Apr 25
Desperate for something that will engage students during virtual meetings? Try a virtual classroom murder mystery! In this post I’m explaining how to adapt my murder mystery lesson to an online meeting. Click here if you haven’t yet read my post about murder mystery lessons. Okay, so let’s talk about how this very social lesson …
Feb 12
It’s a classroom murder mystery party with all the students as Romeo and Juliet characters! This idea came to me randomly one night and I stayed up all night making it happen. I knew it would be perfect for my R&J unit. Read on and I’ll share what I came up with and any snags …
Jan 28
Fake receipts are a great way to change up your worksheets and increase engagement. I mostly use them for creative writing and comprehension assessments, but I’m sure you’ll come up with a few ideas as well. 1. Reading Comprehension Create fake receipts for various characters and have the students guess which character they belong to. …
Jan 17
If your students love Serial, wait until they hear In the Dark! Season two explores how Curtis Flowers has been tried for the same murder case six different times over a 21 year period. As the host says, it’s about “a black man from a small town in Mississippi who’s spent the past 21 years …
Dec 17
My students and I love “A Jury of Her Peers“ by Susan Glaspell. Keep reading for seven reasons you should use it in your classroom as well. ***Spoilers ahead. Read with caution*** 1. Feminist Lens Written by a woman and about women, it gives excellent insight into the social roles of men and women in …
Oct 31
Whenever my students start to get a little squirrely, I try to create a game to release some energy and to keep engagement up. Today’s game: Name That Tone! Keep reading for a step-by-step on how to create your own. Or keep scrolling for a link to my version in Google Slides. Come up with …
Jan 13
Want to try podcasts in the classroom? I can help! This post lists out my favorite podcasts along with what standards and texts to pair them with. Many teachers prefer seasonal activities so I’m going to break this up by month. However, any of these can be used at any time throughout the year. *UPDATE! …
Nov 15
Our students are more stressed and anxious than ever. They need help learning how to manage and decrease this excess of stress. Luckily, there are some engaging Ted Talks to help with that. 1. Why we choke under pressure – and how to avoid it I wish I had seen this talk when I was …
Sep 26
This year my students are coming up with their most complex characters yet, and I know it’s because of the creative prewriting activities we did. Bonus – my students really enjoyed the activities! What Inspires Authors? I start my unit by looking at what has inspired some prominent YA authors. We look at Laurie Halse …
Sep 06
For real. No cheesy music, no bad acting, and no trick endings where everyone is okay and it was all just a big misunderstanding. Seriously, your students are going to love these and they have just the right amount of horror while still being appropriate for school. Myths and Legends I can’t say enough about …
