Adding Rigor and Relevance to Secondary ELA: Getting Your Students to Think (and Like It!)

Our gifted secondary students are questioning life's big ideas on a regular basis: How can I get a girl to like me? How do I convince my parents to stop treating me like a child? Why is there more violence in some communities than in others? Gifted students know there is more to life than right or wrong, black or white. By anchoring the English language arts curriculum in philosophy, teachers can provide their students with an academic lens to view the world around them. Participants will learn philosophical concepts and how to apply them to their content, adding both rigor and relevance to their lessons. Instructional strategies will be modeled and time will be provided to design new lessons that incorporate classic theory with cutting-edge ideas for secondary ELA teachers. No prior understanding of philosophy is necessary! You, too, will think, learn, and like it!

Laila Y. Sanguras, Ph.D., has more than 15 years of experience in teaching and curriculum development with an emphasis on language arts and digital learning environments. She currently works in program evaluation for a large urban school district. She completed a Ph.D. in research, measurement, and statistics. Her research interests include adolescent psychosocial skills related to coping, talent development, and grit. She loves spending time with family, traveling, and reading.