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End of Year Lesson Plan – Letter to my future (teacher) self

May 11, 2025

I’m a few weeks away from the end of this school year and I’m pushing through to the end, as I presume you are too.  It’s report cards and wrap-up

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Poetry lesson and grammar lesson heading for middle school english and high school english

How to Teach Poetry and Grammar Together for Maximum Effect

April 13, 2025

I’m all about working smarter and not harder, especially as we near the end of the school year! So a lesson that accomplishes more than one goal is amazing! And

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teaching literary theory in high school ela as heading with a woman sitting on a pile of oversized old books

Teaching Literary Theory in ELA

February 16, 2025

Do you teach literary theory in your ELA classes?  Do you find it a challenge for you or for students?  Have you thought about using a core text to explore

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Teaching comparative essay writing as a heading with an apple and an orange as image on it

How to Teach Comparative Essay Writing in ELA

February 2, 2025

Do your students struggle with compare and contrast activities? Maybe they rely on the obvious at the expense of analysis? Is thesis writing, constructing outlines, and avoiding plagiarism a problem?

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Desk configurations for High School or Middle School English

January 19, 2025

Throughout the year we use a variety of desk set ups to help with solo, paired, and group work. But like many of you I share a classroom with other

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Image of teacher desk in high school classroom with text that reads my best lesson plan with advice from 8 ELA teachers

8 Best-Ever ELA Lesson Plans For Your Classroom

February 26, 2024

Have you ever had a moment of absolute triumph when you finished a lesson in your high school English class? A time where you just thought to yourself: YES, this

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Why and How You Should Use Music in English

May 15, 2023

I love music. I have no discernible talent for playing music, but I have a soundtrack for life that can be taken to a moment or emotion with the right

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How To Teach Media Bias in High School

May 1, 2023

In my pre-teaching life, I studied journalism and did freelance work for different newspapers and magazines. So when I started teaching, it was important to incorporate media in ways that

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12 Tried-and-True Poetry Ideas for ELA

April 24, 2023

Do you ever wonder what other teachers are doing with poetry? What poetry ideas are they using in their classrooms? Well, for this post that’s exactly what I asked of

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Sports Poetry for High School ELA

April 17, 2023

Choosing poems that will engage all of the learners in your class can be a challenge. You might try palindrome poetry or X, but another option is choosing a theme

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