Teaching

The 10-Year Lesson Plan

By Anthony Rebora — August 22, 2011 1 min read
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Interesting advice: High school English teacher Epiphany in Baltimore explains that he always teaches with a view toward what students will retain from a lesson 10 years later:

I always teach books with the "ten year" goal in mind, asking myself what will this kid remember in ten years? I hope some of the themes—all about injustice, doing the right thing and growing up -- are part of their blueprint. And I want them reading. I want to run into them on the street and be able to talk to them about what's on their bookshelves, and what they're sharing with their children, because this is what I want them to take from my class: some sort of passion for reading, and the strategies that go along with being a critical reader. This is what gives us an educated populace necessary for a democracy.

Also, check out the classroom library he’s been building. It brings to mind of something author/teacher Kelly Gallagher told us in a interview: “It’s all about surrounding kids with high-interest reading materials--books! You gotta have water in a pool if you’re going to be a swimmer, and you have to have really good books, particularly around reluctant readers, if you want kids to be good readers.”

A version of this news article first appeared in the Teaching Now blog.