Oh boy! You’ve got your first teaching job or you’ve just been given a new prep and it’s American Lit. Welcome to the most challenging and awesome year of your career. I don’t know what your state does, but American Lit in Alaska is taught to Juniors and is paired with US History. If you’reContinue reading “Teaching Stuff that Makes You Sweat: Huck Finn + The N-Word”
Author Archives: heykenna
Making Your Student Presentations the BEST EVER!
Having students present in front of the class is classic teen comedy fodder. We see those awkward scenes in every cliched TV show and movie, right down to my personal favorite, Mean Girls (“Brutus is just as cute as Caesar! Brutus is just as smart a Caesar! When did it become okay to be theContinue reading “Making Your Student Presentations the BEST EVER!”
Virtual Workshops + Conventions I Love
One upside of COVID is that many workshops that were once too expensive to travel to are now VIRTUAL! I completed two this summer and will share my thoughts on both here. This page will be updated occasionally as I attend more. Keeping the Wonder WorkshopCost: $132Grade/Content: Secondary ELADelivery: AsynchronousContact Hours: 45 (15 per season,Continue reading “Virtual Workshops + Conventions I Love”
The MASTER List of Freebies + Promo Codes for Educators
Bookmark this page. Seriously. This is a consistently updated page with promo codes for educators. You using these codes or links will often help me, but many of them have maximums, and I want to pass those savings on, so as soon as a code fills up, I will add a referral code from anotherContinue reading “The MASTER List of Freebies + Promo Codes for Educators”
Five Things to Buy in August
Here are five awesome things to try or do now to help your future self! Just a heads up, I am using Amazon affiliate links here… I will make a few cents off of each order if you use the links provided. However, I wouldn’t recommend anything that I didn’t love. Buy a light therapyContinue reading “Five Things to Buy in August”
Why You Should Use Common Lit in your Canvas Shell + How to Keep Grading Simple(er)
This post is mainly written for ASD Teachers who are using the English III Canvas shell developed by myself and Derek Reed. If you are using another shell developed by another teacher, you may still benefit from watching this video, although there will be a few comments and context to disregard. CommonLit.org is THE BESTContinue reading “Why You Should Use Common Lit in your Canvas Shell + How to Keep Grading Simple(er)”
Free Resource: Virtual Classroom Dashboard in Google Slides
Hello there! Do you want a fun way to make the students feel like they are actually in your classroom? You can create a virtual classroom today! These are great ways to share a little bit of your personality and provide important links to students. First, click here to make a copy of the googleContinue reading “Free Resource: Virtual Classroom Dashboard in Google Slides”
Tech Tip: Creating Banners for Canvas in Google Slides
Hello! If you’re anxious about teaching in Canvas again, you’re not alone. As we’ve heard, the district and some of our colleages are working in curriculum teams to create Canvas shells to help us through the first two weeks of learning. After that, in true I do/we do/you do fashion, you’ll be responsible for modifyingContinue reading “Tech Tip: Creating Banners for Canvas in Google Slides”
PD: AEA Good Teaching Institute
The AEA Good Teaching Institute is back and VIRTUAL this year! Read on to learn more about whether this PD is right for you. The Past I participated in GTI in 2017 and 2018. Last year, I was unable to because the AP Institute workshop at Service High was during the same time. In theContinue reading “PD: AEA Good Teaching Institute”
My Certification Process
Coming from Oregon, I did my MAT at Western Oregon University. This meant that I got my Oregon Initial teaching license first. Many Alaskan educators complete their masters and student teaching in Alaska, which is a much more streamlined process towards certification. If you graduate with a Masters from a UA program, your initial licenseContinue reading “My Certification Process”
HeyKenna 