“That Place Sounds Kinda Nice…” (Spoiler: It’s a Cult)

If we don’t teach these kids about cults, they’re doomed. I don’t want to read about some sweet kid from my class getting murdered on a compound in the middle of nowhere. Not on my watch!

Prepping Kids for the CommonApp College Essay

Ah, yes. The dreaded Common App for applying for college. The kids stress out about the essay part the most, by far. Lots of complaining…not always lots of actual writing and revising. It’s pretty much the only thing my juniors and seniors can think about from August to November (besides TikTok). It just makes sense […]

“Career Ready”

The seniors are stressed out about job interviews. Majorly stressed out. 20 years ago, when I first arrived at this party, it was a given, at my suburban high school, that upwards of 90% of kids were going to college. That’s no longer the case.

Quick Plug–Gatsby Standardized Test-Style Review Qs Slideshow on TpT

I discovered I’m getting excellent results with this type of daily review, and it lets me prep them for the next round of assessments (sigh). To get up to speed on this entire thing and what pushed me to this point, check out my blog post, That Standardized Testing Grind, from a few weeks ago. […]

The Holy Grail of Inference Bell Work–FREE DOWNLOAD

DAMN these kids are LITERAL. Like, I could leave them a trail of breadcrumbs and they’d eat the bread off the floor and still not find their way home. Not exaggerating. They can’t make an inference to save their lives.

That Standardized Testing Grind

Ugly truth. Standardized tests matter. I f—-ing hate them, but it’s not up to me whether or not my students take them. And I needed to help them be ready.

Don’t Kill Shakespeare!

I think they’re pleasantly surprised how many of the insults and roasts in Shakespeare still make sense today. I’ve really enjoyed hearing them refer to one another as “three inch fools” for the past month. See? Sometimes they do pay attention! “College and Career Ready.”

Fahrenheit 451 Is Live, And You Can’t Burn This Version!

Fahrenheit 451 Is Live, And You Can’t Burn This Version!

Easier-To-Read Fahrenheit 451 is Ready To Go! Once again, I am delighted to bring you a new title for your ELL and SPED students! Also useful, I’d like to add, for lazy kids and literal kids. Kind of a one-stop shop. The irony that I’ve created an un-burnable digital copy of a book about burning […]

I’m YouTube Famous(ish)!

I am excited to announce that I have recorded enough voice-overs for the Adapted Literature books to start an Enraged2Engaged YouTube channel! I feel extremely fortunate to have friends and co-workers to add their uniqne voices for these modified texts. It is always gratifying to work with a team and bring new materials into the […]