Engagement is KEY!

So, the beginning of the year is upon most of us. I have already lived through my first week back. I must say, I love the first week back at school. I really do enjoy meeting all the new faces and getting to know them on a deeper level. This deep level of engagement is key to success later on -- especially once some form of fatigue starts setting in.

Over the summer, as I have previously posted, I was fortunate enough to attend an NEH seminar on Appalachian Literature at Shepherd University in WV. One activity (of many) I have adapted to my first week lesson was George Ella Lyon's Where I'm From poem. I not only provided students with Lyon's version, but also with a template so that they could create their own. The level of work and creative writing I got back was breathtaking -- nearly publishable.  Check out the poem and template here.

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