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Practical, self-paced professional development and college credit
for secondary ELA and general education teachers
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The Creative Nonfiction Essay
Literary analysis can be a fun way students learn how to interpret quotes and identify patterns in writing. However, most students prefer
Apr 22 min read
110 views

How Teachers Can Stay Focused and Avoid Taking Work Home
Teachers already have a stressful job while in school. They shouldn’t also bring that stress home and let it continue on their time off.
Mar 213 min read
111 views

How to Create a Positive Classroom Culture and Environment: 5 Methods
It can be difficult for a teacher to build relationships with students because, well, we’re older. We don’t live in their world, but we...
Mar 122 min read
56 views

Stories About Modern Media
If we are being honest, most students interact more with modern media than with literature.
Feb 132 min read
86 views

How to Use Freud and Psychoanalysis to Teach Literature
Freud had a lot of wild theories, but a simple understanding of the short essay “The Structure of the Unconscious” can help students easily
Jan 312 min read
81 views

A Spatial Approach to Literary Analysis: 6 Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers help students that think logically like scientists and mathematicians.
Dec 4, 20243 min read
236 views

How to Teach Shakespeare
Students find Shakespeare challenging for several reasons. It is possible to help students peel back the layers of complexity, but it’s...
Nov 18, 20243 min read
222 views

Reading Blocks for Secondary ELA
I recently encountered an article in the Atlantic titled “The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books.” It scared me a little ...
Oct 19, 20243 min read
128 views

Kids, Phones, and Class Participation
At the beginning of every school year, I quickly talk about grades. Since writing counts weighs the most, the class participation grade is
Sep 27, 20242 min read
132 views

The Best Contemporary Novels to Teach in High School
I have a love for most the literature I read in high school and college. I’m sure you’re familiar with the writers ...
Aug 23, 20244 min read
620 views

How to Decorate and Organize a Classroom
It can be hard to decorate a classroom if you have to share space with a few other teachers or pay out of pocket for supplies.
Aug 1, 20244 min read
248 views

3 Types of Interviews and Conversations in ELA
One of the most rewarding things about being a teacher is watching my students continue the conversation as they leave the classroom.
Jul 22, 20242 min read
177 views

Meaning-Making in ELA: 3 Ways to Get Students Invested
A classroom can be two places at the same time: a place to work hard and learn valuable skills and a place to have fun and make meaning from
Jul 18, 20242 min read
221 views

Teaching the Podcast Serial, Season 1, Episode 1 with Sarah Koenig
I’m always surprised when my students give their full attention to an hour-long podcast. What keeps kids locked into Serial is not ...
May 10, 20242 min read
327 views

How to Teach or Assign a Podcast
Podcasts promote a very simple, yet important life skill: listening. They also help students understand tone, the emotion behind the ...
May 3, 20242 min read
152 views

Close Reading Passages in Novels
There’s nothing like close reading. A bunch of colorful annotations on a poem is a beautiful thing. Close reading is a valuable skill and
Apr 19, 20242 min read
232 views

6 Engaging Activities to Analyze a Novel in ELA
Every day I think about how to keep students engaged when studying novels. Students will lose interest if they do the same thing every...
Feb 29, 20243 min read
439 views

Preventing the Use of AI in ELA: 6 Methods
There will always be new tools to help teachers combat the use of AI. A Chrome extension called Origin by GPTZero provides a writing ...
Feb 9, 20243 min read
353 views

Media and Genre-Based Units
Schools and teachers usually organize ELA curriculum by novel, theme, or genre, or some combination of those three.
Jan 23, 20243 min read
295 views

Creating Relevance in a Modern Classroom
Sometimes I find myself trying to think of ways to create connections between literature and the real world.
Jan 10, 20242 min read
219 views

5 Fun Ways Students Find Quotes
Teaching students the value of using quotes in an essay is more important now than ever ...
Dec 21, 20233 min read
369 views

Meaningful Project-Based Learning for High School English: 5 Objectives
I recently opened enrollment for a new online course, Meaningful Project-Based Learning for High School English. Enrollment closes Friday
Dec 12, 20232 min read
440 views


5 Ways to Handle the ELA Workload
There’s no doubt that English teachers have to manage a ton of work. Students have to practice writing frequently and gather as many quotes
Nov 29, 20232 min read
363 views

Character Study: A Whole-Novel Activity
Students love to think about how a character develops because they too, because they’re teenagers, experience a lot of change.
Nov 17, 20232 min read
188 views
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