For many teachers in the Silver State, constantly being told that your state is the worst in education can be somewhat demoralizing, so as yet another report comes out about how crappy Nevada's schools are, there's bound to be a lot of hemming and hawing, quick fixes that don't work, and the general throwing of darts to "create" the panacea for our state's educational woes.

I sure am looking forward to the recriminatory editorials and finger pointing that's sure to follow, all of which I will ignore. In the meantime, I encourage my colleagues to do the same--after reading the following points.

Point #1: Before we all resign in disgrace, let's take a look at the study, even if most people just read the headlines and move on to check out Miley Cyrus's latest costume fiasco or who UNLV is going to lose to next in basketball. Factors that went into the study have absolutely nothing to do with the schools and their employees. These factors include parents’ level of education, preschool enrollment and per pupil expenditures, which ranks 49th nationally.

Point #2: You can only control what you can control. You can only control what goes on in your classroom. That doesn't mean to ignore the study. It means to examine what goes on in your classroom and improve what can be improved. Everything else is just noise. Understand that the external factors cited in the study should be factored in when preparing and teaching. Nevada schools can be improved only one teacher at a time, one class at a time, one student at a time.

My good friend and award winning yearbook editor Bill Tobler hounded me for about six weeks over some silly writing assignment he wanted my students to do for inclusion in this year's edition of the FHS yearbook.

He gave me the forms back in September. I immediately placed them in my "get to later" basket on the corner of my desk and promptly forgot about them. He sent emails. I ignored them. He reminded me in person. I made up a lie. He reminded me again. I lied again. He gave me more forms. I placed those in my "get to later" basket, having completely forgotten that the original forms he gave me were still there.

He sent me another email. I ignored it. He came by in person again. I locked my door and covered the window with black butcher paper. Yesterday, he caught me unawares, so I agreed to hand out his little writing exercise. I had a 15-minute lesson plan gap anyways.

As I was going over the writing assignment with each class, I realized the assignment was actually educational and satisfied Common Core Standards for writing and language in addition to helping students practice word economy and correct word choice. Covered standards include:

1. W.9-10.3d Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters
2. W.9-10.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
3. L.9-10.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
4. L.9-10.3 Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

Here's the lesson. Feel free to use it. You don't even have to give me credit. I, after all, stole it from Bill Tobler who gave it to me. He probably stole it from someone else.

Short and Sweet Writing Assignment: Write about a specific aspect of your life in 140 characters or less--characters include letters, numbers, punctuation marks and spaces.

• Be specific. You only have 140 characters.
• Use powerful words that appeal to the senses.
• Avoid 2nd person pronouns and 'to be' verbs.
• Use no more than 140 characters.

You can, of course, adapt this assignment to a specific topic. For example, write about _________ in 140 characters or less. You can also fiddle with the rules. You are a professional, after all.

There are few things more annoying for a high school teacher than the silliness of Valentine's Day. I'm referring to the constant interruptions of love-grams, obstacle-like balloons and flower arrangements littering classroom airspace, teenage guys who don't have the courage to ask a girl out and prefer to send an anonymous Valentine's Day bear that they overpaid for from DECA and the moodiness of rejected/accepted/rejected/accepted teenage girls.

(For the sake of my marriage, I won't get into the absolute scam that is Valentine's Day for men. We are expected to purchase expensive, impractical love tokens (chocolate and flowers) for no apparent reason.)

As a teacher, however, I have learned to deal with reality, and the reality is teenagers love the silliness of Valentine's Day. I, therefore, go along with their silliness. Here are some Valentine's Day Poems. It may be the only time of the year your students actually get into poetry.

If you want lesson plans for these Valentine's Day poems, follow the link. A link to each poem is also provided. You're welcome

1. "How Do I Love Thee" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. When I was an undergraduate many years ago, there was a guy in my literature class who professed his admiration for Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I made fun of him. A few years later--when I was in love--I bought Sonnets from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Turns out she's a pretty good poet after all. Feel free to teach hyperbole with this one. Hyperbole, after all, is wonderfully suited for teenagers, love, and teenagers in love.
2. "Sonnet 130" by William Shakespeare. You've probably heard of Shakespeare. Turns out he wrote a few plays and sonnets. Apparently his creative genius did not extend to the naming of poems. You're sure to have bitter unloved Valentines' Day hater guys or girls in the class. They'll love this poem. Of course, the joke's on them. This is a sincere love poem, revealed as only Shakespeare could.
3. "Red, Red Rose" by Robert Burns. Burns' use of hyperbole would shame even talk show radio hosts. Chances are someone in the class has received a dozen red roses on this day. What a perfect opportunity to embarrass her in front of her peers with a discussion of symbolism.
4. "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe is more often associated with Halloween. The morbid lovers in your class will enjoy this classic.
   
5. "Heart we will forget him" by Emily Dickinson. Not sure what's more ironic, the fact that a recluse wrote such accurate love poems or the fact that there are love poems written by someone with the initials E.D. Either way, your bitter, recently rejected, broken-hearted students will either smile slightly or break down in tears. Prepare accordingly.
   

You're probably in the throes of Christmas cheer, but when Christmas Break is over and the new year has rolled around, you're gonna be darn sick and tired of all those cheery, cheesy stories that abound during the holidays. In fact, you probably are already.

No need to fret. I've got a "Black Cat" teacher's guide that contains an annotated copy of the story, which includes useful discussion items and incredibly witty comments from an intrusive annotator (me); ELA Common Core "Black Cat" lesson plans, plans that have been tried in the classroom by actual teachers (me); graphic organizers that make teaching and learning easier; rubrics for the unit's writing assignments, which make your expectations clear; and a few other t

Here's a sample lesson from the unit. Here's the entire "Black Cat" unit for only $5.95. For more like it, check out Teacher Guide Central.

Oh, and if a search engine sent you here during Halloween, even better.

Let's stop pretending it's not Christmas season. Here are some good short stories, poems and other Christmassy literary works to teach during the holidays.

"The Gift of the Magi" by O' Henry. I'll admit I get a little teary-eyed when I read "The Gift of the Magi." It's an oft anthologized short story, so there's a good chance you have a copy of it somewhere in your school. Or you could find it online with our good friend Google. If you plan on teaching it, teach irony. Here's a brilliant teacher's guide for "The Gift of the Magi."

"A Christmas Memory" by Truman Capote. Here's another short story you can find in many high school literature books or on the miracle known as the Internet. The story revolves around a boy named Buddy who often finds himself in mischief with his elderly cousin. As with the next story, "A Christmas Memory" is a good example of what a personal narrative can do.

"A Child's Christmas in Wales" by Dylan Thomas. Thomas uses imagery and figurative language to relate his memory of Christmases past. This personal narrative makes an excellent start to a personal narrative writing assignment (I'm sure there's something in the Common Core Curriculum for that) or a figurative language assignment.

"Christmas Bells" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. There are many poems about Christmas, very few more famous than Longfellow's "Christmas Bells." If you're interested in teaching poetic devices, you may want to tackle the importance of rhyme scheme, repetition, poetic form and theme.

"Nativity" by John Donne. Nothing screams Christmas like a John Donne Sonnet. This poem deals with the religious meaning of the holiday, so you may want to preface your study of the poem with a disclaimer. This would be a great opportunity to teach allusion.

In honor of the awesomeness that is Catching Fire, I bring you this list of literary works turned movies suitable for the classroom.

It is a difficult thing to turn a great book into a great movie. It is even more difficult to turn a great book into a great movie that's appropriate for the classroom. Here are some movies you may want to put in your class library.

2081. This is a short movie based on the story "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut. It is the rare movie that should be shown in its entirety. It's only about 25 minutes and captures the theme of Vonnegut's short story brilliantly. You can get a digital download from Amazon. By the way, don't confuse this great short film with the awful movie, entitled Harrison Bergeron.

The Odyssey. This one came out on TV a few years back. It's the version starring Armando Assante as Odysseus and Vanessa Williams as Calypso. Don't show the whole thing. The movie has some inconsistencies along with a few racy scenes on both Circe's and Calypso's Island. Key scenes to use for classroom instruction for The Odyssey include:

1. The Trojan War Battle at the beginning, especially the part where Achilles (played by Favio) sticks Hector in the throat with a spear.
2. The Trojan Horse scene where the Greek army comes out and does some serious pillaging.
3. The Cyclops' Cave. It's kind of gross. Polyphemus' feast includes some graphicness and a good bit of unintentional comedy.
4. Island of Aeolus. This is enough to make your class hate the entire crew
5. Scylla and Charibdis. This scene does a good job of visualizing these terrifying monsters.
6. The Slaughter of the Suitors. A little heavy on the violence. Not sure if that's good or bad.

Great Expectations. This may come as a shock, but high school students sometimes have difficulty understanding Charles Dickens. There are many adaptations. I recommend the Masterpiece Theatre 3-part series available from Amazon Digital Download. Although the plot strays far from the book, the novel's themes are well represented. In other words, just watching the movie won't help them pass the test but will help them understand the novel's major themes.

To Kill a Mockingbird. The movie is surprisingly good. I highly recommend it.

"The Tell-tale Heart." The creepiness of this black and white classic, starring Vincent Price as the narrator, is a great companion to the short story.

The Fellowship of the Rings. Let's drop the facade. You just read the book and you're tired and want a free day. Just put on the movie.

I really don't have a problem with SparkNotes. In fact, when I was preparing for my Master's examination board, I had to review about 20 novels. Although I had read all of the novels on the list (I chose them, after all), there were some I hadn't read for a few years. Some I reread. Others I didn't have time for. I, therefore, turned to my good friend, SparkNotes.

I sat in the bookstore (the Internet wasn't as good back then) and I'd grab SparkNotes off the shelf and read them right there on the bookstore couch. Two things would happen (three if you count the strange looks I received from store personnel wondering why some guy was reading SparkNotes all evening): (1) I would feel empty inside, as if I were missing out on something great; (2) I would long to reread the book in its entirety.

The same thing happened as I watched the Ender's Game movie. I teach Ender's Game each February, reading it multiple times with my 9th grade classes. It's one of my favorite books, so when I learned it was being made into a movie, I started counting down the days until its release, understanding that I would probably be disappointed. And I was.

The movie is the SparkNotes version of the book. There's no character development, no sense of Ender's isolation, no sense of battle school difficulty, no sense of the humanness and complexity of Ender. The fight scenes aren't very good. There's no Shen. Bernard doesn't get his arm broken. There's nothing.

In short, I felt empty inside and longed to see the full movie. Unfortunately, the full movie doesn't exist.

That being said, the movie does help visualize the technology that was used in the book. It also gives a great perspective on what the "flight simulators" might have looked like and what the battle room might have looked like. As far as using the movie to teach the book, it would make a decent review and the special effects will help some students grasp the technology of Ender's world. And if you're worried about students watching the movie as a substitute for reading, don't.

By the way, here's a link to the Ender's Game SparkNotes and my Ender's Game Study Guide. Enjoy.

Looking for something good to teach this Halloween?

1. "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe. Nothing screams Halloween like black cats and the master of suspense. Check out these teaching ideas for teaching suspense in "The Black Cat." I'm also nearly finished with a complete teaching guide to one of Poe's most famous stories. Check back soon.
2. "The Tell-tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe. You got to have at least two Poe stories, eh?
3. "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe. Let's make that three Poe stories. There's about ten Poe stories, in fact, that are ideal for Halloween or any other occasion. Here are some teaching ideas for "The Cask of Amontillado." This by the way is my choice of stories this Halloween.
4. "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs. This might be the best non-Poe short story that fits a Halloween theme. Heck it might be the best horror story, period.
5. "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard O'Connel. Nothing like being hunted by a crazed Cossack this Halloween. Here's everything you need to teach "The Most Dangerous Game."
   
6. "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Not in the mood for a short story? This poem has everything a short story has with all the difficulty and intricacy of a poem. It's ideal for high level learners who don't mind a bit of a scare.
7. "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" by John Keats. Knights haunted by the memory of a deviously perfect woman makes boys cringe and the girls smile fiendishly. Keats' ability to establish mood in his poems is unparalleled. Here's an analysis of the poem to help you out.

You may have noticed an abundance of works from the Romantic period. Here's an overview of American Romanticism and British Romanticism. Feel free to share your preferred Halloween stories by leaving a comment.

In honor of Nevada Day, officially October 31 and recognized this year on October 25, I give you the best things about teaching in Nevada*.

1. Teachers are done at 2 p.m. Las Vegas, Nevada's largest city, is a 24-hour town, which means there are many jobs available in the afternoon and evening to help supplement your income.
2. It's way too hot in the summer. Luckily, school's out at the beginning of June and we can go places where it's not so hot without that whole having to work thing getting in the way. During the school year, the weather's nice, which makes grading papers outside so much more pleasant.
3. Nevada's ranked low in education. This seems like a negative, but it's not. Although Nevada students consistently rank between 48th and 50th nationally, most of them think there's like 112 states, which makes being ranked 48th above average.
4. California is close. Not only are the beaches of Southern California just four hours away, California schools are even more messed up than ours*, providing Silver State educators with false confidence that gets us through the tough times.
5. Nevada Day is a state holiday. We get a random day off at the end of October every year. 

So on this Nevada Day--whether you teach in the shadow of the Harvard of the West (UNLV) or work near that hippie-infested, fly-riddled town up North (Reno) or somewhere in between--you've got a lot to be thankful for.

*All kidding aside, I teach at a great school with great kids and a great staff.