Work Smarter, Not Harder: Lesson Planning Edition
After 19 years in the classroom, I‘ve picked up a few tricks that have saved me from hours reinventing the wheel year after year. The...
Drop that stack of essays. We have teaching to do!
If you're looking to unbury yourself from the paperwork, then this site is for you. Here, our mission is simple: Come together as a group of English teachers to come up with high impact, innovative, and empowering lessons that not only bring energy to our classrooms, but also save us a little grading and planning time. Let's do this English teacher thing together!
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- 4 min
5 Steps Towards Implementing Standards-Based Portfolios in Your Classroom
When I was working on my masters degree in English Education, I had an amazing professor who encouraged us to create more meaningful,...
3,411 views1 comment
- 3 min
The Ultimate Article of the Week List for Secondary Teachers
Implementing an Article of the Week program is a great way to get students engaged in reading authentic nonfiction texts. Here, I've...
9,163 views0 comments
- 4 min
How I build a Classroom Community on Day One (and you can, too!)
I dropped the boring syllabus and classroom policy review years ago. Let's admit it: kids block out half of the blah, blah, blah on day...
5,132 views0 comments
- 4 min
The Final Countdown: Stress free lesson ideas for the end of the school year
If you're like me, you can almost feel the sunshine warming your cheeks. Summer is right around the corner! Although the end of the...
538 views0 comments
- 3 min
The Power of a Retake
I have a quote from Khan Academy hanging in my classroom. It says, "Failure is just another word for growing, and you keep going. This
581 views0 comments
- 2 min
Ditch rules. Make a class motto.
MOTTO by Langston Hughes I play it cool I dig all jive. That's the reason I stay alive. My motto As I live and learn, is: Dig And Be...
2,822 views1 comment
- 4 min
Passion Projects for Independent Reading
As teachers, we often feel like in order to get kids learning, we need to be driving the work of learning. Passion projects will prove...
20,060 views1 comment
- 6 min
Drop Everything to Create Readers
"We need books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being...
1,524 views0 comments
- 3 min
Google Classroom Book Club: How to engage your student readers online
Imagine being able to encourage your student readers from home. Even better, imagine your student readers encouraging other student...
22,301 views2 comments
- 3 min
The Cheapest Classroom Decor Ever
Let's be honest, secondary teachers aren't known for their adorable classrooms. We're too busy grading millions of essays (only a slight...
1,269 views0 comments
- 4 min
Learning Stations
In the past two days, I have conferenced with 89 different student writers, giving feedback on 89 very different narratives. Like all...
1,640 views0 comments
- 6 min
Plugged Into Learning
Five tips for maximizing the first five minutes of class: Picture students piling into your classroom and diving straight into their work....
1,354 views0 comments
- 4 min
Wanting to be the Catcher in the Rye
I want to be the Catcher in the Rye. Unfortunately, I know that I never can be. I can never save my students from the inevitable...
192 views0 comments
- 7 min
How to Survive a Squirrel Outside Your Window (and other middle school teacher tricks for the end of
As the weather warms and the sun starts to shine, our students just want to be outside--and God forbid they see a squirrel outside the...
379 views0 comments
- 3 min
Making Feedback Count: 3 Strategies That Work
I'm pretty sure that I have spent half of my career as a secondary ELA teacher grading essays and providing feedback. Unfortunately for...
345 views0 comments
- 6 min
ELA Escape Room
Today my students participated in our first-ever escape room. It. was. amazing. I think it's always a good sign when students are on...
83,084 views0 comments