My husband and I moved into a tiny cabin in the woods almost a year ago, and part of the charm of this property was a very old smokehouse located right across the creek from our cabin. While it looked cute from the outside, the inside was a disaster. However, we've never been ones to shy away from a good DIY flip, so we remodeled this space to create our very own Hagrid's hut ... Read More about Harry Potter Home Office
The Life Changing Magic of a Clean Classroom
Any time a book has “life-changing” in the title, it warrants the side-eye from me. Yet, I kept hearing that The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo would indeed change my life, so I gave it a try. That was many years, student loan payoffs, world travels, and new career opportunities ago. So yes, I would definitely say that this book changed my life! And, I know it can do the same for ... Read More about The Life Changing Magic of a Clean Classroom
ELA Spring Activities for Middle School and High School
I have such mixed emotions about spring this year. I’ve been spoiled most of my teaching career by using all 8+ of our built-in snow days, but we’ve had such an abnormally mild winter here in East Tennessee, that I keep looking for white snow instead of yellow daffodils. Sigh. I’m hoping that sharing these ELA spring activities will put me into the spring spirit. 😀 🌸🌞 This post contains ... Read More about ELA Spring Activities for Middle School and High School
Teaching The Canterbury Tales: Fun, Real-World Driven Lessons for Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
I absolutely love teaching The Canterbury Tales, and when I do it right, I even make my students love it a little too. ;) I've tried many different activities to teach Chaucer's classic throughout the years, so I wanted to list the very best strategies for engaging students with this fun tale. You can find all of my Canterbury Tales activities, handouts, prompts, and projects in my Canterbury ... Read More about Teaching The Canterbury Tales: Fun, Real-World Driven Lessons for Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
Real-World Beowulf Essay Topic: A Write Like This inspired prompt that students actually enjoy
This week I had a conversation that I've never had before. It made me want to smile. Student: What tone should I use for this Beowulf essay? Me: What do you mean? Student: You know, how should I word it? What are you looking for? Me: Let's look at your mentor articles. How did these authors go about it? This one had more of a conversational tone and this one had more of a formal tone, so which ... Read More about Real-World Beowulf Essay Topic: A Write Like This inspired prompt that students actually enjoy
How to Liven Up Your Socratic Seminar and Get Students Talking
One of my favorite things about being an English teacher is hearing my students have deep discussions about literature. I mean half of the people I know go to book clubs for fun, so how awesome is it that I get paid to do this!? …sans wine 😉 The value of Socratic Seminars is tremendous, but just like with anything, hosting them the same way every time can become mundane for you and your ... Read More about How to Liven Up Your Socratic Seminar and Get Students Talking