Thomas C. Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor is becoming a fixture in AP* Lit and other advanced literature classes. While teachers love this book, students often struggle with Foster's highbrow references. To overcome this, many of us use references to popular films and television ...
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Are there Alternatives to Teaching Hamlet?
Over the years, I've taught Hamlet over a dozen times and to several different levels of learners. In my first AP* Lit teaching position I taught it since it was already in the curriculum. I loved its complexity and discussion potential, but I easily tired of what I perceived was Hamlet's whiny ...
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Inclusivity & Accessibility in AP English: A Recap
I just finished a five-week series on issues on inclusivity and accessibility in AP* English Literature. When I speak of inclusivity I refer to representation of both students and authors in this course. In accessibility, I discuss issues of gatekeeping, differentiation, and workload for AP® ...
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You Responded: Gatekeeping, Representation, and Inclusivity in AP
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I first began this series on representation, and inclusivity in AP* Lit in early July. Our country was going through a civil rights movement I had never experienced before, ...
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Literature Is A Verb – A First Day Lesson
I write this as I muse upon last night's Mosaic professional development session with David Miller. Like the rest of the crowd, I found David's message and way of speaking calming and invigorating at the same time. The presentation had a profound effect on me, breaking through the barrier that had ...
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Rigor & Accessibility: Reducing Heavy Student Workloads in AP Lit
This is my fifth installment in a series on representation in AP* Lit, both in authors and in students. If AP® classes remove their systems of gatekeeping (which they should), teachers will need to prepare to have more types of learners in their classes. We cannot assume that each of our students ...
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