Literary techniques make literature, literature. Without them, we’d be left with words and facts...

I start the school year talking about how language is all around us.

This week, I asked students to connect the literature we study in class to the modern world. We had amazing, open-ended conversations ...

It’s that time of year to assign a college-style research paper to my seniors and I’ve found myself giving more and more time in class ...

After I taught the elective Filmmaking for the first time a few years ago, I realized how easy it is for students to quickly create a ...

To wrap up my unit on Things Fall Apart, I’m doing what I believe Chinua Achebe would have wanted....

I’ve long held the belief that we’re doing conclusions all wrong. Traditionally, it’s a moment in the essay where the writer wraps ...

What makes a great personal narrative? In the beginning of every year, I ask my students to write a story that communicates something...

A few years ago, I was the advisor for my school’s student-run art gallery. My district converted an old garage used for storage space ...

Every year, I complete the final assignment that I give my seniors. I ask them to talk about how it feels to graduate, what they've...

Sometimes I like to complete the essay that I assign my students. In this case, I assigned a reflection on the last year. I also wanted...

It’s easy to say to our students that literature should be meaningful. It’s easy to ask students … what does that line mean?

It’s pretty typical for a teacher, or anyone for that matter, to feel like they are swimming in new tech tools. But this year, it’s...

Even now, an open and honest conversation about politics can quickly turn ugly. Sometimes the conversation doesn’t happen at all because ...

Tomorrow I’ll give virtual feedback on an essay my students wrote on a poem. I usually provide feedback right before I assign the next...

I attended the virtual NCTE conference this past Friday and it got me thinking about the research paper, or really, rethinking it. Part...

At the end of each quarter, I like to give my students the opportunity to reflect on what they’ve done and what they will do next.

I recently came across Several short sentences about writing, a book by Verlyn Klinkenborg that I read a few years ago. It’s a must read...

Last week, I told my students to create sketchnotes on the poems we studied in class. I didn't really specify what I was looking for, I...

As an English teacher, I’m always thinking about the power of language. But recently, I’ve been thinking about language and power. How...

I talk to my students about what I call "The 4 T's" of the college essay - topic, tone, theme, and time.

I’ve always known the resilience of children, but this year, as I watch, or imagine, my students graduate and go off into the world, I’ve n

In my first few years of teaching, I remember feeling completely consumed by grading.

Over the years, I’ve discovered that there’s a fine line in the teaching of writing between convention and creativity.