Hello Teachers, There’s something about music that sparks ideas—especially when it comes to creative writing. For this task, students will write a 100-word story inspired by a song. Think of it as musically inspired microfiction: listen, imagine, and turn the feelings, images, and characters inspired by the song into roughly 100 words. Some students, of course, will be confused. They’ll ask: “How am I supposed to write a story from a song? That doesn’t make sense.” Good. That’s exactly the...

Hello Teachers, I taught an English class at a private institute in Tbilisi, Georgia, around 2009. In one class of 16-year-olds, most of the students were fluent in three languages: Georgian, Russian, and English. We could have academic conversations, in English, about European geopolitics. And we could compare and contrast American and Russian literature. (Although they would tell me that I should learn Russian to be able to truly appreciate the beauty of Russian literature.) Most of these...

Hello Teachers, As many of you know, my class is built around three things: 1. Periods of deep focus, or what I call “focus bubbles.” This is where the room is silent and students think, read, and write without distractions. Here is an explanation of Focused Silence: Focus Activities: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GcH-extQwyC3qZHdoTsLmCG5CCuRi_ymK7MfnrN-iqc/edit?usp=sharing 2. Collaborative moments like think-pair-share, discussion, and group problem-solving. Link:...