The Great Gatsby: Chapter 1 Challenges

Chapter 1 isn’t always a student’s cup of tea “In my younger and more vulnerable years, my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.” (from The Great Gatsby, Chapter 1) We all recognize that famous first sentence of The Great Gatsby. It’s a quiet sentence, isn’t it?Continue reading “The Great Gatsby: Chapter 1 Challenges”

How to Reignite Your Passion for ELA (Part 2 of 5)

Wear your reading passion Note: This is the second of five daily posts on how to spark, reignite, and maintain your passion for ELA. Click here for yesterday’s post, Reignite Your Passion for ELA Part 1 of 5: Memorize and Recite Poetry. Other than my first year of teaching, the 2021-2022 school year was myContinue reading “How to Reignite Your Passion for ELA (Part 2 of 5)”

The Great Gatsby: History Cross-Curricular Lesson

Great Gatsby Chapter 7 Activity: Teapot Dome Scandal Bring history and ELA together for a cross-curricular Gatsby reunion! If you’re like me, it’s easy to fall into the rabbit hole known as JSTOR, the digital library that contains, according to its website, more than “12 million journal articles, books, images and primary sources.” It’s evenContinue reading “The Great Gatsby: History Cross-Curricular Lesson”

The Great Gatsby: A Critical Thinking Reader’s Guide

The Jazz Age Journal The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is such a multilayered and evergreen text! I’ve read it myriad times, and — I’m sure you can relate — I discover a new idea or noticing every time I revisit it. It’s no wonder that this book is such a popular read forContinue reading “The Great Gatsby: A Critical Thinking Reader’s Guide”

What’s Up with Wolfsheim?

3 articles to explore Gatsby’s OG Even though I’ve taught The Great Gatsby only twice, I have done quite a lot of writing about Fitzgerald’s many-layered masterpiece. If you pull down to The Great Gatsby on my Blog menu at the top of this page, you’ll find upwards of fourteen posts related to what isContinue reading “What’s Up with Wolfsheim?”

Hexagonal Thinking and The Great Gatsby

My first attempt with hexagonal thinking Dear Teacher-Friends: If you’re here for Part 2 of my “Teaching the Sonnet” post, please bear with me. I am still in the process of obtaining permission from a few students to post their wonderful sonnets. As soon as I have those permissions rounded up, I will publish thatContinue reading “Hexagonal Thinking and The Great Gatsby”