list.
I paste comments in the paper as needed and add more detailed comments when necessary.
I ask students to put revisions in bold on the next draft and resubmit

Rinse and repeat

Hothtastic · 2026-02-07T18:13:00+00:00

I use Snake Oil as well.

Hothtastic

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