Can’t find what you’re looking for? Here’s an alphabetical listing of my blog entries. Happy browsing!
Add to Your Bag of Tricks (Novel Studies)
Advice for a 6th Grade Writing Teacher
Advice for a Visually Impaired Teacher
Advice for Mentor Teachers
Advice to Help Land a Teaching Job
Alert! Alert! Your Prezi Links are Broken!
All Good Things (Scheduling Speeches)
All is Calm, All is Bright (Classroom Decor)
Am I Part of the Problem?
And Now For Some Data…
And the Winners Are…
Another Great Podcast for the Classroom
April = National Poetry Month, 5 Ways to Celebrate
Are Your Kids Ready for the New SAT Essay?
Ask and Ye Shall Receive
At Maturity, a Pun is Fully Groan
Audiobook Resources for Teachers (Free & Low Cost)
Back to School Night = Speed Dating?
Bad Poetry? Oh, Noetry!
Be Prepared With Print-and-Teach Lessons (Emergency Sub Plans)
Be the Hero of the Science Dept.
The Beauty of a Properly Framed Quote (Help for Teen Writers)
Bell-Ringers for the Win!
Best (and Worst) Professional Development
Best Book Ever?
Best Lesson Planner? A FREE One!
Best Professional Development Expert? The Teacher Down the Hall
Best Thing You’ll See Today (Spoof Video)
Better Class Participation?
Birds Aren’t Real: Gen Z + Satire = Video Gold!
Black History + Women’s History = Bulletin Board Love
Book Search Like a Boss
Brain Candy
Brainstorming Organizers (Free Handouts)
Brave New World? Dystopian Literature
Building Growth Mindset
Buried Under Essays? Host a Writing Competition
Can Robots Do It Better? (Grading Software)
Can I Crash With You Guys? (Lesson Prep)
Can We Fix Education?
Can We Talk? (TED Talk event)
Cell Phone Characterization Refresh
ChatGPT: Friend or Foe?
Classroom Decor with a Little Bit More
Close Reading Reinforcement Idea
Confuse & Conquer the Class Troublemaker
Conquering Question Fatigue
Consistency in the English Department?
A Crazy Approach to Improve Teen Writing
Creation Station Rotation (Poetry Instruction with Inquiry Stations)
Creature Comforts
Crimes Against Grammar
Cross-Post: Free Writing Strategy
Dad’s Day = Another Freebie!
Death By Thesaurus
Digging Deep (Greek & Latin Roots)
Digging Through the Book St(ack!)
Disability Awareness Bulletin Board
Do Mean Teachers Get More Respect?
Do You Believe in Them?
Do You “Like” Me? (Social media)
Does Spelling Matter? (Dose Spelling Madder?)
Don’t Want None Unless You Got Puns, Hon
Earth Day is April 22 – You Ready? (repost)
Earth Day the Easy Way
Easily Amused (Fun Google-based sites)
Easy! Turn a PDF into a Google worksheet – no add-on needed
Editable Worksheet Templates
Essay Writing Help: Concluding Paragraph Format
Even More Brain Teasers!
Every Second Counts (Recordkeeping)
Everyone Likes Free Stuff, Right?
Experiment in Human Cloning
Extra Help, Not Extra Credit
“F” is for Failure
Facing Failure? (20Time)
Faculty Meeting Survival Tip
Fallacies of Argumentation
Famous Failures #2, Even More Growth Mindset
Famous Failures #3: Even More to Root For
Favorite Halloween Week Lessons
Feel Free to Comment
Feelin’ Zippy (Review of ZipGrade App)
Feeling Brave? (Classroom Connections)
Fight For Your Right to Party
Fighting the Good Fight (Homework Wars)
Fill the Toolbox (Argumentative Writing)
Filling Lesson Plan Gaps
Five Classroom Essentials
Five Lessons That’ll Save Your Sanity
Five Little Exercises (Common Core test prep)
Five Ready-to-Use Poetry Stations
Five Things You NEED to Know About the New MLA Works Cited Format
Flippin’ Awesome (Flipped Classroom Ideas)
Four-Step Introductory Paragraph Format (Free Slides + Handout)
Frankly Speaking (Benjamin Franklin, informational text)
Free Audiobooks for You and Your Students
Free Bulletin Board Refresher
Free Coloring Pages for Teens, Mandalas and Mindfulness
Free Daily Habit Tracker, Growth Mindset Worksheet
Free Goal-Setting Tool for Teachers & Students
Free High School English Monthly Calendars
Free Interactive Bulletin Board
Free Lessons to Fight End-of-Year Burn Out
Free Low-Tech/No-Tech Distance Learning Activity 12-Pack
Free Media Literacy Worksheets
Free Podcast Lesson: War Hero Robert Smalls
Free Set of 25 Famous First Lines Posters
Free Teacher Planner Template
Free Teacher Resume Reboot Templates
Free Writing Prompts & Inspiration
Freedom!
Friends, Teachers, Countrymen… (Free Julius Caesar resource)
From the Ground Up (Teaching Career)
Full Year of H.S. English – Week at a Glance
George + Lennie = Algebra? (Of Mice and Men)
Gift Card Giveaway – and FREE set of five posters
Good Writing Can Come in Small Packages (Creative Writing)
Goodbye, Harper Lee
Grade 11 Calendars Have Arrived!
Grading Hacks, Episode #1
Grading Hacks, Episode #2 (+ Points or Percents?)
Grading Hacks, Episode #3
Grading Hacks, Episode #4
Grading Hacks, Episode #5 (Host a Writing Contest)
Great Gatsby = So Fancy
Great Last Lines (Free Bulletin Board Materials)
Halloween Brain Candy for English Classes
Happy New Year!
Happy Birthday, TpT!
Help a Stressed Out New Teacher
Help for a Second-Year Teacher
Help for Kids Who’ve Already Failed
Help Me Help You
Help! New Teacher is Freaking Out
Help Yourself While Helping Me Help Them (TpT credits)
Help Teens Work Through Thick Text
High School English on YouTube (108 video series)
Hold Their Feet to the Fire (Student Accountability)
Holiday Survival Guide
“Homewrecker” Podcast – Would You or Wouldn’t You?
Honors Students = Auto Mechanics
How Common Core Changed My Classroom
How Can I Make This Work? (20Time Q&A)
How I Teach Grammar (Painlessly!)
How I Teach Theme (Free Slides)
How NOT to Impress an Administrator
How 60 Cents Rocked My World
How to be Successful on TeachersPayTeachers.com
How to Read a Painting
How Would You…? (Time Management)
I Just Met Susan Glaspell (American literature)
If (When?) Coronavirus Attacks Your School (Emergency lesson plans)
If You Can’t Beat ‘Em (Classroom Management)
I Got a New Job!
I’m Going to Call Your Parents (Positive Discipline)
I’m Thankful for…Free Stations Materials
Imagined Life: A Feel-Good Podcast about Failure
Importance of Self-Care
In Praise of Selfishness
Instagram Challenge
Instant Lesson Plan: The New York Times Found Poetry Contest
Interactive Whiteboard Fix
Is School Even Important? Q&A
It Exists! (The Cool Bus)
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like…20Time 2020
It’s My Honor to Introduce (Freebie for Viewing Grad. Speeches)
Just Say “No!” to Boring Book Reports
Juvenile Justice (Free Supreme Court Lesson Materials)
Keep It Simple, Sweetie (Q&A: Online Learning Advice)
The King & I (Economy of Language)
Last Week of School Lesson Ideas
Learning From Famous Failures (Growth Mindset)
Let Hasan Minhaj Tell You a Story (Listen & Learn Activity)
Let Jason Reynolds Teach Your Class (Free Video-Based Lesson)
Let Me Plan Your Lessons This Week (5-Day Long-Term Sub Lesson Planning)
Let’s All Go to the Movies! (Hero’s Journey Speech Project)
Let’s Debate Daylight Saving Time (Non-fiction/Argument Writing)
Let’s Get Real (Non-Fiction)
Let’s Keep Messing With Their Minds (Brain Teasers)
Life Lessons from Literature (Free bell-ringers)
Listen & Learn
Listen to this… (Podcast-Based Lesson)
Literary Analysis Essay Writing
Look Ma, No Hands (Google Docs Voice Typing)
Make ‘Em Count (Use Every Minute of Class Time)
Make the Tools of Rhetoric (Ethos, Pathos, Logos) Meaningful for Teens
Making a Good First e-Impression
Making SSR Work for Them – And Us
May Nothing You Dismay
Meme Me Up, Scotty
Mess With Their Minds (Brain Teasers)
Middle School or High School?
Mid-Semester Check-In
Mimic the Masters
Mister Rogers & The Tools of Rhetoric
MLA 9th Edition vs. MLA 8th Edition
A Modern Magi (Supplement for “The Gift of the Magi” short story)
Modern “Mother to Son”
Modern Tech + Classic Lit.
Most Embarrassing Teacher Moment
Most-Read Blog Posts of 2017
Mother’s Day + Teens: A Free Lesson
Mr. Keating Is My Co-Pilot
A Must-Listen Podcast: Worst Video Game Ever?
A Must-Read Short Story: Sticks by George Saunders
My Four Classroom Rules & Syllabus
My #1 Lesson Plan Resource
My 6th Period Freshmen are Rude and Disrespectful (Q&A)
National Thesaurus Day (Jan. 18)
New Textbook for the Math Department
New Year “Game” Plan (Fun Stuff)
New Year Prep Gone Awry
A New Year’s Gift for You, Teacher Friend!
The Next Chapter?
A No-Good, Lousy, Plain Awful Day
No More Essay Fatigue! Time to Reclaim Your Weekends
Non-Cheesy Icebreaker for the First Day of School
A Not-So-Great Gatsby
November = Time for a fresh bulletin board
Nuts & Bolts of Classroom Management
October = College Letters of Recommendation (Free Handout)
Odd One Out (Formative Assessment)
Oh No He Didn’t
Okay, So I Was Wrong (Group Essays)
Old is New Again
An Open Letter to My Principal
Oops! I Did It Again (free non-fiction choice board worksheet)
Oprah = Real-World Rhetorical Goodness
Our Own Worst Enemy?
Outsmart the Cheaters: Vocab. Quiz Strategy
A Painless Way to Add More Informational Text
Permission Granted
Plagiarism = The Toxic Mold of High School
Podcast + Video = A Multimedia Cautionary Tale (21 Chump Street)
Poe or Emo?
Poetry for Teens Who Think They Don’t Like Poetry
Pop Culture = Bridge Into Classic Texts
Pop! Figure Characterization
Power of Punctuation
P.O.W.E.R.ful Writing (Essay Organization)
Prezi vs. Google Slides vs. PDF Slideshow Mode
Q&A: Am I Wrong? (Revisiting Grades)
Q&A: Required Summer Reading: Yea or Nay?
Q&A: SSR Follow-Up
Quarter Trios Explained
Question Everything (Socratic Questioning)
The Question I Hate the Most
Randazzo’s Rules of Order #1 (Classroom Management)
Randazzo’s Rules of Order #2 (Classroom Management)
Randazzo’s Rules of Order #3 (Classroom Management)
Randazzo’s Rules of Order #4 (Classroom Management)
Randazzo’s Rules of Order #5 (Classroom Management)
Randazzo’s Rules of Order #6 (Classroom Management)
Randazzo’s Rules of Order #7 (Classroom Management)
Randazzo’s Rules of Order #8 (Classroom Management)
Randazzo’s Rules of Order #9 (Classroom Management
Randazzo’s Rules of Order #10 – Series Finale (Classroom Management)
Random Moment from Professional Development
Random Thoughts about Pretty Clothes
A Ray (Bradbury) of Hope
Readers’ Theater for Older Students
Reading Tracker: Beautiful, Easy & Fun
Ready…Set…PLAY, Adding Music to the High School Classroom
Real Housewives of Ye Olde Time Poetry
Reality Check
Re-Thinking the Use of Learning Stations
Ripped from the Headlines (Two Sources for Current Events Materials)
Say What? (Six Benefits of Closed Captioning in the Classroom)
Say What You Need to Say (Public Speaking)
Scary Stuff (Halloween Lesson Plans)
Sci Fi to Make Us Better People (Andy Weir’s “The Egg”)
Seating Chart = Flow Chart
Shape-Shifting Monster of Doom
She Did It – Goal Accomplished!
Short Story You Should Know: Katherine Mansfield’s “The Doll’s House”
A Slick Idea (Annotation/Close Reading)
So Much Cuteness (Valentine’s Day Cards)
Soft Skills = Hard Cash
Sometimes You Just Gotta Pop Off (Stress Relief)
Space Marathon: A Podcast Lesson
Spread the Book Love (Free Posters)
SSR Tips to Save Your Sanity
Stale Bulletin Boards + Small Announcement
Start Class the Right Way, Every Day (Mini-Lectures/Bell-Ringers)
Staying Ahead of Early Finishers
Story Path – Step-by-Step Storytelling Guide (Free download)
Sub Plan? Just Press “Play”
Such a Simple Fix (Homemade Whiteboards)
Suffering is…Normal?
Swat Teams are the Fun Fix (Review Game)
Tackling the Block (Schedule)
Take a No-Stress Sick Day
Take My Advice?
Tame the Monster! (Essay Grading Tips)
Teach Them How to Write
Teacher Hack (or, This One’s for Eunice)
A Teacher Who Stopped Grading Papers
Teachers on YouTube? Is That Even a Good Idea?
Teaching Theme with Rock, Paper, Scissors (Theme Lesson)
Tearable Puns Vol. 3 + Easy Halloween Costume Idea
TED Gives ‘Em Something to Talk About
These Kids Today and Their Rock-N-Roll Music
They Gave You Their Word (Cloud)
They See Me Rollin’ (Teaching From a Cart)
This is Personal (Build Student Interest)
This Year’s 20Time Project Will Be…
Those First Few Days
Three Creative Writing Tools for Tweens
Three of a Kind: A Bell-Ringer Game
Time for a Grammar Quiz (Mechanics, Usage, and Grammar)
To Laugh Often and Much (Eric Thiel, my friend)
Top 10 Favorite End-of-Year Lessons
Trophy Syndrome
Try, Try Again (MLA Formatting)
Trying to Stay Sane
Turkey Trot & Reindeer Race Holiday Stations
Understanding Irony
Unusual Advice for Student Teachers
Using AI to Scrub for AI (ChatGPT Plagiarism Tool)
VERY Last-Minute Halloween Costume
Very Necessary Brain Break (Bulletin Board Materials)
Visually Dynamic Overviews Pique Students’ Interest (American Literature)
Vote With Your Feet (EdCamp, Professional Development)
Wait…Kids Will Try to Cheat?
Week from Hell (Grading app)
Weird Lesson Idea for English Teachers
What a Year! 2015 – Year in Review
What Do Harry Potter, Frodo, and Katniss Have in Common? (Hero’s Journey)
What Do Matt Damon and Odysseus Have in Common?
What If…? (School District-Funded TpT Resources)
What I’m Teaching This Week (8/31-9/4)
What I’m Teaching This Week (9/7-9/11)
What I’m Teaching This Week (9/14-9/18)
What I’m Teaching This Week (9/21-9/25)
What I’m Teaching This Week (9/28-10/2)
What I’m Teaching This Week (10/5-10/9)
What I’m Teaching This Week (10/12-10/16)
What I’m Teaching This Week (10/19-10/23)
What I’m Teaching This Week (10/26-10/30)
What I’m Teaching This Week (11/2-11/6)
What I’m Teaching This Week (11/9-11/13)
What I’m Teaching This Week (11/16-11/20)
What I’m Teaching This Week (11/30-12/4)
What I’m Teaching This Week (12/7-12/11)
What I’m Teaching This Week (12/14-12/18)
What I’m Teaching This Week (1/4-1/8)
What I’m Teaching This Week (1/11-1/15)
What I’m Teaching This Week (1/18-1/22)
What I’m Teaching This Week (1/25-1/29)
What I’m Teaching This Week (2/1-2/5)
What I’m Teaching This Week (2/8-2/12)
What I’m Teaching This Week (2/15-2/19)
What I’m Teaching This Week (2/22-2/26)
What I’m Teaching This Week (2/29-3/4)
What I’m Teaching This Week (3/7-3/11)
What I’m Teaching This Week (3/14-3/18)
What I’m Teaching This Week (3/21-3/25)
What I’m Teaching This Week (3/28-4/1)
What I’m Teaching This Week (4/11-4/15)
What I’m Teaching This Week (4/18-4/22)
What I’m Teaching This Week (4/25-4/29)
What I’m Teaching This Week (5/2-5/6)
What I’m Teaching This Week (5/9-5/13)
What I’m Teaching This Week (5/16-5/20)
What I’m Teaching This Week (5/23-5/27)
What I’m Teaching This Week (5/30-6/3)
What I’m Teaching This Week (6/6-6/10, Series Finale)
What’s Going On? (Writing Voice)
What Should I Read Next? (SSR Book Suggestion Generator)
What the Cool Kids are Reading – Summer 2019
What Would YOU Teach Next Year?
When Building Vocabulary, Less Is More
When Your Entire Class Conspires Against You
When They Won’t Stop Talking
When You’ve Lost the Battle (Making an emergency sub tub)
Why I Chose High School Instead of Middle School
Why I Quit Teaching
Wise Words (Inspiration)
Women’s History Month? Eh, no thanks
Word Play (Acrostic Poetry Lesson)
Words from the Wise (6 Ideas for National Poetry Month)
Words of Wisdom
Work Hard, Play Hard
Worst Friday Ever
Would Emily Dickinson Want to be TikTok Famous?
Write About Now (National Novel Writing Month)
Yeah, I’m on TikTok
The Year in Review (2015-2016)
Year in Review (2018): Top 4 Most-Read Posts
You Can Say That Again (Creative Scheduling/Calendars)
You Don’t Always Have to be The Expert
Your Argument is Invalid
10 Classroom Uses for Grammar Fail Photos
10 Phrases I Say Most Often
10 Supreme Court Cases Every Teen Should Know
10 Teaching Job Interview Questions (And My Actual Answers)
10 Tips for Student Teachers
11 Worst Words in Essay Writing
100 Best YA Books of All Time
180 Days of H.S. English 9-10 – Full Year Curriculum Download
180 Days of Writing Prompts
19 Works of Art to Help Teens Think
20Time 2017: Results?
20Time2018 Has Arrived!
20Time2019: The Struggle Begins
20Time Lives On/#proud
20Time Project – Update #1
20Time Project – Update #2
20Time Project – Update #3
20Time Project – Update #4
20Time Project – Update #5
20Time Project – Update #6
20Time Project – Wrap-Up Post
3-Minute Rant on Teacher Burnout
5 Best Twilight Zone Episodes to Use in the Classroom
7 Questions to Use with Any TEDTalk
8 Print & Post Classroom Decor Ideas