Engagement in learning is at an all-time low, so it is rapidly becoming a driving decision-making factor for teachers.  Shakespeare, to begin with, has historically been written off by many as out of touch, irrelevant, and not necessary for students in their everyday lives.  And while this has not been my experience at all, I can completely understand how it may have been the case for teachers. will this be engaging for our (mostly) disengaged students ..read more

The art of pacing out the reading during a novel unit can be tricky, so we’re going to take some time today to talk through the process. Whether you’re teaching a classic or a contemporary YA title, there are special considerations to be made for the design of your calendar and how we backwards plan for ELA. Let’s jump in ..read more

Dr. King’s legacy is especially powerful in the ELA classroom: his words, his rhetoric, and the passion with which he speaks them is not only worthy of study in its own right, but the overlaps into our content area make the analysis of the layers of his work that much more rich and impactful. Here is a free lesson walkthrough for your middle or high school English class celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday ..read more

And here's the thing:  if your students are talking about Taylor, then so should you.  This is an open door into engagement and skill building that is not to be missed.  Here are three ways to pull the power of Taylor into your classroom and spike engagement among your students ..read more

In a world where the love for books is timeless, as educators, we know the magic of a well-told tale. We ignite knowledge and passion for literature in our students. We spend hours immersed in stories, guiding young minds and sharing the joy of reading. Have you thought of gifting a little magic to yourself or other book lovers? Imagine unwrapping a gift that honors your love for books — and the immense joy that would be! In this blog post, I have curated a list of delightful gifts for book enthusiasts, including a Gift Guide for you to skim through as well ..read more

Now, more than ever, we need to have in front of our students. From the new onset of AI technology to the daily threats of our intellectual and academic freedom, provides windows, mirrors, and doors into our present and our future. While Montag’s transformation, the working symbolism, and general dystopian world-building are all incredibly important pieces to focus on, I’d like to argue that it’s possible we need Clarisse McClellan the most ..read more

During the introductory phases of teaching rhetorical analysis, you need to start off with texts that are approachable and teachable. This helps to build student confidence as the texts get harder and harder each year. Here are 20 places where you can start that journey confidently ..read more

Here’s what we need to remember: the first day of class is the chance to make an impression, to set a tone, and to signal to students the kind of atmosphere they can expect walking through your doors every day for third period. Once you know what you want your room to like and you can describe the kind of it will be for the learners in your room, it doesn’t matter WHAT you choose to do on the first day of school as long as it hits everything on your list ..read more

One of my favorite units to teach is a unit that focuses on the American Dream. It’s the perfect way to hone in on complex characterization and the layers of complexity are widely accommodating for skill level. Whether you’re building the unit to teach as a whole class novel unit or as a literature circles unit, this book list is here to save you time and energy in narrowing down the search ..read more

Creating a community of support around new staff members and new teachers is one of the most important things we can do to retain teachers and, in turn, support our students.  Welcome gifts and support or care packages are a great way to do this and no matter your budget, I have a few fun ideas that might help you as you’re designing your own!   ..read more