Bring modern novels into your classroom with creative contemporary works. We often hold tight to the curriculum we have used for years, but many modern titles are just as worthy of our classroom time. I have been creating a series of posts related to modern pairings to classic literature. Read on to see my suggestions for Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.  Classic Focus Jane becomes an orphan at a young age, and never quite feels like she fits in. Her courage is tested again and again as she finds herself up against unfair circumstances and societal standards. She finds a job caring for a young ward for a brooding Edward Rochester. Jane finds herself drawn to him, even though he is clearly harboring a secret.   This novel comes across as very “ho-hum”. It isn’t necessarily action-packed. It doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles that students can find in modern films and novels. But some deep themes are relatable if they are willing to push through the details and find the story withi...

Do you need a modern novel to pair with the classic Macbeth? Shakespeare’s Macbeth is still one of his most wildly popular plays. I’m not saying we are all sitting around reading Macbeth , but we see countless retellings in novels and film today. Almost any story with unethical and unchecked ambition or guilt-spun paranoia has ties to the plot.  If you’re looking for something with a modern spin as you wrap up a Macbeth unit, read on to see my favorites. Let’s start with an overview of the play. Classic Focus Macbeth by William Shakespeare Brave and respected, Macbeth sits one night around his fire when three witches visit him. In their prophecy, they foretell he would become the king of Scotland. Skeptical at first, he is urged on by his ruthless wife. The single-minded ambition leads him down a path of paranoia, tyranny, madness, and murder. Modern Pairings Macbeth tells a tale that mostly centers on the dangers of corrupted power and unchecked ambition. Despite being well-loved a...

  If you do a quick Google search of literature read in high school - you get a pretty skimpy list.  And that skimpy list is probably full of outdated and poor representations of diversity.  The thing is, we know this is a problem, and yet almost all of the curriculum and unit studies out there are still centered on these same books. I bet if I did a poll, most of us would check off the same list of books no matter where we live or what decade we attended high school. Consider this: how many books do you teach in your classroom that you read as a student yourself? Shouldn’t that bother us? Before anyone gets too hot and bothered about it, I do love the classics. I still think Canterbury Tales is some of the dirtiest and most hilarious short stories you can read. Shakespeare bleeds into so much of our modern pop culture I think it makes a great foundation for students to understand what it means to be a “classic” author who understood the true themes of humanity. His plays were the A...

One of the best ways to introduce middle school ELA and high school English students to poetry is through verse novels. Incorporating verse novels in your instruction and on the shelves of your classroom library is a great way to show just how great poetry is and how writers can use poetry to tell a story. Here is a list of five exciting and heartfelt verse novels you will want to include on the shelves of your classroom library. Please note: this post contains affiliate links to help cover the cost of running this blog.  Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo Two worlds collide in this novel when sisters, one living in New York and the other in the Dominican, learn about each other. Told in the two different perspectives of each sister, this book grapples with tough issues like loss while also showing common bonds.  Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds In this novel, Will confronts various people from his past as he grapples with the death of his brother and the unspoken rules that run ...

Whether you just signed your first teaching contract, are a seasoned educator, or you are still working toward your earning your teaching license, it is never too early (or late) to start building your classroom library. In fact, the earlier you start building your classroom library, the easier the task will be. I believe that classroom libraries are an essential part of every single secondary classroom, whether you teach English language arts or not. Teenagers need to have easy access quality, interesting books: books that they will actually want to read. Even if you don’t have an independent reading program attached to your curriculum, it is important for your students to know you value reading and that you have a plethora of books just waiting for them. While the easiest way to build a classroom library would simply be to buy every.single.title.available, that isn’t the most economical way to start your collection, especially if you are just starting your teaching career. ...