Note: This is an updated repost featuring some of my favorite October lesson ideas. Since October has now become the…
lecture

Favorite Halloween Week Lessons
Note: This is an updated repost featuring some of my favorite end-of-October lesson ideas. In 7th grade, my friend Sarah…

Let Jason Reynolds Teach Your Class
I’ve started reading again. After a moment of unpleasant reflection when I publicly admitted I’m an English teacher who doesn’t…

Essay Writing Help: Concluding Paragraphs
This week, I’m continuing the occasional “How to Write” series with a look at the power of an essay’s conclusion.…

How I Teach Theme (Free Slides)
As part of my occasional series on how I teach writing, today I’m presenting a mini-lecture that can be used…

A Ray (Bradbury) of Hope
If you teach Fahrenheit 451, you might be interested to know that I just posted three great tools that’ll make…

An Experiment in Human Cloning
Okay, so I had a crazy idea. I was set this week to introduce my freshmen to the Hero’s Journey,…

Interactive Whiteboard Fix
It’s official: My SmartBoard is dead. After eight years of faithful service, the board recently gave up the ghost after…
Understanding Irony
Irony can be tricky (just ask Alanis Morissette), and we might need a little help breaking down what is –…
Time for a Grammar Quiz
Okay, teacher friends, can you spot all of the errors in these two sentences?