Category Archives: Disposition of a Critical Thinker

Closing With Our First Assignment

Posted on March 2, 2018 by Bill Sullivan

We began this #PBL journey at the start of the winter trimester, and this story as well as the students’ own posts sustained an authentic innovator’s mindset. It was fun to revisit this work at the close of class because … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Thinking on HMK, Disposition of a Critical Thinker, Growth Mindset, Podcast | Leave a comment

Community Happens! What’s Your Take-away?

Posted on September 9, 2017 by Bill Sullivan

English teachers often challenge students to invest time and thought into their essays. We make handouts, write notes in the margin of essays, give pep talks, and repeatedly suggest to students the need to reflect on one’s thesis. One of … Continue reading →

Posted in #Placemaking, 21st Century Learning, Brain-Based Learning, Community Theme, Community Theme, Text, Disposition of a Critical Thinker | 64 Comments

Reflect on and Locate Chinua Achebe’s Post Colonial Novel, Things Fall Apart

Posted on August 6, 2017 by Bill Sullivan

Let’s enjoy this informative interview with Nigerian author Chinua Achebe that was recorded fifty years after the publication of his novel, Things Fall Apart. View this interview and take notes on a few items. First note what was Achebe’s first … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Thinking on HMK, Disposition of a Critical Thinker, Summer Reading, Things Fall Apart | 2 Comments

Let’s Begin Our Discussion of Donne with a Cinematic Hook

Posted on February 26, 2017 by Bill Sullivan

This is a great scene from the movie, Wit. Though the scene stands on its own and inspires a re-reading of Donne’s Death Be Not Proud, Holy Sonnet X, you can learn more about the rest of the movie here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wit_(film) Before … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Learning, AP Mindset, Disposition of a Critical Thinker, English III Honors, Twitter | 12 Comments

Productive and Fun Visit to Harriet Beecher Stowe Center

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Bill Sullivan

My American Studies class traveled to Hartford recently and visited the research room at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center as well as the history and genealogy room at the Connecticut State Library. Tracking down leads from the end of our … Continue reading →

Posted in #Placemaking, American Studies, Disposition of a Critical Thinker, Local History, PBL Public Program, Place-Based Learning, Project Based Learning, Public History | Tagged | Leave a comment

Fun Topics with Grammar & Usage Topics

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Bill Sullivan

Let’s initiate our first post and Google Forms follow-up with a reminder of how to use the apostrophe appropriately. Interestingly, this is one of those usage topics that reveals that there are different “acceptable” uses for this punctuation mark. Again, … Continue reading →

Posted in Disposition of a Critical Thinker, Having Fun with Grammar | Tagged | 2 Comments

Read B/c It Will Improve Your SAT Score–Or Read B/c of Will Smith’s Advice!

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Bill Sullivan

Greetings from the Crowsnest. Here is a great introduction to our pleasure reading assignment over Thanksgiving break. Please read a book—any book—over the Thanksgiving week. There are many reasons why pleasure reading is good for you as a student. Improving … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Disposition of a Critical Thinker, Pleasure Reading, Reflective Assessment | Tagged | Leave a comment

Let’s Continue Our Conversation About Jamie Ford’s Novel

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Bill Sullivan

Our first digital classroom endeavor will be to continue our class conversation of the community text in the “comment” thread of this classroom blog. Enjoy this short video made by our upcoming visitor, Jamie Ford. Then, reflect over the novel and consider … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Learning, Community Theme, Digital Citizenship, Disposition of a Critical Thinker, Flipped Classroom, School Climate, Summer Reading, Text | Tagged | 48 Comments

Argue for the Most Compelling AP Prompt

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Bill Sullivan

In 4-6 sentences (of Standard English), make an argument for the best AP Prompt that illuminates the most profound literary qualities of Cather’s novel, My Antonia. If someone else has claimed the same prompt that you had in mind, then … Continue reading →

Posted in AP Mindset, Disposition of a Critical Thinker, Honors English III | 12 Comments

What is a HOT Log?

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Bill Sullivan

Hot Log (Higher Order Thinking). One way to describe this Project Based Learning writing assignment is to think of this task as an intellectual reflection on your next step towards our goal of finding UGRR evidence in West Suffield or … Continue reading →

Posted in American Studies, Disposition of a Critical Thinker, HOT Logs Dec. 2013 | Leave a comment