novels

A Spatial Approach to Literary Analysis: 6 Graphic Organizers

Dec 43 min read

novels

A Spatial Approach to Literary Analysis: 6 Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers help students that think logically like scientists and mathematicians.

145 views

Oct 193 min read

novels

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 ...

105 views

Aug 234 min read

novels

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 ...

459 views

Apr 192 min read

novels

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

220 views

Nov 17, 20232 min read

novels

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.

187 views

Nov 1, 20233 min read

novels

10 Whole Class Discussion Strategies

With every passing year, it seems harder and harder to get students interested in whole class discussions. But there are creative ways ...

382 views

Feb 23, 20233 min read

novels

5 Ways to Introduce a Novel

Some books, maybe most, don’t require much introduction. Novels, to some extent, exist in their own world.

1,203 views

How to Inspire Students to Love Reading: The Joy of Reading

Aug 29, 20224 min read

novels

How to Inspire Students to Love Reading: The Joy of Reading

The biggest challenge ELA teachers face year to year is how to get to students to not only read the novels we assign ...

1,218 views

Jul 29, 20223 min read

novels

Great Books to Teach in High School

Picking a novel to teach is never easy. Teachers must teach what’s board approved, what’s in the curriculum. There’s always the issue of h

717 views

Feb 17, 20224 min read

novels

Whole-Novel Activities

Early in my career, I remember rolling through a novel chapter by chapter with PowerPoint slides and handouts. It always drove me crazy ...

1,361 views

Apr 29, 20213 min read

novels

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

Meaning-Making in the Secondary ELA Classroom

Mar 12, 20217 min read

novels

Meaning-Making in the Secondary ELA Classroom

It’s easy to say to our students that literature should be meaningful. It’s easy to ask students … what does that line mean?

211 views

Magical Realism: Interpretation and Creation

Feb 19, 20213 min read

novels

Magical Realism: Interpretation and Creation

Magical realism goes beyond the place that a metaphor takes us. It goes beyond the realm of comparison.

249 views

Teaching the Novel in a Remote or Hybrid Classroom

Jan 11, 20213 min read

novels

Teaching the Novel in a Remote or Hybrid Classroom

I’m trying to get as creative as possible when it comes to being flexible with students. After finishing a few units ...

628 views

Dec 7, 20202 min read

project-based learning

Rethinking Research

I attended the virtual NCTE conference this past Friday and it got me thinking about the research paper, or really, rethinking it. Part...

363 views

Homework: Putting Home and Work Together

Oct 8, 20203 min read

classroom management

Homework: Putting Home and Work Together

We need to think about what we’re asking students when we ask them to do homework.

140 views

Introduction to Literature: The 6 Values

Sep 13, 20204 min read

novels

Introduction to Literature: The 6 Values

What’s the point of English class?

666 views

How to Introduce the Value of Literature: Symbolism Show and Tell

Sep 5, 20202 min read

novels

How to Introduce the Value of Literature: Symbolism Show and Tell

The good thing is, this year, our students will be thirsty to know more about the world they live in.

368 views

4 Ways to Simplify Teaching English Language Arts

May 12, 20204 min read

novels

4 Ways to Simplify Teaching English Language Arts

This is the hardest thing for any teacher. Take a very difficult and complicated topic and make it easy to understand.

569 views

The 4 Essentials of Reading Checks and Note-taking

May 4, 20205 min read

novels

The 4 Essentials of Reading Checks and Note-taking

If we want students to be lifelong learners and readers, we need to make reading as fun and painless as possible.

364 views

Feb 24, 20202 min read

novels

Literature, A Living Map

Faulkner heard stories from his family and then created a novel, a living map, from those stories.

22 views

Virginia Woolf, Wordsmith of the Universe

Feb 20, 20206 min read

novels

Virginia Woolf, Wordsmith of the Universe

Why do I think Virginia Woolf is the greatest writer of all time? There are so many reasons.

40 views

Jan 21, 20203 min read

novels

Opening the Unconscious

Every great piece of literature explores the inner workings of what the character doesn’t consciously know about their own desires and fears

38 views

Jan 10, 20204 min read

novels

Jane Austen and The Bachelor

ust as Austen imagined a world of romance determined by “age, character, and condition”, The Bachelor asks the same questions. It captures a

38 views

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