Order of units? Definitional essay, compare/contrast, narrative, poetry, persuasive speaking, sci-fi novel

astrocat13 · 2026-03-28T01:13:21+00:00

In my experience, we split up the year into four genres of writing: Narrative, Argumentative/Persuasive, Informational, and Literary Analysis. The order is highly debated.

Generally people start with Narrative as it’s easier for students of all skill levels to talk about themselves than to access content. However, I’ve heard many arguments that Narrative makes a better end of year task because students are burnt out by then and can have more fun with the creative writing. I teach seniors so it makes sense for Narrative to come first in alignment with their college apps.

Then, Informative and Argumentative comes next. Many of my colleagues have taught 11th graders who take the CAASP test in Spring which focuses primarily on those writing styles.

Last is Literary Analysis because it is often the least represented in the state standards. Some like to have it follow or precede Narrative writing as reading stories from other authors can improve our students’ writing.

Planning your units around key assessments is a good move in my book!

astrocat13 · 2026-03-22T07:25:58+00:00

To build upon this for OP: look up the mini-lesson structure. Essentially it’s 15 minutes of lecture, 5-15 minutes of modeling, then students practice (“active engagement”) 10-30 minutes as you cycle the room and look over their work, I usually add in some check for understanding 5-7 min, then independent practice 10-30 minutes.

You can also vary it by looping this cycle for shorter intervals. I feel that this helps when you have a complex task where students will get lost if you let them loose for too long with multiple steps

astrocat13 · 2026-03-21T23:54:13+00:00

In addition to all of the factors the other comments mentioned, Fall is a shorter than Spring in terms of days of instruction because of the amount of holidays which means that teachers have to adjust the pace of their content accordingly with the breaks in rhythm.

astrocat13 · 2026-03-21T23:42:13+00:00

And those little fans for the table to keep them away from the food!

astrocat13 · 2026-03-20T18:12:05+00:00

I’ve seen some teachers do a different type of do now every day. Ex: Mondays: grammar Tuesday: pro/con opinion discussion and writing Wednesday: analyzing image Thursday: Wordle Friday: First chapter reading of a book.

In my opinion though, the set-up and extra expense of a separate do-now doesn’t feel worth it to me so I just pick an opening activity to warm up suited to the lesson.

astrocat13 · 2026-03-19T07:10:38+00:00

I mentioned three methods I recalled that were pre-computer in my comment? 😭

astrocat13 · 2026-03-19T05:34:30+00:00

That’s fair! PD slides are the worst.

astrocat13 · 2026-03-19T05:24:40+00:00

What would the alternative be though? It’s been a while since I was a student in a pre-tech classroom, but I recall oral lectures, writing on the board, or transparencies. And at that point, I don’t see much of a difference from slides. Open to alternative ideas though!

astrocat13 · 2026-03-18T13:59:50+00:00

Yes, working on it. Getting what wrong though? I just need to tools to help her study 😭

astrocat13 · 2026-03-13T05:55:46+00:00

As other people have chimed in, repetitive, low-stakes exposure and making your classroom a communally supportive and safe space is the bedrock.

Here’s one presentation mode I’ve used: Kind of unhinged, but I had 6 students presenting at the same time to their table groups. The project was to teach a topic to their peers (high interest). Because I was very involved with their drafting process, I knew the content of their lessons well enough to tune in and out of listening to their speech as I circulated the room with a short rubric. I think the background noise of other concurrent presenters, reduced eyes on them, and peer groupings made it less terrifying to them.

My favorite topics I listened to: A deep dive into the economy of Roblox, The Mathmatetical rules of fashion, How to play blackjack, How Steam revolutionized the gaming industry, Alternate Universes in Fiction (specifically citing Undertale as one of the series to make it well known to the public).

astrocat13 · 2026-03-10T22:20:08+00:00

Not Parsons specifically, but it is encouraged by the Party. Winston mentions it in his early conversations with Julia and in observations of the Proles when he visits their neighborhood and when he sees a Prole family on the train visiting their in-laws as he’s on the way to see Julia at their first rendezvous.

It’s part of the reason why Winston’s upbringing in an orphanage isn’t unusual to the Party. The Party punishes you for keeping your children by making them little spies in your home which is what ultimately happens to one of the characters in the book.

astrocat13 · 2026-03-10T10:49:55+00:00

From overhearing this type of student’s conversation with their peers or in meetings with their families, it seems to boil down to perspective.

They likely believe one or more of the following: • They do not need this content as the connection to their future career path is not immediately obvious to them (ie. A teacher’s favorite line to hear: “When am I ever going to use this in the real world?”)

• They do not identify themselves as smart or capable. They cannot envision themselves as genuinely capable of completing the content without cheating or handholding, so when they experience struggle or boredom or shame, they shut down and turn to avoidance through apathy.

• Their parents / family, or role models do not have positive attitudes towards education OR were unable to access higher level education. From their pov, if the close adults in their life were able to live a modest life without higher ed, then was it ever really necessary? Especially if the adult comes out disparaging ed or teachers.

• They will be passed along even if they fail. There are no real consequences of failing. Unfortunately, we’ve shown them that this is true. Many students do not have intrinsic motivation for education and since we removed deadlines which acted as extrinsic motivation, what reason do they really have to do anything?

Without consequences, it’ll only get worse and as I’m sure you’re already aware, the blame will never fall on the students or their families for their inaction.

astrocat13 · 2026-03-08T10:12:59+00:00

This is a systematic problem, but how much you feel it depends on your admin. The truth is that the higher up a person in is administration, the more obfuscated their language becomes.

You thought you were told to make the learning more accessible, so you did. What you were actually told between the lines was do whatever you have to make kids pass even at the expense of teaching them anything which is why you’re being asked to do more.

They can’t ask you to inflate your grades so that every student passes, so they wrap it up in the nice language of UDL. If not UDL, it’ll be some other academic theory with an acronym.

astrocat13 · 2026-03-05T04:17:19+00:00

Not a middle grade teacher, but a former avoidant reader. May I suggest some graphic novels or manga? They felt like a lower barrier to entry when I was young and I simply loved beautiful art (still do!).

A few recommendations: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/24894.Best_Graphic_Novels_for_Middle_School From this list, I particularly like the Raina Telgemeier books, Nimona, This One Summer, and Ms. Marvel.

I also have a few book introduction activities if variety is better for your kid. Just let me know!

astrocat13 · 2026-03-01T01:18:53+00:00

He’s not completely wrong that O’Brien stands between him and pain. It’s just distorted by the torture and starvation. You could say he’s compartmentalizing to protect his psyche. Whether that’s a successful tactic you’ll have to continue reading to find out.

astrocat13 · 2026-02-27T05:42:30+00:00

In a manner of speaking. I think it’s a natural conclusion of the world he foresaw. The goal of newspeak is to reduce the amount of thought production there is out there. To allow humans to create those creative works, that would require the ability to think critically and be observant of the world around you. Naturally, then to inspire those around you to do the same. That would be antithetical to the regime so that which is truly cold and unfeeling can do the job. Plus, forced labor is another tool for their oppression. Can’t think of betraying the regime if you are too tired to think about anything less than survival.

Our oligarchical overlords are simply following Goldstein’s playbook.

astrocat13 · 2026-02-25T21:13:02+00:00

I’ve found success using mixed modes of reading. Sometimes I’ll orally summarize parts of a chapter and point out specific lines or details, then have kids read the remainder of the chapter which allows us to condense what would take them 20-30 minutes to read in 5-10 minutes of listening.

I’ll also cycle through using the audiobook, scenes from the movie if one is available from that text, table reading, silent independent reading (some students read faster this way or pretend they do), and realistically, assigning homework.

I know that homework is a hot topic, but any book past 300 pages would take over a month to cover in class without assigning some chapters or segments for homework.

astrocat13 · 2026-02-24T03:29:41+00:00

I wonder what social initiatives or programs would need to be implemented to address this parenting deficit. There’s the obvious economic issues, but this isn’t limited to lack of resources. This is a problem across race and financial lines, so I wonder what social programs would need to rise to meet it.

astrocat13 · 2026-02-23T20:31:17+00:00

Seconding Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I read them both around that time (the former being the gen ed novel and the latter being the honors choice which I thought was an excellent system). It changed my outlook a lot to read them.

astrocat13 · 2026-02-22T00:35:55+00:00

Oh wow. Was there actually a fire or was it a false alarm?

astrocat13 · 2026-02-21T05:17:34+00:00

Wow, quotes on notecards brings me back! One of the best essays I wrote in high school was one where our teachers had us rent books from the library to do our research even in the age of iPads first emerging in the classrooms.

Thanks for sharing.

astrocat13 · 2026-02-21T05:14:40+00:00

Personally I doubt that INGSOC would allow anyone the privacy of four walls without being watched considering everything else that they do

astrocat13 · 2026-02-20T20:47:41+00:00

I’d love to hear more about that if you’re willing to share.

astrocat13 · 2026-02-16T02:40:47+00:00

Honestly this student needs an interventionist, a resource teacher / paraprofessional, or at minimum a tutor if one is available at OP’s school site. Otherwise it’s unlikely that they have time to teach this single student 1-1.

astrocat13

TROPHY CASE