THE USEFUL SHERPA
Original Content and English Composition Writing Lessons
HOME OF CRITICAL THINKING ENGLISH COMPOSITION WRITING LESSONS AND EBOOKS
Bored students?
Engagement issues?
Are your classes short on fresh material?
When I was teaching at Valley Forge Military College, I attended a seminar on English Composition at a neighboring college. The speaker began by declaring, “I’m not your teacher. I’m your sherpa.” The idea stuck with me and led the way to a different approach on English Composition.
These lessons will help if you could you use some original critical thinking challenges to jolt your students awake. These challenging lessons worked well in my classroom. Please check out the many free lessons – if you like them, buy a file or two. However, like my fiction, my teaching style is not right for everyone. My approach is predicated on a style of teaching that emphasizes real-world critical thinking and tons of practice writing.
-Tom Durwood.
Read read on and enjoy!
free booklet
English Composition in 33 Steps
-Ebook plus lesson-plan packet
Hard-won “best practices” from my years in a wide variety of classrooms. These basic approaches to teaching English Composition should apply to almost any stage of development.
free lesson plans
Business Writing
-Business cases
-Lesson plans
Here I have assembled nine divergent lesson plans, from the hub of Starbucks. Mix and match them to move your class through a number of critical thinking exercises. A topic like this will scaffold forever.
free lesson plans
Science and Technology Writing
-Lesson plans
Original content, 60 pages of critical thinking exercises. Topics include Pixar, the teen brain, the Three Gorges Dam, and social psychology’s greatest hits.
ebook
Empire and Literature
-Lesson plans for an entire semester
A resource for teachers and professors this ebook is applicable to secondary and collegiate literature, humanities, or interdisciplinary studies.
Young-adult/Adult ebooks
Historical Fiction
-“The Colonials”
-“King James’ Seventh Company”
-“Ulysses S. Grant in China and Other Stories”
Within these pages, readers will find revenge, heartbreak, and a new perspective on some of history’s great tales.
color adventure ebook Grades 4-5
Elementary School
-Dino Math, an original story ebook with 8 original illustrations and 24 math problems
Early-level math problems featuring dinosaurs. An original story with a map and full-color illustrations. Students must solve the math problems to help Bandar and Nushan reach the party.
Young-adult/Adult ebooks
Comics
-“Love Triangle in the High Sierras” plus lesson plan
-“The Caliph’s Gift” plus lesson plan
-“The Jade Necklace” plus lesson plan
From an adventure set against the dying days of the High Maya to a young sheriff’s deputy that stakes his claim on a girl’s heart. Tom Durwood and friend’s bring artwork and history together for imaginitive adventure.
free lesson plans
Writing about Horror
-Lesson plans
I have found monster theory to be an extremely rich vein to mine. Students will stick with this topic and write essays on aspects of fear, horror, and movie-making. Included is a month’s worth of basic writing lesson plans stemming from monsters.
Ebook & lesson plan
Teddy's Tantrum
-Full-length nonfiction book
-Lesson plan
A challenging case in empire and literature for advanced high school students.
Lesson plans
Architecture and Design
-Lesson plans
Here are a dozen short assignments introducing the students to the idea of design, along with the scaffolding for a four-week class debate (and research paper) on architects.
Lesson plans
New Military Studies
-Lesson plans
“New Military Studies” is a lengthy (100-plus pages) file with a wide variety of lesson plans on war and the cultural conflict which brings it into being.
Gateway to big ideas
Empire Studies Magazine
–Free original content.
An open-access magazine featuring over forty features on topics in the rise and fall of empire.
Critical thinking challenges for high school and college students.
Exclusive interviews with such scholars as Anne Knowles, Tabish Khair, Mark Bowden, Jane Tompkins and Thomas Ricks
