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  And that skimpy list is probably full of outdated and poor representations of diversity.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...

Teaching argument writing can be very exciting. It provides students with an opportunity to explore interesting topics. I give my students choices when I teach argument writing in my classroom. Students who select their topics are more engaged with and connected to their writing. When assigning a hot topic or controversial issue argumentative essay, I always let students select a topic. That way, they are more passionate about their writing. However, I also make it clear that their topic cannot be discriminatory or hateful in any way and that they must fund valid and credible evidence to back up their claims. When I do this in the classroom, I also like to make sure that only one student per class has the same topic. If you are planning an argument or controversial issue essay assignment, here is a list of potential topics you can include in your classroom. If you need teaching materials, this argument writing teaching unit will help you walk your students through the process. Here ar...

It’s no secret that students in both middle school ELA and high school English struggle with grammar. However, not all hope is lost, and it isn’t too late to bring meaningful and effective grammar instruction into your classroom. Here is a look at five must-teach grammar lessons and resources that will help your students improve their grammar skills and become stronger writers in the process! 1. Sentence Combining Bell Ringers If you are looking for a quick yet effective daily grammar and writing routine, these sentence-combining bell ringers are just what you’re looking for! After teaching students what sentence combining looks like, it takes less than five minutes a day to practice this skill. This sentence-combining bell ringer bundle includes enough bell ringers for a year of practice! Students will begin each class period by reading the group of simple sentences on the projector, combining them, and writing them into complex and compound-complex sentences. To add more value to th...