Powerful Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe
The poetry of Edgar Allan Poe has challenged readers over the last hundred and fifty years; however, when we think of Poe, we might first think of his short stories. Eerie and suspenseful, Poe's most taught stories include "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Masque of the Red...
7 Effective Reading For Comprehension Test Tips
A Reading for Comprehension Test is usually dreaded by teachers, parents, administrators, and students alike. We know that our students are always growing, but high-stakes tests tend to bring out the fear and overwhelm within all of us. We cannot escape some sort of...
25+ Ideas for Year End Fun Activities
Are those ants in your pants or are you just a teacher nearing the final days of the school year? Seriously, as the countdown to year end happens, both teachers and students start to get a little lackadaisical. But year end fun activities can save the day(s). To keep...
How To Create The Best Reading Questions for Comprehension
As English teachers in middle school and high school, we’re not often teaching students primary reading skills like phonemic awareness or phonics. More often than not, students arrive in our classes having learned to read already (or should have). While reading skills...
Teaching Poetry Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman, an important 19th-century poet, has been a part of the American literary canon for over a hundred years. His poetry "transcends" because of his consuming focus on freedom in both personal and societal constructs. One can clearly see similar themes and...
9 Characteristics of Effective English Lesson Plans for Teachers
What makes good English Lesson Plans for Teachers? This is a question that could be debated for years and years, as educational research is always changing. I know when I started teaching 18 years ago, the goal in my college of education was to create plans...loads...
10 Rhetorical Strategies Any Student Can Easily Learn
Whether you’re teaching rhetorical analysis for the first time or the fiftieth, you’re probably looking for strategies that aren’t overcomplicated. Well this post, with its 10 rhetorical strategies that any student can learn, is for you! Rhetorical analysis involves...
30 Reading For Comprehension Super Strategies
We daily read thousands of words without ever opening a book. Therefore, reading for comprehension strategies are necessary every single day! Teaching students strategies for reading comprehension is one of the most basic but imperative things we can do in middle and...
7 Stress-free Strategies of Differentiation in the English Classroom
Formalized differentiated instruction was established in the 1970s but it existed long before with one-room schoolhouses. We have come a long way from having a single teacher for all students including all grades and subjects! But that doesn’t mean that Strategies of...
What Differentiated Instruction is in the Practical English Classroom
Do you try to adjust your lessons to meet your students where they are? If so, you’re using differentiated instruction. What differentiated instruction is depends on many factors. Differentiated instruction boils down to doing different things. The historic origins of...
Hi, I’m KRISTIN!
I primarily focus on integrating multiple disciplines and subjects. The goal is to make teaching simplified and effective!