Poems about Poetry: 6 Poems that Introduce Poetry
I’ll start my poetry unit this year with poems about poetry to open up the conversation about the potential and power of words. These...
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- Sep 30, 2021
- 2 min
Stressed or Unstressed? No Stress
It’s a kind of academic rite of passage to get confused about scanning a line of poetry. It can feel maddening to figure out what...
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- Sep 21, 2021
- 2 min
Rethinking the Thesis Statement
The thesis statement: the holy grail of the English classroom. I once had a professor tell my classmates and me to tape our thesis...
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- Sep 16, 2021
- 2 min
Voice to Text: The Keys to Great Storytelling
What makes a great personal narrative? In the beginning of every year, I ask my students to write a story that communicates something...
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- Sep 8, 2021
- 4 min
The 6 Functions of Language
At the start of every year, I like to talk about the role of language and how it can be transformative. I will ask my students to ...
134
- Sep 2, 2021
- 4 min
5 Ways to Establish Great Relationships in Your Classroom
If you look back on being a student, I’m sure you remember not the specifics of what you learned, but your teachers, the people tasked with
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- Aug 23, 2021
- 3 min
Teaching Shakespeare Using Film: Romeo and Juliet from PBS Great Performances
There is no challenge quite like teaching Shakespeare. Early modern English always poses challenges for teenage readers, and ...
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- Aug 17, 2021
- 3 min
5 Ways to Have a Drama-Filled Classroom
No, not that kind of drama. Performance. Few people know how to act, but everyone knows what a good performance looks like. The words...
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- Aug 5, 2021
- 3 min
Symbolism Ice Breaker
We are all familiar with the first few days in our classroom. It’s a little tense because our students don’t know us ...
386
- Aug 2, 2021
- 3 min
The Ghosts of History in Toni Morrison’s Beloved
“The future was sunset; the past something to leave behind. And if it didn’t stay behind, well, you might have to stomp it out. Slave...
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- Jul 29, 2021
- 2 min
What is Racial Literacy?
Lately, critical race theory has been in the news and even in some random videos with parents at local school board meetings that pop up...
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- Jul 11, 2021
- 3 min
Displaying Student Work
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 ...
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- Jul 2, 2021
- 3 min
The Keys to Organizing an ELA Classroom
A well-organized classroom reduces stress and helps everyone focus on what’s most important, the literature.
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- Jun 26, 2021
- 3 min
The Path to Easy, Exciting, Excellent Teaching
My school year finished this week, and as I watched my seniors graduate, I felt like we all deserved something special for making it...
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- May 30, 2021
- 3 min
Graduation 2021: Love and Stories
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...
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- May 25, 2021
- 3 min
New Year, New Ideas
It’s hard to imagine that anything positive will come out of this year, but I’ve been thinking about what, if any, lessons I’ve learned ...
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- May 12, 2021
- 2 min
A Fun Way to End This Year
We’re approaching the end of a wildly difficult year. We weren’t able to connect with our students like we normally would...
272
- May 7, 2021
- 2 min
Where to Find Real Stories on the Web
We’re finishing up a unit on Exit West by Mohsin Hamid this week so I’m asking my students to listen to a personal narrative of choice....
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- Apr 29, 2021
- 3 min
LGBTQ+ Literature: Opening Up Language
About five years ago, I read an article by a high school student about the way to create a LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum...
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- Apr 22, 2021
- 3 min
Real World Interviews and Conversations
I start the school year with a conversation about the value of literature, so I like to end by giving my students the opportunity to bring w
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- Apr 14, 2021
- 4 min
7 Methods to Finish the Year Strong
If you have been teaching remote or hybrid you know that students don’t turn in as much work as they usually do. You’re not alone ...
330
- Apr 8, 2021
- 4 min
One Year Later: Reflection
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...
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- Mar 29, 2021
- 2 min
The Magic of Storytelling: Real and Fictional
I recently listened to the podcast “The Story of Your Life” on Hidden Brain by Shankar Vedantam. I felt like I was listening to ...
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