7 Ways to help AP students focus on text complexity.

Text Complexity for AP English

On the AP® Literature exam, both the Poetry Free Response Question and the Prose Free Response Question ask students to consider the text complexity of the passages provided.  Which means that first they have to be able to dive deep enough into a text to discover just what this means.

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Revenge in Hamlet: Lesson Plans for High School English

Revenge in Hamlet: Lesson Plans for High School English

Teaching any Shakespeare play can be a challenge.  Often, the second that students even hear that they will be studying a play by the bard, they will cringe.  I even know English teachers who avoid him because they claim to not understand the hype.  But is it really that or

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This list of 25 Short AP Books is perfect for when you are looking encourage non-readers or move quickly.

25 Short AP Lit Books for Quick Wins

Sometimes you just need to let your students have a quick win.  These short AP Lit books might just be the thing.  All of these novels come in at under 250 pages and most of them are under 200. *** This post contains affiliate links to Bookshop.org.  If you click

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How to run a literature circle in AP® Literature

How to Use the Literature Circle in AP® Literature

Somehow, a literature circle is not what I envision in AP® Literature classes. I think of classes where everyone is reading the same (classic) text and they are sitting in circles pontificating on said classic.   And yet, I often use literature circles 2-3 times a year.  And, in the year

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9 New Year's Activities for High School English

9 New Year’s Activities for High School English

Starting school again in January is hard.  Most of us have had a long(ish) break.  In my part of the country it can be anywhere from a 6 days to two full weeks depending on where the holidays fall.  In other parts of the country, the break is sometimes three

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Jeanmarie McLaughlin at McLaughlin Teaches English

Hi, I'm Jeanmarie!

I help AP Literature and High School English teachers create engaging classrooms so that students will be prepared college and beyond.

Learn more about me and how I can help you here 

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