Building Book Love

Unhinged Things I’ve Done to Travel as a Teacher

When I was growing up, I thought my teachers were rich because they got to travel. They would spend their summers going to national parks, the beach, or even to other countries. As a little girl whose family vacations usually looked like a day trip to Dollywood, their travels sparked some serious wanderlust in me. Don’t get me wrong– Dolly Parton is my hero and my parents made my childhood so magical, but the dreamer in me couldn’t wait to travel farther from home like my teachers one day! And while my first teacher’s paycheck was more money than I had ever seen in my life, I soon realized that maybe my teachers weren’t as rich as I thought they were. Sure, my travel budget went ... Read More about Unhinged Things I’ve Done to Travel as a Teacher

Macbeth Unit Plan: Lesson Plans, Activities, and Ideas for the Play

Macbeth is (bloody) hands-down my favorite Shakespeare play to teach. I love all things witchy plus my Ancestry DNA results reveal I’m 25% Scottish, so this drama tracks. Once high schoolers get over the challenging language, Macbeth can be a lot of fun for students too because it lends itself well to creative activities. Teaching Macbeth allows students to dig into universal themes such as ambition, power, and morality while helping them tap into their creativity through interactive notes, reenactments, and group activities. With a solid Macbeth unit plan, you’ll be able to break the boredom curse and help students appreciate Shakespeare's tragic tale. So with ... Read More about Macbeth Unit Plan: Lesson Plans, Activities, and Ideas for the Play

The Outsiders Lesson Plans: Activities, Themes, & Ideas

How many times in your career will you get the chance to teach a book to teens written by a teen? The raw and rare voice of 16-year-old S.E. Hinton is pure coming-of-age magic that makes The Outsiders so iconic. Unfortunately for me, I botched my chance many years ago. As a brand new ELA teacher with no team nor TpT (it didn’t exist yet), I found myself absolutely SCRAMBLING to piece together some sort of Outsiders lesson plans on the fly with zero resources or help. So, I created the Outsiders unit plan I wish I had back then. A unit that is intentional, meaningful, and FUN. A unit that would give me some breathing room in my lesson planning and make me quit questioning ... Read More about The Outsiders Lesson Plans: Activities, Themes, & Ideas

Teaching Critical Lenses: Fun Ways to Apply Lenses in Literature

I feel that it is essential for every English literature student–whether that be AP, honors, regular, or support level– to have the ability to read a single text through different critical lenses. This skill teaches students how to have an open mindset and view the world through multiple perspectives. And isn't that one of the fundamental purposes of reading? Plus, literature lenses are the perfect thing to have on hand in your English class. Want deeper literary analysis? Critical Lenses. Need a quick grouping strategy? Critical Lenses. Wish you had a lesson to use on the fly with any book? Critical Lenses. Though literary criticism lenses have intimidating names, ... Read More about Teaching Critical Lenses: Fun Ways to Apply Lenses in Literature