When I first started teaching, I assigned a research paper that was an author biography. Students were tasked with researching an author’s life and influences. The intended objective of the paper was to teach research skills, and it just so happened that at the time, our library had a lot of books ...
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Why Should English Teachers Use a Historical Lens to Teach Literary Analysis?
As an English teacher who is married to a history teacher, I can say with confidence the two subjects are beautifully interconnected. Afterall, English and history are both disciplines in the humanities. Though I wouldn’t consider myself a historian, I am a student of history, as are many English ...
How to Use Formal Lens to Engage Students with Close Reading
If you teach any form of close reading, you are using a formal lens of literary analysis. Formal lens in the secondary classroom most likely uses the principles of New Criticism, a school of literary criticism. In this post, I’m going to explain how you can use a formal lens to engage your ELA ...
How to Design a Successful British Literature Curriculum for High School ELA
When you’re preparing to teach over 2,000 years' worth of British literature to high schoolers, you’re going to have to make some tough decisions about how to do it. Sometimes, the choices are made for you (i.e. a prescribed curriculum or a textbook). On the other hand, you might have absolute ...
How to Develop Engaging and Effective Curriculum for any ELA Class
Designing and creating ELA curriculum can be both challenging and frustrating because there are so many variables to consider. What books will you teach? What essays will your students write? Will you follow certain standards? Does your school's curriculum have requirements? Will you use a textbook? ...
How To Engage Your ELA Students with Reader Response Lens
In this article series, I'm going to outline different literary lenses that you can use in your English classroom to engage your secondary ELA students with multiple perspectives. Start by reading this article about what are literary lenses and why you should use them in your classroom. Today's ...
