#You Obviously

Even when students can read and spell words accurately, it’s still essential that they understand how those words are structured. Accuracy alone does not guarantee that students understand the meaning of words. Words such as been, does, and every are often taught as whole units. While this allows students to read and spell them correctly, it does little to build an understanding of how English works. When we teach the morphological structure of common, everyday words, we’re teaching a way of thinking about words that can be applied to hundreds, even thousands, of other words. Every word in the English language is a base or contains a base, and a large proportion also include prefixes and/or suffixes. When students learn to analyze the structure of simple, familiar words, they begin to see patterns that extend directly into more complex, multisyllabic words. This kind of instruction is not extra, it’s essential. Teaching all elements of orthography strengthens decoding, encoding, vocabulary, and comprehension. When students recognize the meaningful units in words (morphemes) they gain a powerful strategy for inferring the meaning of unfamiliar words. Instead of skipping or guessing, students can use their knowledge to construct meaning. This directly supports reading comprehension, particularly as the texts they’re reading become more complex. Teaching word structure, even for words students already “know”, builds transferable literary skills. It equips students with tools for reading, spelling, and understanding new words - laying the foundation for long-term literacy success. Looking for no-prep lessons and practice that teach the real structure of English…check out my Mastering Morphology bundle (currently a growing bundle) available on my website and TPT. #structuredliteracy #scienceofreading #spelling #highfrequencywords #sightwords #teacher

In English, we use the phrase “there is” to say that a person or thing exists. However, what if we’re trying to express that we WANT the existence of something? Can we use “there is” exactly as it is to say this? The answer is… NO, we can’t. In English, if we want to see someone or something else do something, we use the phrase “to want a person/thing TO do something” to express this. So, to say that we want the existence of something, we need to get rid of “is” and replace it with the infinitive form of the verb, which is “to be.” For example, “I don’t want there to be any awkwardness between us.” Also, we need to replace “is” with “to be” when using other verbs that have the same structure as “want,” like need, expect, and would like. In other words, since we also say “to NEED a person/thing TO do something” just like with “want,” we also need to use “there to be” with “need.” Here are some more examples: I would like there to be a plot twist in the story. She expected there to be no one at her show, but she was mistaken. Another common situation in which you’ll need to use “there to be” is when the word “for” is used with a certain phrase. For example, in impersonal phrases like “it’s necessary” and “it’s crucial,” we can add “for” to them to say who the adjective applies to, but when we use “there is” with it, we say “for there to be”: It’s crucial for there to be people you can lean on whenever you need help. Also, in certain phrases where “for” can be used, “there to be” is also required: I would hate for there to be bad blood between you and him. There is no reason for there to be so many unattended children here. Finally, since the phrase “there is” contains the verb “to be,” we can use it with a lot of different modal verbs and verb phrases and say the following: 🔸There seems to be, there happens to be, there has to be, etc. 🔸There’s likely to be, there’s sure to be, there’s supposed to be, there tends to be, etc. However, keep in mind that subject-verb agreement still applies with these verbs, so we need to say “There needs to be one person here,” but “There need to be two people here.” 😊 #esl #learnenglish #advancedenglish

Advanced adjectives!🤩

Advanced learners can usually say everything they want in English. But sometimes not in the way they would have liked to. At this level, successful communication often depends on layers beneath dictionary definitions: implication, evaluation, stance, cultural reference. Two sentences can report the same fact and still create a different impression. Think of “change completely” versus “change dramatically” or even “change beyond recognition.” Becoming aware of these layers is what allows learners to sound precise, diplomatic, skeptical, enthusiastic—in other words, more intentional. This is the kind of thinking I try to foster in my classroom: noticing what words do. And one of the most rewarding moments for me is seeing students do this independently: looking at language carefully, asking questions, and consulting resources, because they’ve understood that meaning is more than definitions. 🥹🤍

You probably say this one every day without realizing it. ❌ “Me and my wife went to the store.” ✅ “My wife and I went to the store.” Easy test: remove the other person. If it sounds wrong ( “Me went…” ), it was wrong. Save this for later, send it to a friend who needs it, and comment the grammar mistake you hear the most 👇📚 #reels #viralreels #fyp #grammar #englishteacher

Honestly, the English language is so screwed up. 🤮 #englishtips #grammar #wordnerd #sayings #englishteacher

Let’s talk about suffixes and the use of “-able” #englishtips #teacheranne #suffix

Do you know how native speakers often say that they are negatively surprised in English? This may SURPRISE you (see what I did there? 😜), but natives often don’t use the adjective “surprised” to say this! To express a negative surprise, we often say that we were BLINDSIDED by something: I was completely blindsided by the news that my best friend had been fired from the company we both worked at. However, to express a positive surprise, we can say that we are PLEASANTLY surprised: I walked into the party feeling nervous, but I was pleasantly surprised by just how many people I recognized and already knew. Identifying both a positive and a negative way to say a certain word like I’ve just done above is a GREAT way to expand and improve your vocabulary, since knowing different ways to say one thing will allow you to use a more diverse and precise vocabulary in general. To use this strategy, try to find verbs and adjectives that are fairly neutral (in other words, try to find verbs and adjectives that don’t have a strong positive or negative meaning). ChatGPT can help you do this, but try to make your own list as well. After you do this, you can ask ChatGPT to give you positive and negative versions of the words on the list, and this is how you can be exposed to a wide range of advanced vocabulary that native speakers actually use in spoken English. Not all verbs and adjectives have both a positive and a negative version, of course; for example, the slightly more negative version of the phrasal verb “end up” is “wind up,” but “end up” doesn’t really have an alternative with a positive meaning: If you keep making such irresponsible decisions, you’ll probably wind up in jail. But even though many words don’t have clear-cut positive and negative versions, it’s still helpful to think about whether or not a word you’ve just learned has a positive or negative alternative, since this can help you quickly turn one new word or phrase you’ve learned into two! Can you think of any other examples of words with both positive and negative versions? Let me know in the comments below! #esl #learnenglish #englishvocabulary #advancedenglish

Demonstrative Adjectives- Follow for Daily English practice! #learnenglish #englishteacher #englishtips #inglés #english

Phrasal verbs with LOOK — interactive test 👀 Some of you asked why she says: “She looks down on you, does she?” instead of “doesn’t she?” Here’s the key idea: both are correct, but they do different jobs. It depends on whether you’re confirming a fact or reacting emotionally. 1) “She looks down on you, doesn’t she?” (confirmation) ✅ The classic rule: positive statement + negative tag. Meaning: I think it’s true — I’m checking you agree. Example: “She acts like she’s better than everyone. She looks down on you, doesn’t she?” 2) “She looks down on you, does she?” (reaction: sarcasm / surprise / challenge) ✅ A “same-way” tag: positive statement + positive tag. Meaning: I’m not really asking — I’m reacting. (often a bit sharp) Example: “Oh, so she thinks she’s too good for us and looks down on you, does she? Right…”

Things I stopped doing I used to be the teacher who assigned one chapter a night, quizzed on it the following day and moved on. And my scores showed it. Here are some things I no longer do in my AP®️ English classroom and here is what I do instead: 1️⃣ I stopped using novel “study guides.” Now I use essential questions and close reading. 2️⃣ I stopped assigning a chapter or two each night. Now I assign larger chunks of text due once a week (like Mondays). 3️⃣ I stopped using “right there”/ gotcha reading check quizzes. Now I focus on quizzes that demonstrate knowledge and understanding without being detail specific. 4️⃣ I stopped teaching books and plays. Now I prioritize themes and skills. 5️⃣ I stopped grading projects and essays. Now I focus on assessing skills. This doesn’t mean I have dumbed it down or lessened the expectations. It usually means you’re learning how to focus more on skills, essential questions and beginning with the end in mind. If you want help going from old school English teacher to more effective strategies that help students move the needle, this is exactly what I help people do. Follow for more and DM me to let me know which of these topics you want to know more about. #apenglishteacher #aplitteacher #aplit #highschoolenglishteacher #aplangteacher

What's the final one?