Dec 09
This book is an important reminder of how the Enemy Aliens Act of 1798 was used to violently incarcerate thousands of American citizens during WWII. The book also talks about how we need to make sure that never happens again. Takei’s first-hand account of his experience is full of pain, joy, reflection, and optimism. Now, …
Nov 20
It’s actually the perfect book for any YA or adult reader, but I’m focusing here on my Language Arts population. What population is that? In a nutshell, any student who’s reluctant to read for any reason. Keep scrolling for a quick run-down of why Between Shades of Gray is at the top of my must-read …
Jun 07
Need something quick for your unit on the Hero’s Journey? I’ve got you covered with this semi-recent movie: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Why Walter Mitty? This unexpected gem landed in my lap a few weeks back and at first I had low expectations. For one thing, I knew just from the trailer it …
Nov 03
In my mission to revamp my inventory of short stories to use with my freshmen, “Weight” is hands down my favorite addition. Keep scrolling; you won’t be disappointed. It’s on CommonLit I hate to say it, but cost sometimes comes into play when figuring out my curriculum. Sure, there are plenty of illegal PDFs floating …
Sep 10
The perfect review/intro to characterization for ANY grade. Students of all ages love this movie and the creator did a fabulous job introducing each of the characters in the open credits. You can buy or rent the movie from Amazon by clicking HERE *It’s an affiliate link which just means you pay nothing extra, but …
Jun 06
Can we talk about how Bingo is the most underrated game for the classroom? It gets no love even though my students tend to love it! A brain break, a reward, a social event, and occasionally even a tool to educate – Bingo does it all. I’ll detail how and why, and then I’ll break …
May 15
This blog post was inspired by six hours of professional development that did nothing to help me actually teach. Betsy, from Spark Creativity, shares my frustration (along with many of you, I’m sure) and so we decided to team up to create this post. Our goal is for you to walk away with something you …
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 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 …
