As an English teacher, where are you spending most of your time during the writing process? If you are like most, it's the grading essays step. Is that grading time resulting in student growth? If not, it may be time to reevaluate your essay grading process. Fed up with spending my weekends grading essays that students barely looked at, I decided to shake things up and try a completely ... Read More about English teacher mindset shifts for prioritizing revision over grading essays
A Dolly Parton Retro Classroom Theme
If you follow me on Instagram, it’s no surprise that I love Dolly Parton. Not only is she the queen of my region, but she also leads an impactful book mission which speaks to my English teacher's heart. I’ve been seeing a lot of retro themed classrooms lately, so I thought it would be fun to put my own spin on it by doing a Retro Reading Dolly themed high school classroom. A Dolly Parton themed ... Read More about A Dolly Parton Retro Classroom Theme
Teaching Serial Podcast in High School ELA
It all started with Serial. As my long-time readers know, I’m a huge proponent of using podcasts in the classroom. You can read my reasoning and research here: Why You Should Be Using Podcasts in Secondary ELA and find lots of podcast posts on my blog, but it all started with teaching the Serial podcast season one. Update: A lot has happened since this was published. While this post is ... Read More about Teaching Serial Podcast in High School ELA
Why I Regret Getting My Master’s Degree as a Teacher
I once made the mistake of talking about my master’s degree regrets on Instagram and received the most defensive DMs of anything I’ve ever posted about. I think my commentary hit a nerve, and I would like to continue this heated topic here. If you are thinking about getting your master’s degree as a teacher, I hope this post helps you make the best decision for YOU. Teacher Master’s ... Read More about Why I Regret Getting My Master’s Degree as a Teacher
5 Considerations When Teaching AAPI Voices in ELA
Are you looking to diversify your ELA curriculum and add AAPI voices in ELA? One easy mistake that we all may be guilty of doing is simply including a voice, but not doing the work to understand the actual perspective it lends to the American experience. In other words, including diverse voices is more than checking off a box or simple inclusion: It means offering a completely different ... Read More about 5 Considerations When Teaching AAPI Voices in ELA
Best Movies for High School and Middle School ELA
Seeing a giant TV cart rolled into my classroom is a core memory for me. As a child, there was nothing more exciting than my teachers breaking their routine and surprising us with a movie. As a teacher, I was equally excited for movie day in my high school ELA classroom because that meant I could catch up on grading or take a no-stress sub day off from work. Also, when paired with effective movie ... Read More about Best Movies for High School and Middle School ELA
