Teaching poem analysis through Poem of the Week is my favorite way to teach students how to do poetry analysis in AP® Literature. So often, students arrive in my class saying that they do not like poetry. Often it’s because of how they have been exposed to poetry in prior
I read once that if students misread the tone for literature, they have misread the text. And my AP® Language students were really struggling with both tone in literature and tone in nonfiction. So I had to come up with a plan. And it turns out that limiting the words
I can’t remember exactly when I learned about the 12 steps in the journey of the hero, but I do remember that I knew immediately that I needed to share it with my students and I have been including lessons on the Hero’s Journey ever since. Why the Journey of
Teaching Macbeth is hard. Teaching Shakespeare is hard. That’s why I have started a new blog series in which I share themes, essential questions and supplemental texts to help you plan your Macbeth unit plan. This blog series includes Frankenstein, Hamlet and Of Mice and Men. If there is
My Sonnet in Poetry Mini Unit is one of my favorite poetry units of all time. It is so quick and yet, at the end, kids have a really clear sense of what a sonnet is and why it matters. There was a time when sonnets appeared on the AP®
When I went to college (in the dark ages 😂), we were not yet talking about backward design of essential questions, but we did create units around themes: pairing texts to build on the big ideas. This post is part of a series that now includes Frankenstein and Hamlet that
Using in class discussion is a perfect way to foster critical thinking in high school English classes. Whether it is the Socratic Method, the Harkness Method or one of these other discussion styles, classroom discussion is a must for discussion of literature and more. 5 In Class Discussion Styles for
A few weeks ago, I started a new series to help you find the perfect short texts to pair with common traditional texts that we teach in our High School English Classes. First up was Frankenstein. And today, I am taking on Hamlet (by request—feel free to make that same
The first group of students I used literature circles with was the class of 2005. They were tenth graders at the time. (And don’t tell my current classes, but this group of students is one of my favorites of all time.) Back then, Harvey Daniels’s notion of literature circles was
Have you ever gone to one of those restaurants where they suggest the perfect beverage pairing for the meal you are ordering? It might be the perfect white wine or the smoky bourbon, but their expert staff has found exactly the right balance of flavors. In a new series of
I help AP Literature and High School English teachers create engaging classrooms so that students will be prepared college and beyond.
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