Tiny Bit of Teaching

I mark an piece of poetry analysis today. I take my time – I don’t have a large stack. I have just one student’s work. I type up my feedback starting with what they did well, then explaining some of the ways that they could do even better. Finally, I write a paragraph of analysis on the same poem using the same quotations that the student has selected. I model how to write a good response, how to embed quotations, use precise vocabulary to convey an idea, how to explore how the writer has created a specific meaning by using a series of different methods. I enjoy that I have my once-a-month tutoring gig which lets me stretch that muscle of English teaching that has started to get a little soft with underuse.

I remember that I can do it.

I do not miss not doing it.