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, 20212 min read
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...
183 views
Sep 21, 20212 min read
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...
699 views
Sep 16, 20212 min read
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...
216 views
Sep 8, 20214 min read
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 ...
142 views
Sep 2, 20214 min read
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
570 views
Aug 23, 20213 min read
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 ...
148 views
Aug 17, 20213 min read
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...
188 views
Aug 5, 20213 min read
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 ...
739 views
Aug 2, 20213 min read
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...
118 views
Jul 29, 20212 min read
What is Racial Literacy?
For me, talking about race, or really culture, has always been about love. Schools function to connect people through art, music, sports,...
160 views
Jul 11, 20213 min read
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 ...
246 views
Jul 2, 20213 min read
The Keys to Organizing an ELA Classroom
A well-organized classroom reduces stress and helps everyone focus on what’s most important, the literature.
523 views
Jun 26, 20213 min read
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...
92 views
May 30, 20213 min read
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...
238 views
May 25, 20213 min read
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 ...
296 views
May 12, 20212 min read
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...
274 views
May 7, 20213 min read
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....
163 views
Apr 29, 20213 min read
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...
393 views
Apr 22, 20213 min read
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
209 views
Apr 14, 20214 min read
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 ...
333 views
Apr 8, 20214 min read
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...
143 views
Mar 29, 20212 min read
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 ...
213 views
Mar 23, 20213 min read
5 Project Ideas for the Spring
The end of the year will be here soon and like any teacher right now, especially senior teachers, I’m worried about ...
309 views
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