This past week, my junior English III learned about one of the America’s first celebrities, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. And I’m so glad I decided to go more in-depth with this cultural icon than our textbook allows.
Tag Archives: Education
Poetry Lesson: The Cinquain
Two weeks ago, in my new high school poetry class, I introduced my students to the cinquain. These short, concise, and beautiful little poems were a hit and a success and, as I heard my students reciting their own cinquains, I knew I would have to fill you in on this poetry idea.
A better Beowulf unit begins with Sutton Hoo
Written by Sam Knight and published in The New Yorker (August 9, 2019), this article is one of my all-time favorite contemporary texts to include in my Beowulf unit.
My new high school poetry class
Four weeks into the new school year, my new poetry class is quickly becoming my FAVORITE class of the day. Here’s what we’ve done so far… but know that we are just getting started, so stay tuned. Read on…
A New Poem Activity for The Wanderer
While our study of The Wanderer included some note-taking, reading the poem aloud, and completing a close-reading activity, I wanted us to go one step further to get more out of this beautiful verse. So when I read about something called the “Ubi sunt” motif present in The Wanderer, I took notice… especially when I considered how it might be a way for students to better connect personally to this poem.
The Best 9/11 Lesson Ever: Visit a Local Memorial
A 9/11 field trip helps students better understand the attacks and identify with the tragedy in a way that’s more tangible than reading about it in a textbook (and way more verifiably truthful than learning about it on YouTube!). Find a memorial near you with these links.
Back to school: Four icebreaker poetry ideas
Get to know your students with these poetry mentor texts School is starting soon in most locales of the United States and teachers are busy gearing up to find interesting. low-stakes ways to get students writing. Poetry is always a no-fail way to encourage students of all ages to get back in the swing ofContinue reading “Back to school: Four icebreaker poetry ideas”
Three back-to-school ELA lesson ideas
Needing some fresh ideas for the first day back at school? Want to avoid the ubiquitous “What I Did On My Summer Vacation” drudgery?
New Great Gatsby Lesson Ideas and Resources
This week, I’m sharing links to all nine of my Gatsby posts I published this summer. Plan to see more this fall since I don’t see my crush ending any time soon!
Movie captions and text create unique poems
When text passages from a novel mingle with captions or subtitles from its accompanying movie, interesting things happen. Here’s what I mean: I always watch movies with the subtitles on. It helps me catch every word of dialogue and also catch every nuance given through the sound effects.
