Consider The Green Knight: a new movie for British Lit When you’re teaching a new class, you just can’t do it all. You ease into the new routine, the new texts, the new lesson plans, and activities. For example, even though I taught British Literature to high school seniors for three years, I never taughtContinue reading “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight”
Tag Archives: Education
DAR American History Writing Contest
Five tips to help your students succeed Looking for a middle school writing contest this fall? Look no further than the Daughters of the American Revolution’s (DAR) American History Essay Contest. In a previous teaching position, my middle schoolers participated in this contest for several years. I always looked forward to the day each fallContinue reading “DAR American History Writing Contest”
Beowulf Lessons for High School
Seven Beowulf Lesson Plans and Resources It’s that time of year again for British Literature teachers. It’s time for Beowulf! Have you started your journey into Anglo-Saxon poetry? My usual early fall Anglo-Saxon routine culminates with a three-week unit on Beowulf followed by a short unit on The Hero’s Journey. I didn’t always enjoy teachingContinue reading “Beowulf Lessons for High School”
Poetry Out Loud: Best High School Poetry Activity Ever
Poetry Out Loud builds students’ untapped talents Have you heard of Poetry Out Loud, (POL), the poetry recitation contest sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation? If you’re needing to inject some excitement into your ELA curriculum, dedicate some time to this contest. Last year, I made Poetry Out LoudContinue reading “Poetry Out Loud: Best High School Poetry Activity Ever”
Four Fun Back-to-School First Day Activities
Let students reconnect as they transition from summer to school Need a fun way to ease into the new school year? One where students can catch up with their friends, get to know you, and share a little about themselves at the same time? I’ve got four awesome, low-tech activities to help your kids reconnectContinue reading “Four Fun Back-to-School First Day Activities”
New Back-to-School First Day Activity
Arm in Arm by Remy Charlip gave me a world to fall into that didn’t always make sense, that was colorful, and full of possibility. And best of all… absurdity was allowed.
Five Bell-Ringers for Middle Grades and High School
A Week’s Worth of Bell-Ringers Bell-ringer activities are a great way to start class, get kids settled in, and ready to learn. And I should probably clarify that perhaps I’m not using the term “bell-ringer” accurately. While these five activities could be used as true bell-ringers, with students starting them independently as soon as theyContinue reading “Five Bell-Ringers for Middle Grades and High School”
Writing Contest: 2023 YoungArts Submissions Now Open
Add YoungArts to my growing list of student writing contests! It’s prestigious, career-building, and open for submissions until October 14.
New Poetry Lesson for High School: Poetry Transcription
Transcribing, slowing down, reading the poem word by word, and pausing to clarify something allowed the poem the time needed to sink in and brew, so we could contemplate the poet’s choices and her reasonings for those choices.
How to Reignite Your Passion for ELA (Part 5 of 5)
Indulge in literary travel Note: This is the last 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 4 of 5: Transcribe a Movie. Other than my first year of teaching, the 2021-2022 school year was my mostContinue reading “How to Reignite Your Passion for ELA (Part 5 of 5)”