Bobbi Gibb wanted to run the Boston Marathon. The problem? Women weren’t allowed to compete in any race longer than…
high school English
Filling Lesson Plan Gaps
State testing. Field trips. Weird last-minute assembly schedules that turn your day upside down. No matter how well a teacher…
19 Works of Art to Help Teens Think
Fine art can help students develop analysis skills in quick, small doses. Ideally, those skills will transfer to literary analysis…
ChatGPT: Friend or Foe?
I met with a group of teachers on Thursday (shout out to Carterville!) to talk about A.I. text generators and…
Let me plan your lessons this week
An exhausted teacher messaged me on IG yesterday, asking for help with lesson planning. My response? You go take a…
Cell Phone Characterization Refresh
This week’s focus was on moving my “Whose phone is this?” worksheet into 2023. Thousands of teachers have used this…
A Must-Read: “Sticks” by George Saunders
Looking for a one-page short story from a modern writer that’ll hook your students? Sticks, a flash fiction short story…
Oops! I did it again… (free choice board download)
Last week, a TikToker asked if I had a non-fiction version of my literature activity choice board freebie. I don’t…
Would Emily Dickinson want to be TikTok Famous?
Definitely not. But her famous poem, “I’m Nobody! Who are You?,” is a useful tool to help students consider their…
Literary Analysis Essay Writing
Literary analysis is the hardest writing mode to teach. Narrative, research, and argument? Got those covered. But literary analysis? Oof.…