One of my favorite units to teach is a unit that focuses on relationships. It’s the perfect way to hone in on complex characterization and the layers of complexity are widely accommodating for skill level. Whether you’re building the unit to teach as a whole class novel unit or as a literature circles unit, this book list is here to save you time and energy in narrowing down the search.

Poetry is one of my favorite vehicles to have these critical thinking discussions about social justice. The voices in poetry are so raw, real, and products of the moments from which they came. This list of 22 came from talking to teachers online about their favorites to use in the classroom, as well as my own experience teaching poetry and creative writing.

There is a long history of connectedness between literature and nature. From the important role that setting plays in any given story to the prolific use of nature as symbolism, but I somehow always felt distant from the outdoors inside my classroom. Here are twelve lesson plan ideas to engage your students with nature.

Over the years I have tried many different ways to promote reading in the classroom including, reading logs, AR tests, and journaling. But the one way that I have found that helps my students read more and apply it to topics we learn in class is through reading sprints. 

Rhetorical analysis is a skill that needs practice and reinforcement all year long. Using various moments from movies and film offer a great chance to examine both the rhetorical situation and the arguments themselves. Check out these eleven movie suggestions to teach rhetorical analysis including various Disney movies, The Notebook, and We Are Marshall.

Rhetorical analysis is a skill that needs practice and reinforcement all year long. Use this template and three commercial suggestions to help you get going with rhetorical analysis in your classroom.

Try beginning your rhetorical analysis lessons by focusing on the rhetorical situation before heading into deeper analysis. When you’re ready, dig in using SPACE CAT and a great song from a musical that has a premise and an argument to examine. Here’s what we’ve done in my class using “Mother Knows Best” from Tangled.

Close reading is often confused or made synonymous with things it most definitely is not, making it seem too scary to even approach. Maybe you’ve tried it, hit a wall of frustration and abandoned-ship. Well, it’s time to replace frustration, uncertainty and fear with the truth, and bust three common myths of close reading.

Teaching The Great Gatsby is a massive task, but setting up students during prereading is a critical moment to help them feel successful as they’re tackling the novel from the start. Here’s how to use a Gatsby Party as a stations activity that helps students get to know each of the major characters in the novel.

Short story units have the potential to deeply inspire and impact learning with students, but if the approach is disjointed or lacking any sort of alignment, these units can feel like flops. Here are the ways that I craft meaningful, engaging, and interesting units to highlight the short stories that we love (and a few more that we should add to the rotation!)

One of the best ways to start your back to school lesson planning is with a stations activity. Gone are the days of reading the syllabus out loud, and right in front of us are the days of interactive, meaningful, and focused activities. Get your students started in groups and take them through an orientation to your room, your expectations, and the school year ahead. Here are 10 ideas to get you started.

Having your shelves stocked with LGBTQ+ protagonists and stories is great, but if students don’t know they’re available, don’t have a safe time to check them out, are intimidated by the cover, or simply don’t feel comfortable checking the books out, then the diversity of the library doesn’t really matter! Here are five steps to take to make sure those wonderful books actually make it into the hands that want them and need them.

Each year teachers welcome new students to embark on amazing learning journeys in ELA classrooms. Teachers try as hard as they can to provide activities that engage students, introduce new skills, and create environments that are welcoming to all students. Here are five ways to make sure that happens for LGBTQ+ students…

Unit planning can feel overwhelming, but this guest post provides practical, easy steps for getting started on any unit. Follow Samantha’s guidance as she demonstrates the ways in which she organizes her “The Crucible” unit here!

Teachers can have happiness and power over their own lives, but it all starts with creating good habits. These are three habits that changed everything about my teaching career.

Rigor is not the same thing as busy work. Pushing students and challenging students to do their best work and to excel past their wildest dreams takes concentration, planning, and intention. Here are 12 ways to support students as you challenge them every step of the way.

Here are four authors and artists that deserve a spotlight any time of year, but especially during Black History Month. Each has a speech, story, or TED Talk that you can share with students alongside a wide variety of units.

Rhetorical analysis is a skill that needs practice and reinforcement all year long. Take a break from what you’re doing and tackle these Super Bowl ads together for students to practice discussion and analysis in an entertaining and engaging lesson.

Middle school reading can be a powerful way to expose students to issues in the world around them. It’s also one of the best ways for students to make connections between academics and their own lives. In this guest post, you’ll get three thematic book lists to fill up your Amazon cart.