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 ...
top of page
Practical, self-paced professional development and college credit
for secondary ELA and general education teachers
Search
Nov 17, 20232 min read
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
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
Aug 29, 20224 min read
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 ...
1,175 views
Jul 29, 20223 min read
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
716 views
Feb 17, 20224 min read
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 ...
1,340 views
Feb 19, 20213 min read
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
Jan 11, 20213 min read
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
Oct 8, 20203 min read
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
Sep 13, 20204 min read
Introduction to Literature: The 6 Values
What’s the point of English class?
666 views
Sep 5, 20202 min read
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
May 12, 20204 min read
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.
567 views
May 4, 20205 min read
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.
361 views
Feb 24, 20202 min read
Literature, A Living Map
Faulkner heard stories from his family and then created a novel, a living map, from those stories.
22 views
Feb 20, 20206 min read
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
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
37 views
Jan 10, 20204 min read
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
Dec 28, 20194 min read
A Novel Way to Teach the Novel
Every English teacher works tirelessly to instill a love of reading in their students. We convince them that literature matters.
672 views
Dec 19, 20193 min read
Why is Hamlet Great?
We’re wrapping up Hamlet this week, and it never ceases to amaze me how it stays relevant year after year.
26 views
Nov 20, 20192 min read
Boundless Questions, Perpetual Questions
I often think about the importance of asking good, quality questions in class.
92 views
Oct 21, 20193 min read
Symbolism in Life and Literature
On the first day of class this year, I placed a rock on a desk in the middle of my classroom.
83 views
bottom of page