So, you want to teach Long Way Down? Long Way Down is a verse novel about a fifteen-year-old boy named Will Holloman. It is a great book that really engages students! Teaching Long Way Down can be an engaging and thought-provoking unit for your students, and there is so much you can do with this novel study. I use the materials in this Long Way Down Novel Study with my students as we read the text in my classroom. If you are looking at how to teach Long Way Down or activities to incorporate in your classroom when teaching Long Way Down, here is the ultimate list for you. Here are 25 ideas for teaching Long Way Down. Watch Author Interviews A great way to introduce students to a novel and author is to have them watch author interviews and videos before reading the book. One of my favorite videos to show my class before reading Long Way Down is the Daily Show interview with Trevor Noah. This is a great introductory interview because students get to know Jason Reynolds, who he is, what he...

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 ...