I first heard of the concept of an “essay autopsy” a few years ago in the AP Lit Facebook group. Teachers used it when a student wrote a poor essay and wanted to earn some points back. I liked the idea, but didn’t really use it. Then I heard about using it when a whole class struggled on a writing ...
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Introducing Interpretation: The AP Lit Olympics
This last week was my first week back at school. In my AP Lit class, I usually begin with a lesson I call “Literature is a Verb.” However, my class this year is kind of small and, frankly, I was in the mood for a change. I’ve been toying with the idea of a gentle competition to introduce the text ...
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Assess, Pair, Share, Score: My New Favorite Multiple-Choice Strategy
If some of your teaching aims for tests like AP, ACT, or SAT, you know that multiple choice is a CHORE. Improving multiple-choice performance is about much more than giving students more practice questions. Students need to learn how to slow down, return to the text, examine the question, eliminate ...
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AP Lit on the Block: Strategies for Getting the Most from a Block Schedule
One of the most common questions I get from other AP Lit teachers is about scheduling for a block schedule. This blog post shares my limited insights, as well as practices and strategies from AP Lit teachers who teach on a full block schedule.
My Experience - the Modified Block Schedule
I ...
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Trends in AP Literature: 2026 FRQ New Titles & Trends
The 2026 AP Lit Reading happened just two weeks ago and I’ve had some time to study the prompts. Every year, I'm always the most interested in studying the titles used on the open question. While students are not limited to these titles in any way, the ones chosen as suggested texts can be ...
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What I’ve Learned in 20 Years of AP Lit
This week is our last week of school, and like most teachers, it couldn’t come any sooner. And while this year hasn’t been extraordinary in any ways, it is special for me. This is my 20th year of teaching, which seems crazy. Even crazier, I taught AP Lit as a freshly graduated 22-year-old, which ...
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