Literature is Life
Sep 20th, 2011 by msansbach
PBS Frontline did a special about teenage brains. The site they created, Inside the Teenage Brain, includes information about the latest research as well as ideas for parents.
Some of the research talks about student needs for sleep–many studies have shown that teens are consistently sleep deprived.
Check it out!
Sep 20th, 2011 by msansbach
This blog will be a place for me to talk about our English class, ideas in education, and information that may be helpful to you, your parents, or other teachers.
Assignments are usually posted at MsAnsbach.wikispaces.com.
Oct 3rd, 2008 by msansbach
So…I found this online. I can’t promise all the links work, but you should be able to Google for the information. You’ll need to print this one-page pdf and then create a Word document to paste and type your answers into.
Don’t print out the dragon separately–copy and paste it in.
Let’s make it worth 50 points and due Friday, October 10, which is a half-day for you all. If you don’t have internet access at home, remember that you could complete this on the computers here at school.
Good luck. This looks kind of fun. 
Oct 2nd, 2008 by msansbach
Jun 22nd, 2008 by msansbach
So, I have been remiss in posting. I know. I haven’t posted to you all year.
I’m starting over. Sort of. I’m keeping the archive in case one of my old friends drops by, but I’m working this summer on putting together a blog site that will help us all work more efficiently.
So far, I have spent several days investigating some grant opportunities that may help bring us cool stuff to the classroom. How about summer reading? I’m reading Sue Monk Kidd’s The Mermaid Chair (which I am not as sucked into as I was with her first novel, The Secret Life of Bees. I highly recommend Bees if you haven’t checked it out yet, although it is sort of girly), and I’m also deciding which books to order from Amazon to keep me busy. I am looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of Janet Evanovich’s new novel, Fearless Fourteen. Evanovich is a graduate of Douglass College, as I am (good luck, Dean Ambar!), and the series takes place in New Jersey. Always fun, although not academic at all.
This summer I am also attending the New Jersey Council for the Humanities Teacher Institute (which we call “teacher camp” at my house) studying Literature and Democracy. I can’t wait! My books should be here any day, so that’s reading I’ll have to get done quickly. Just like you, I’ll have required reading that won’t have much to do with whether I like the book but what I can learn from it. I have found that sometimes I have required reading for class that doesn’t do much for me, but then I get to class and someone will have seen something in it that I didn’t notice, or the professor will use that to piece to investigate ideas that I hadn’t considered. Then the required reading becomes a gateway to new ideas, or new connections, or sometimes to deeper understanding of myself, the content, or my classmates. All of which makes reading stuff I don’t think is as cool as it could be worthwhile for the possibility of what it could offer me later.
Sep 24th, 2006 by msansbach
This is my blog. I write to you all here fairly often, answering questions, continuing discussions, and providing extra support when you need it. I’m working on making sure all our rubrics are here or are linked here. Many times lessons will be posted here and we’ll use the laptops to access them.
The most important thing to remember is that I am here. I check my email at least once a day on the weekends (keep in mind I have an early bed time, so emailing me after 7:30 or so means I won’t see it for sure). I moderate all comments here, and this site is equipped with software to see who is posting. The rules for posting are that you need to use your first name and last initial (unless you know no one else shares your first name).
Take a moment to look around and see what’s here. Again, welcome!
Hey, all…. Sorry I’m not there today. The doctor could only see me this morning, not this afternoon, and I haven’t been getting better. He gave me medicine and said I can rest this weekend and come to school Monday. Reading schedules stay the same. I’ll work out a syllabus for May for us this weekend, too.
Please be good today. I’ll see you Monday.
Ms. A
Mar 23rd, 2006 by msansbach
Check out this article about how Shakespeare is adapted for modern audiences (it’s about movies and stuff, so you’ll probably like it).
http://www.cleveland.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/entertainment/1142933468138980.xml?eaall&coll=2
Shakespeare Festival: May 2006!
Mar 23rd, 2006 by msansbach
Our version of student-led conferences involves you writing a letter to your family or family member sharing what you have learned and done in English class this year. Then, you selected 3-5 pieces of work from last semester and brought it home (the afternoon classes had a letter to bring home, at the request of the earlier class–Period 5 can pick up the letter tomorrow if they need to). Have your family member write a letter TO YOU acknowledging the receipt of said letter. Ideally, this would be a letter telling you how proud they are of your work. You have had enough constructive criticism and could probably use some good old-fashioned cheerleading to get you through these next months, I would imagine.
If you would like to bring your parent in for a 10-15 minute conference on your work, you need to write your script for what you will say about each thing in your portfolio and how you will explain your experiences and growth in class.
Questions, comments, send ‘em to me.
Mar 19th, 2006 by msansbach
Here’s another great site…
