A few years ago, I was a chaperone for our school's senior class trip, and though escape rooms were a relatively new concept at that the time, we thought it might be something our students would enjoy (as well as the chaperones). We split up into groups with the chaperones being by ourselves. My ...
Blog
An Educator’s Guide to the Girl Scouts Gold Award
*This post is sponsored by Girl Scouts of the USA.* When I found out I was pregnant with our first baby back in 2012, I was convinced we were having a boy. We had a name picked out, and I started pinning all of the baseball themed nursery inspiration I could find. As it turns out, mother’s ...
How to Use Picture Books to Teach Literary Analysis
In 2013, we had our first baby, Gianna. Taking the advice of a mentor and a colleague*, I started collecting picture books. With a bouncy baby girl on my knee, I read classics, like “Goodnight Moon,” and New York Times best sellers, like “The Pout-Pout Fish.” It didn’t take long for me to ...
My High School English Classroom Tour: ELA Decor
This is my 11th year teaching secondary English, and my 5th year in my second school district. I started from scratch when I moved to my current school, but I didn't really decorate during my first year (see picture below). It wasn't unit three summers ago that I did a big makeover thanks to the ...
Back-to-School ELA Activities for a Fun First Week
The first week of school can be a planning nightmare. You have new students to meet, school protocol to follow, and important lessons you need to get in. I know the challenge because I lived it. It's taken me ten years, but going into year 11, I finally have a winning first week full of engaging ...
How to Teach Poetic Analysis With Success
How many times have been you met with blank or fearful stares as you ask your students, “So, what do you think this poem is about?” Unfortunately, I can tell you I’ve experienced this phenomenon far too many times to count. Teaching poetic analysis simply put is hard. How can we expect our students ...
