Hosting a book club meeting with my high school English students is generally the highlight of my week. There is the possibility, however, that for some reason -- sickness, school cancellations, breaks, etc. -- that your regular in-class book club meeting might not take place within the four walls of your classroom. (If you want to read more about what my traditional books clubs are, check out this post first.) That doesn't mean, though, that you and your students have to miss your book activities and discussions. Here are five tips, ideas, … [Read more...]
What Not to Miss When Teaching Fahrenheit 451
There is so much to teach and learn when reading Ray Bradbury's magnum opus: Fahrenheit 451. I'm compiling this list of not-to-miss points when teaching Fahrenheit 451 after having taught it for years and years, but also with the disclaimer that every time I teach it, I see something new. However, these five aspects of the book surface each time through as the topics that spark the most learning and enjoyment. 1. The Language & Allusions: I suppose this wouldn't be a proper English-teacher approved blog post, if I didn't include the … [Read more...]
Setting Up a Classroom Book Club Meeting
You may have read my "Why I don't do literature circles and what I do instead" post, and now you want to try my classroom book clubs method. But you have some questions: What does it look like inside a "book club" meeting? What types of activities do you do? What questions do you ask students? What do you discuss and how? How do you keep it all organized? In this blog post, I hope to shed a little more light on the anatomy of my book club meetings. If you haven't already read my first blog post about the concept or structure in general, … [Read more...]
End-of-Year Reflection: Top Five Classroom Success Stories of 2018
It seems to me that 2018 has been quite the long year... but then again it does feel like I was just rounding the corner of 2018 not too long ago, and here we are already at 2019. One of the most important things we can do as teachers is reflect, and so that's why I love this annual blog post. It's been my new year tradition for the past several years (2015, 2016, 2017), and choosing only five moments is always so hard, but here goes: My top five classroom success stories of 2018! This year in review... 1) Read-o-Lution: Reading is the … [Read more...]
A Movie Review of HBO’s Fahrenheit 451 from a High School English Teacher
Finally... the moment my students and I have been wishing and waiting for - an updated movie remake of one of our favorite novels: Fahrenheit 451. We always have a little fun playing the role of director, choosing which of our favorite actors and actresses should play Montag, Beatty, Mildred, Clarisse, and all the other memorable characters. However, we do always wonder... would Bradbury actually approve of any screen adaptation of his magnum opus? I had so many questions before watching HBO's hot, new adaptation: Who would play Montag? … [Read more...]
The Power of “I Don’t Know” – As a Teacher
We’ve all been in that situation where we had something come up and we didn’t know the answer. Or we’ve had the nightmare of feeling like we weren’t prepared with all the answers. It all feels awkward, uncomfortable, or embarrassing. When I first started teaching, I would have nearly died when I had to admit to students that I didn’t know the answer to something. I’d like to say that I handled those situations with grace instead of stuttering around – or worse, making something up. But, I can’t be certain. I just know I didn’t want to say, “I … [Read more...]
The Books of Summer: A Linky of Titles for Book Lovers
When summer time finally rolls around, I can get back to reading. Reading is actually one of my favorite things to do, but when school is in session, there is just no time. I'm sure that's true for most teachers. I always have a few books stored away on my wishlist or shelf just waiting for the covers to be cracked, but I'm always on the lookout for new ones to add. So, I thought, "What a fun idea for a summer linky!" Below are five titles up for your consideration, and at the bottom, you can link up your suggestions for what … [Read more...]
