I don’t know if I can choose the best Christmas book ever for all readers, but I can definitely give you my idea of the best Christmas book ever. Well, maybe the best Christmas books ever–plural. I hope you are all winding down for a long winter’s break nap. Snuggle in with your favorite blanket,Continue Reading
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3 Spooky Season Poetry Lessons You Need to Use Now
Trick or Treat your ELA students with these three spooky season poetry lessons. Discover the poetic “tricks” that poets use to create mystery and creepiness to their writing. The treat part comes at the end–a fun, creative brain break activity. Is your class studying Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” this spooky season? It’s perfect forContinue Reading
Three Easy and Effective Games for the ELA Classroom
Obstacles to Learning for $400, please. Answer: Boredom Question: What problem rivals cell phones as the biggest distraction in the classroom? More and more, teachers are called up to be entertainers and motivators while still maintaining effective educational practices. In our instant-gratification fueled world, I don’t think that’s changing anytime soon. So what do weContinue Reading
How Analyzing Gatsby Can Help Teens Recognize Relationship Red Flags
I was desperate. I sat curled in a chair, my face wet, my throat tight, my heart crushed. I was a mom of four great kids. We lived in a beautiful five bedroom, three bathroom home walking distance from our church where I volunteered and sang in the choir. I sobbed so hard, I couldContinue Reading
Using Children’s Poetry to Engage Secondary Students
One of my earliest memories of poetry involves people-watching with my father. As we waited for my mom to find her perfect pair of shoes, Dad and I leaned against the railing on the second floor of the local mall and invented stories about the shoppers scurrying below us on the first floor. He wouldContinue Reading
Twain Texts You Aren’t Teaching But Should: Was it Heaven? Or Hell?
This is the third post in this series where we discover ways to introduce Twain in engaging, relevant ways without relying solely on Huckleberry Finn. “Was it Heaven? Or Hell?”: Harpers Monthly Magazine, Christmas 1902. Lessons: Pandemic History, juxtaposition, parallel structure Mark Twain is timely. Yes, he died in 1910; nevertheless, so many of his textsContinue Reading
