The Joys of Teaching Literature

#172: Catch-up Days

Catch-up days allow your students to conference with you about their writing, make sense of their notes, or make up missing work.

#171: 10 Creative Writing Projects

A list of ten creative writing projects for the end of a unit.

#170: Setting Goals with a Writing Portfolio

Put students in charge of their own learning by asking them to set goals when they receive feedback on an essay.

#169: How to Design a Unit Using Essential Questions

It's easy to change a text-based question into an essential question and it will make learning about the topic much more meaningful and interesting for students.

#168: How to Assign One-Pagers and Sketchnotes

Learn how to assign a visual one-pager and celebrate the creativity of your students.

#167: 5 Categories of Literary Techniques

Learn how to categorize literary techniques to make them easier to learn.

#166: How to Use Music in an ELA Classroom

Learn how to ask students to discuss music like you would a poem or story. Create a fun project or assignment related to music.

#165: The Creative Nonfiction Essay

Students appreciate it when there's less academic rules and expectations for writing. Here's how to assign a creative nonfiction essay on a topic of choice.

#164: How Teachers Can Avoid Taking Work Home

It's easy to get distracted at work so here are some tips to stay focused and not bring work home.

#163: How to Create a Positive Classroom Culture and Environment

These five simple methods will help you create a positive and welcoming classroom environment where students feel comfortable sharing their ideas.

#162: Teaching Stories About Modern Media

Instead of getting upset about kids and their phones, let's teach stories about how and why people consume media.

#161: How to Use Freud and Psychoanalysis to Teach Literature

Let's talk about the moving parts of the psyche and how students can use Freud to make a better interpretation of a character's behavior.

#160: A Spatial Approach to Literary Analysis

Give your students six options to create graphic organizers and track the patterns, topics, and motifs of a poem, short story, novel, or play. Posters are a great way to

#159: How to Teach Shakespeare

Learn five techniques that will help you teach The Bard.

#158: Reading Blocks in Secondary ELA

Reading blocks held during class time may help students read challenging novels.

#157: Kids, Phones, and Class Participation

Let's think about how to get kids off their phone and tuned into the conversation.

#156: The Best Contemporary Novels to Teach in High School

Here is my list of 9 contemporary novels to teach in high school.

#155: 3 Types of Interviews and Conversations in ELA

Students can present their thoughts in front of the entire class or they can record an interview by using their phone or computer. Here are three types of interviews and

#154: Meaning-Making in ELA: 3 Ways to Get Students Invested

If we want students to read and do the work, they need to constantly be in the process of meaning-making. Here are three ways I try to make things meaningful for my stude

#153: Teaching the Podcast Serial, Season 1, Episode 1

Your students will love studying Serial, Season 1 with Sarah Koenig because it's real and relevant.