So much is changing—has changed—in this world. Rebecca D. Martin finds a deep leaving-truth in her first villanelle and her first experience as a teacher.
Poet-a-Day: Meet Ashley M. Jones
What can the villanelle offer a poet? Ashley M. Jones has a suggestion—and a container for obsession or sorrow.
Sun and Moon Poems: Night Poetry Prompt
Join author Callie Feyen as she confesses her fear of teaching Romeo and Juliet, and realizes there is much more to see than what she’s afraid of.
Fun Reading Activities: Color & Trace “The Lady Mouse Has a Mandolin”
Early readers Molly and Joe want to help a child learn to read. Learn fun facts about mandolins and take a spin writing a limerick, along with this fun reading activity coloring page.
“The Old Curiosity Shop:” Charles Dickens and a Road Trip!
“The Old Curiosity Shop” by Charles Dickens, with some of the author’s most memorable characters, isn’t about a shop at all — it’s about a road trip.
Rediscovering “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens
“Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens is one of his best and most beloved novels, one he initially described as “fine, new, and grotesque.”
Reckless in the Library With Sight Word Baseball
Reading teacher Callie Feyen has been curious if recklessness can be used to learn, or, perhaps more radically, if recklessness is in fact needed to learn. Watch out, then, for baseball in the library!
Interview with an English Teacher, Pt 2: The Heroic in Literature
English teacher Diane Flint reflects on “the heroic” and “the hero’s journey” as a central theme taught in most English curricula.
Interview with an English Teacher, Pt 1: Texts and Teaching
Ann Kroeker interviews her high school English teacher, who reflects the heart of a guide—a mentor—for anyone who wants to help a student love literature.
William Wordsworth: “The Prelude” and the Poetry of Revision
Some 24 manuscripts, dated from 1798 to 1839, exist for “The Prelude, ” the autobiographical poem by William Wordsworth; they show the poetry of revision.
How to Write a Poem in the Classroom: A Teacher’s Secret Tool
High school English teacher Joel Jacobson shares his experience teaching a new advanced creative writing class using Tania Runyan’s How to Write a Poem. (Features student poems.)
How to Write a College Application Essay: A Closer Look at a Winning Application
This time, we’re going to take a look at how a young man made the most of my College Essay Yes-Yes’s in his own winning application.
“Poetry: A Survivor’s Guide” by Mark Yakich
Poet and teacher Mark Yakich takes a serious and irreverent look at reading and writing poetry in “Poetry: A Survivor’s Guide.”
Building Minds: Block Play as a Writing, Thinking, and Math Tool
Through constructive block play—which is actually a form of story-making—children use their hands and bodies to build their minds.
A Month with Keats: Poetry, Religion and Politics
Our Keats Walk in Hampstead in north London explores the poet and the political and (anti)religious influences on John Keats’ life and poetry.
Book Love: Of Tractors and Mockingbirds
I said my goal was for students to appreciate literature. Secretly, though, my goal was for the kids to love literature. I wanted them to experience book love.
Poets and Poems: Hart Crane, “The Bridge” and Me
Reading “The Bridge” by Hart Crane is an exploration into the love for the literature of Realism and Modernism – and the reasons for that love.
4 Reasons Your Child Needs Building Toys for Language and Creativity Development
Building toys allow children opportunity for unscripted play which leads to language and creativity development. Monica Sharman shares 4 reasons your child needs building toys.
Laura Inman and “The Poetic World of Emily Brontë”
“The Poetic World of Emily Brontë” by Laura Inman is a wonderful way to be introduced to her poetry, seen through the lens of her novel “Wuthering Heights”
Top Ten Reasons We Dare You to Give an English Teacher “How to Read a Poem”
We dare you to give “How to Read a Poem” to an English teacher. Here are our Top 10 reasons, plus a giveaway.