Fine art can help students develop analysis skills in quick, small doses. Ideally, those skills will transfer to literary analysis…
classroom management

My 6th pd. freshmen are rude and disrespectful
Today’s post is a question I received via email this week. This teacher gave me permission to share our exchange…

Three of a Kind: A Bell-Ringer Game
How do you help teens settle in after the chaos of passing period? How do you build enthusiasm for learning…

A 3-Minute Rant on Teacher Burnout
[Note: You might’ve noticed things look different on the blog. The template I’ve used since 2014 has been “retired” by…

A Teacher Who Stopped Grading Papers?
Meet Sarah Zerwin, a high school English teacher in Boulder, Colorado. She had enough with traditional grading and has successfully…

When You’ve Lost the Battle
In my first few years of teaching, I didn’t want to use my sick days. If I woke with a…

Nuts & Bolts of Classroom Management
Today’s Q&A post comes from an email this week (used with permission) from Sherrie, an English teacher who is thinking…

Staying Ahead of Early Finishers
Today’s post comes from an email I recently received from Tanya, one of our newest English teacher colleagues (used with…

When They Won’t Stop Talking
This week’s video, inspired by YouTube commenter Kelli, is all about those kids who won’t stop talking when it’s time…
Advice for Mentor Teachers
This one’s for Nikki, Rose, Marc, and all of the other teachers out there who have agreed to take on…