In today’s episode of the Teaching ELA Podcast, I discuss several short stories with a focus on conflict: “The Most Dangerous Game,” “To Build a Fire,” “The Monkey’s Paw,” “Through the Tunnel,” and “Harrison Bergeron.” I’ve got an emergency lesson plan you can get on the board right now involving conflict. Takeaways Everyone can connect […]
Teaching “To Build a Fire” by Jack London
September 13, 2021 By
In today’s episode of the Teaching ELA Podcast, I discuss a classic short story from one of America’s most famous short story writers, “To Build a Fire” by Jack London. I’ve got an emergency lesson plan you can get on the board right now involving imagery and sensory details. If you’re going to teach one […]
Teaching “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
September 6, 2021 By
In today’s episode of the Teaching ELA Podcast, I discuss a classic short story from one of America’s top female short story writers of the 20th-century, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. I’ve got an emergency lesson plan you can get on the board right now involving imagery and sensory details. If you’re going to teach […]
Cornell Notes Rubric
September 3, 2021 By
Cornell Notes Rubric Despite having explained thirty-eight times how to take Cornell Notes, I still saw the same problems and had to answer the same stupid questions over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. Right as I was about […]
Teaching “The Interlopers” by Saki
August 30, 2021 By
In today’s episode of the Teaching ELA Podcast, I discuss one of my favorite short stories to teach, “The Interlopers” by Saki. I’ve got an emergency lesson plan you can get on the board right now involving conflict. If you’re going to teach one thing from this story that will make teaching everything else easier […]
An Analysis of “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost
August 26, 2021 By
Why would anybody stop in the snow and cold to stare at some trees? We’ll find out in this an analysis of “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” Let’s not fool around. I’ll just give you a graphic organizer that goes with the Symbolism in Robert Frost’s Poems Lesson Plans. “Stopping by Woods on a […]
Teaching “The Fun They Had” by Isaac Asimov
August 23, 2021 By
Here’s a story that became very popular right around March/April of 2020. It’s called “The Fun They Had” by Isaac Asimov. It’s more of a middle school level text but the themes, in light of recent events, makes it applicable to all grade levels. This podcast contains an emergency lesson you can create 2 minutes […]
Logical Fallacies Lesson Plan with a Logical Fallacies Quiz (Kind of)
August 19, 2021 By
Here’s a logical fallacies quiz based on a real life experience. Below is a one-sided conversation I had with a student the other day. Identify the logical fallacy exemplified in each statement. “Hey Mr., You’re my favorite teacher. Will you change my grade?” (1) “Hey Mr., I’m about to cry. My poor puppy just died. […]
Teaching “The Most Dangerous Game”
August 16, 2021 By
In today’s episode of the Teaching ELA Podcast, we discuss “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell. After a brief summary, we take a look at teaching conflict, suspense, and other literary elements that make this classic a great teach for an ELA classroom. We also look at two ideas for writing a comparison essay […]
Teaching Of Mice and Men without Offending Everyone
August 12, 2021 By
I love Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. I’ve taught it for several years. The novel’s harsh language does present some problems. The Lord’s name is used in vain 26 times. There are 41 additional instances of Deity being referenced as a curse word. The N-word appears 16 times. The word for a female dog shows […]