May I share a secret? I am so gosh darn sick and tired of K/W/L pre-teaching worksheets * that I have sworn to never use them again in my...

Let’s say the quiet part out loud: Sentence diagramming is an antiquated skill. Now let’s shout the truth: Nevertheless, it’s a useful...

As part of the AP Literature and Composition exam you are going to write three essays in two hours. That’s a mighty task, but if you’ve...

Thanks to music, there are stories that unite us. We know who Jolene is and that she has auburn hair, that Luka lived on the second...

What is one of your pet peeves as an ELA teacher? Late assignments? Disruptive students? Misuse of the semicolon? For me, it is wasting...

What is flash fiction? This term refers to a super short story that usually has fewer than 1,000 words (although some definitions extend...

Many teachers begin their teaching careers by working as substitute teachers. Some retirees sub for a couple days a week to maintain...

How can ELA teachers engage reluctant readers--especially reluctant readers of poetry? It begins with choosing the right poem. Here are 5...

Over the years I have worn many hats, and one of them is as a homeschooling parent. My family and I are now at the end of our...

Even the most enthusiastic readers among us can become befuddled by poetry. Leaving the comfortable land of prose with its capital...

Checklist for the first day of class: take attendance, outline classroom rules, hand out the syllabus, and (hopefully) a poem. IMHO, a...

"The first days are the hardest days." Chances are you're familiar with the Grateful Dead lyric. Although I don't think Jerry Garcia was...

Learning new vocabulary can be, um, boring. You know the drill: Encounter an unknown word, look it up in a dictionary, memorize the...

There is nothing more reassuring than knowing that you are not alone in what you’re feeling, especially if what you’re feeling is...

The big row at my family's holiday celebration last December wasn't about politics, Cousin Jennie's questionable tattoos, or even who was...