Author Archives: bsullivan35

About bsullivan35

I am an English teacher working with great students at an independent school in Ct.

Let’s Celebrate Divergent Thinking!

Posted on October 29, 2019

Do you see how one thing these two thinkers have in common about explaining divergent thinking involves school? With that in mind, let’s leave behind your school brain and enjoy this moment to foster a new cognitive skill that helps … Continue reading →

Posted in #PBL #StudentCentered, 21st Century Learning, 21st Century Skills, Design Thinking, Design Thinking on HMK, Divergent Thinking, Project-Based Learning, Reflective Assessment, TED Talks/TEDx Talks, Twitter | Tagged Guy Claxton, Sir Ken Robinson | 41 Comments

Let’s Have Each Student Design a Project in our British Literature Survey

Posted on October 21, 2019

What is project-based learning? Let’s start by celebrating this diagram that will explain our instructional goals during this creative and meaningful learning process. After deliberate reflection, the way for us to enter into this great mode of learning is for … Continue reading →

Posted in Project-Based Learning, Reflective Assessment, Twitter | 30 Comments

Aiming for a Learner-Driven Classroom

Posted on October 12, 2019

This is an embedded Microsoft Office presentation, powered by Office.

Posted in 21st Century Learning | Leave a comment

Make One Critical Observation between Shakespeare & Sting

Posted on October 9, 2019

What is happening in the Sting song, “Consider Me Gone”? In five to seven sentences of Standard English, create a critical observation about Sting’s lyrics. Be sure to supply at least one word, phrase, or line of textual evidence to … Continue reading →

Posted in Flipped Classroom, Learning Through Technology, Reflective Assessment, Shakespeare, YouTube | 11 Comments

How did The Last Lecture Inspire You?

Posted on September 13, 2019

While you may know that the word inspiration means to motivate or stimulate, the word inspiration derives from the root spiritus, which means breath. Part of the reason why we say “God bless you” to someone who sneezes, is that we … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Learning, Community Theme, Text, Learning Through Technology, Summer Reading | 26 Comments

Why #PBL for Students Today?

Posted on August 22, 2019

While this recent PBS documentary Cyber Work and the American Dream reports serious concerns about the future, there are some positive suggestions about how to get this current generation ready for their turbulent careers ahead of them. Students today must … Continue reading →

Posted in #PBL #StudentCentered, Metacognition, Project-Based Learning | Tagged PBS | Leave a comment

#Screenagers: Facilitating a #PBL Community Program

Posted on April 4, 2019

This project-based learning class began their journey with the challenge to identify and understand the most pressing issues for their generation. This is a truly student-centered approach, and I have not found many other examples of this type of ground … Continue reading →

Posted in #PBL #StudentCentered, Design Thinking, Digital Citizenship, Emotional Intelligence, PBL Public Program, Project-Based Learning | Tagged Screenagers | Leave a comment

Create a Compelling Argument

Posted on January 7, 2019

Let’s celebrate this great documentary on Willa Cather’s letters more. Again, we’ll review first the section around minute 19 where Cather receives the mentorship of Sarah Orne Jewett to find a quiet center in her life and compose literature. https://player.pbs.org/viralplayer/2365563628/ … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Learning, 21st Century Skills, American Literary Studies, AP Mindset, Uncategorized | Tagged Willa Cather | 15 Comments

Make a Connection to the Poetry

Posted on October 18, 2018

View the first thirty minutes of this Emily Dickinson documentary, Voice and Visions; then view the seven minute documentary on Walt Whitman. While you view each film, consider how each film helps you consider each poet in a new light. … Continue reading →

Posted in American Literary Studies, Design Thinking on HMK, English III Honors, Flipped Classroom, Homework | Tagged Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman | 14 Comments

Shakespeare Infographic Project

Posted on October 9, 2018

What is the best infographic that you have used before? How did it help? How was it a beautiful display of information? Why is it an effective medium? This infographic came from Neil Patel’s blog post, “Ten Infographics,” and we … Continue reading →