Teaching Literary Genres: Lesson Planning Ideas
The actual word “genre” is rarely referred to in the Common Core Standards. Even so, explicitly teaching literary genres is beneficial at all grade levels. Unfortunately, many high school curriculums…
Engaging Secondary Writers with Music: Playlist of My Year
Secondary ELA teachers can engage students in meaningful, purposeful writing activities at the end of the school year without burying themselves in grading and their students in hours of work…
Meaningful Final Exam Review Sessions
When I first began teaching high school, I had no idea what to do with final exam review time. Was I supposed to reteach or review? How many days should…
Teaching Summer School? Here’s How to Design an Effective Curriculum
Looking for inspiration for an effective summer school curriculum? Keep reading for practical ideas. If you’ve ever taught summer school, you know that there aren’t any hard and fast rules…
Thinking of Flipping Your ELA Class? Here’s Some Advice.
So, you’re thinking of flipping your ELA class? The flipped classroom is an intriguing concept for many people, but it’s not for everyone. I first began running a flipped ELA…
Poetry Activities: Six Simple Ways to Make Poetry Instruction Engaging
So you have to teach poetry, and you’re not excited about it. Try these engaging activities to spice up poetry lessons in middle and high school.
Get Your Nerd On: How to Structure A Grammar Lesson
“Everyone is telling me to teach grammar, but no one has told me HOW yet! There’s so much information and so many ideas, and I’m just overwhelmed!” If you’ve ever…
6 Must-Teach Novels in Secondary ELA
A book is a dream that you hold in your hands. ~ Neil Gaiman March is National Reading month, one of my favorites! Not only is the dreary winter weather…
Why We Should Teach Grammar
“Why do we have to learn this? When am I ever going to need this in life? This is so B-O-R-I-N-G!” If you’ve ever taught grammar, you may be familiar…
How to Teach Vocabulary: Increasing Vocabulary Retention
Wondering how to teach vocabulary meaningfully and effectively? Consider the following scenario: “So, who can tell me what the word surreptitious means?” Cricket. Cricket. “Hello? We learned it yesterday. Doesn’t anyone…
The Grammar Nerds Tell All: How to Sequence Grammar Instruction
It was August of 2005. I stared at my lesson plan book in frustration, having made a complete mess of my notes about teaching grammar. I was excited to begin…
Multigenre Research Project: The Key to Fitting in All Genres of Writing
Looking for a way to spice up your writing unit while engaging students, differentiating by ability and interest, and still covering all the required standards at the appropriate level of…
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