Rich People Just Don't Care as Much?

I think this is what F. Scott Fitzgerald was trying to say all along. The article I've linked to would be a great companion piece to The Great Gatsby. I think it would be a great touchstone for class discussion.

The New and Improved...Great Gatsby

I haven't seen the movie yet, and I know it's had very mixed reviews, but I thought this article was interesting, so I thought I'd link to it.

Mottos for Life

Here my students are participating in the annual life motto writing portion of my English 11 Class. What a great bunch of kids!! After reading Benjamin Franklin, we take time to think about a saying that embodies them, then they make a mini-poster of it.

Back to School Night, Take 2

Here's my new Animoto for back to school night, reflecting my new changed up curriculum for the year.


Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Animoto - Civil Disobedience

Okay, this is my second try at Animoto. I am going to use this as part of my unit on American Transcendentalism - Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman. This is obviously what I'm going to use to introduce Thoreau.

In the past I've just had the kids listen to the song while I showed the lyrics. I'm hoping that the combination of selected lyrics, pictures, and quotes in the movie with the music will make it a more meaningful experience.

Animoto-My First Try

The EC Ning has been buzzing about Animoto in the last few weeks. Many teachers used the free online video creator to make "trailers" about their class for the first day of school. I didn't get my Animoto teacher membership in time to create one for the first day of school, but I did make one for Back to School Night. Here is the sneak peek the parents got of our upcoming semester:

A word of warning: Animoto is addicting.