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
Have you ever had that moment when you think, “I just can’t grade another essay”? If you haven’t, you’re probably not an English teacher or maybe you’re still new (WELCOME!). For me, there are a couple of times of year that this hits: right before a big holiday break and
Imagine a classroom of high school juniors sitting in groups, completing analysis of poetic devices. They are totally engaged and they are doing all the hard stuff. They are working at stations of their own designs. And they are using picture books. Yep. It was a beautiful day. Since that
Literary juxtaposition or contrast in literature is one of those concepts that is sometimes hard for high school students to grasp, but once they get it, it’s a game changer. Just the use of the word juxtaposition in a literary argument essay seems to take it next level. So how
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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