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 ... 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 ... 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 ... Read More about Teaching Critical Lenses: Fun Ways to Apply Lenses in Literature
Building Book Love 2025 Recap
I recently woke up to discover that either a ghost or gravity knocked down all the Christmas decorations on my fireplace mantel. The frame around my TV was broken, my favorite thrifted brass deer lay on the floor, and a still-glowing battery candle was flung across the room. After taking in the chaos, I thought, well, this is the perfect metaphor for 2025. It’s been messy, chaotic, and jarring, ... Read More about Building Book Love 2025 Recap
Animal Farm Lesson Plans: Teaching Orwell Like It’s Your Civic Duty
Sometimes fighting back feels like opening the pages of a book. Bridging the political divide sounds like civil classroom discussions. And practicing your civic duty looks like teaching Animal Farm by George Orwell. These Animal Farm lesson plans are designed to help you get to the heart of Animal Farm while making your efforts mean something. With your guidance, students will dig deep into Animal ... Read More about Animal Farm Lesson Plans: Teaching Orwell Like It’s Your Civic Duty
A Christmas Carol Teaching Ideas: Activities for a Festive Novel Study
I don’t remember the first time I read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens because it somehow feels like I’ve always known Scrooge. However, I vividly remember the first time I tried to teach it. I’m dating myself, but we’d just received a classroom set of Nooks and one of the pre-loaded books was A Christmas Carol. I jumped at the chance to coast through December with a fun and “easy” book, ha! ... Read More about A Christmas Carol Teaching Ideas: Activities for a Festive Novel Study
