Back in 2018, I successfully pitched, created, and ran our school’s Writing Center. It ran for two years. However, 2019 presented budget cuts and I was given two options: run the WC for free, or close it up. I wish I could say I was servant-hearted enough to do it for free, but I was already doing ...
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The Power of Visual Pairing in Teaching Literary Terms
When I was in high school, I came home with a C- on my History midterm. My parents were shocked and, honestly, so was I. While not exactly a straight A student, I had never gone down to the Cs before. I couldn’t exactly articulate why history was so hard for me, other than saying I just couldn’t ...
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Strategies for Introducing Independent Reading
I’ve written several blog posts about the importance of independent reading in the ELA classroom. This week, I rolled it out with both my Honors and AP Lit students in different ways. Here is a rundown of different ways you can roll out independent reading with your high school students, regardless ...
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Creating a Classroom for Focus and Creativity
I recently put the finishing touches on my classroom and shared some images on Instagram. One teacher gave me one of my greatest compliments after viewing the pictures, saying, "I want to learn here."
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Cultivating Student Curiosity in the High School Classroom
In a recent conversation with educators, we were comparing our collective class attitudes from year to year. Some years I have classes filled with complacent bodies not interested in learning. Other years I have eager and curious students, coming to class ready to ask questions, not just to earn a ...
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18 Contemporary Titles to Upgrade your Classroom Library
I’m writing this at the end of July, which means summer is drawing rapidly to an end. It also means it’s time to start planning for the upcoming school year. The 23-24 school year has me teaching AP English Literature for the 17th year (!!!) in a row. While I don’t change up my whole class texts ...
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