• Home
  • Start Here
  • Posts
    • Lit Literature Reviews
    • Teaching Strategies
    • Life Tips for Teachers
    • Teachers Pay Teachers Tips
  • Shop My Teaching Resources!
  • Sell on TPT
  • About
  • Follow!

It's Lit Teaching

High School English and TPT Seller Resources

Experiences in the Classroom, Teaching Strategies

How to Design a Novel Unit that Doesn’t Bore your Students to Death: A Guest Blog Post From Yaddy’s Room

September 22, 2019

How to Design A Novel Unit That Doesn't Bore Your Students to Death

You have a boring novel unit, now what?

  1. Redesign it?
    • Um. Maybe? I know when I tried to redesign curriculum that was boring, I ended up showing up at school at 5 am and not leaving until 6 pm. You know what I could have been doing with that time? Going to the beach, hiking, drinking a bucket of wine to drown out all the meetings. Let’s put this one on the back burner. 
  2. Choose a different book?
    • This wasn’t an option for me. For one, I had state-mandated curriculum that I had to follow. I could make mild alterations, but any radical changes had to go through an administrator. And I knew no one would have trusted the new teacher that was hit in the head by the shiny idea fairy. I had to stick to the novel, no matter how difficult. 
  3. Make it engaging in some magical way?
    • Well, all real options gone, this was the only one I could do. It was either make it interesting or suffer the constant whining and moaning from fifteen and sixteen-year-olds about how they were so bored in class. And if that happened, I knew it would be on me. It would be my failure. So it was time for me to bust out my cauldron and stir up some magic. 
“Hi! I’m Yaddy. I made my blog to have a place to share my sense of humor with teaching, add in some sometimes-useful advice, and focus my sarcasm on something other than my husband so he stays my husband. I have loved teaching since I was in high school, being that I was that one kid in class who could wrest control from her teachers. (Kind to think of it, most of my teachers probably wanted to strangle me for it.) If you like teaching, or like to laugh, feel free to check out my stuff!”
IG @yaddysroom
Twitter: @yaddywalantas
Blog: yaddysroom.com
TPT: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Yaddys-Room

The Magic Trick

I know it sounds like the shiny rainbow unicorn promises made to you at mandatory afterschool professional development. It isn’t. It’s as simple as sitting the kids in front of another screen and giving them an object. So, my magic answer?

Connect a movie to it!

I started catching on to this when I started out the school year. I had to teach about identity and culture as part of the curriculum, so my first thought was to show the students a fictional culture and have them outline all the concepts we had gone over. If you know me, you know I’m a hardcore Slytherin. And the wizarding world had a bunch of amazing cultural world-building that I just had to present it to my students in a way that they could study it, and come away with a valuable lesson from it. 

But for a novel? A novel was a different beast altogether. Especially a novel like Things Fall Apart, where there was no convenient Leonardo DiCaprio movie out (I’m looking at you, Romeo + Juliet). 

It forced me to break this whole process down. Luckily for you, I’m going to save you the blood sweat, and hangovers, and give you my process. I know. I’m awesome. 

How to Connect Novels and Film Infographic
The Magical Process for Teaching Boring Novels: Connect Film to the Text

Step 1: Break Down the Novel into Themes

This has become easy nowadays. You likely have a teacher’s edition of the novel, years of experience, or access to the internet. One of my favorite tools to use when analyzing a novel is LitCharts.com and CommonLit.com. LitCharts breaks down the novel by quotes, themes, and characters. CommonLit.com is an awesome free resource of paired readings, so you can see what texts they already paired to a novel, and what common themes are laid out. Don’t worry, I don’t get paid to advertise them. I just really think they’re amazing.

Step 2: Brainstorm What Movies are Currently Popular or Classically Popular

This is the tough part. What movies with kids love? Which ones do we have to trust they will fall in love with? Try to listen to movies they are talking about, take the temperature in your classroom, what do your students specifically like? I taught in Hawaii, so my students were obsessed with Moana. 

Here are a few to start you off:

Currently Popular 

  • The Hate U Give
  • The Lion King (The one with Childish Gambino and Queen Bey)
  • The Perks of Being a WallFlower
  • Wonder 
  • Ready Player One
  • Anything Marvel 
    • Avengers: Endgame
    • Spiderman: Far From Home
  • Anything DC
    • Aquaman
    • Wonderwoman
  • The Fault in Our Stars

Classics

  • Troy
  • 300
  • Braveheart

Step 3: Make a Venn Diagram, Which Ones are Similar?

Don’t actually make a Venn diagram. Or do. Whatever gets the job done. I personally like to draw things out on my whiteboard at home or use stickies. The point here is, which movies line up thematically with the novel? Which one does it the best? Of course, you can try to connect any movie with any novel, but that won’t make your novel unit interesting, it’ll just give you filler. 

How to Design A Novel Unit That Doesn't Bore Your Students to Death

Step 4: Make a Plan to Use the Movie as a Learning Tool, Not Just Filler. 

This is another hard part. How do you use a movie as a learning tool? With my Harry Potter example, I had students draw up a graphic organizer with values, language, clothing, economic system, and beliefs. Then they had to watch the movie and look for these specific things. When the movie ended, I provided them with a discussion question they had to answer individually, then in pairs, and then as a class: How does the fictional culture in Harry Potter help us understand culture in the real world?

Headscratcher, isn’t it?

But it got students talking! And I felt that spark of joy (hello, Marie Kondo) for teaching. My students were enjoying the lesson!

Bonus: You’ve covered the synthesis standard.

I personally think this standard is tough. But using this method, you nail it. Kids are learning about one topic and then seeing how another creator interprets and presents it. Then, they are forced to analyze it. 

How to Design A Novel Unit That Doesn't Bore Your Students to Death

Case Study: Things Fall Apart and Avatar

I have a love-hate relationship with Things Fall Apart. I love the story, but it’s hard for kids to get into. Which is why I showed them Avatar to go along with it. Both stories have manifest destiny going on for them, an indigenous culture being invaded by a seemingly more technologically advanced culture, and question the validity of religions and whether one culture can be better than another. 

I compare Chris Sully to Nwoye, both of whom struggled in their own skin within their cultures, but flourished outside of their culture. The idea of violence as being the ultimate answer can be seen throughout both the novel and the film, which brings on amazing discussion among students. I also press the idea to students that dark things are often presented as bad and light as good, which is why at the beginning of the film when Chris Sully is unsure about life on Pandora, everything is shadows and darkness, but once he begins to love the culture the lighting in the film changes. And you can’t forget the amazing role that fire of all types play in both. 

Yeah, I know, I’m a nerd. Or I can’t turn my teacher brain off. But hey, you benefit from it! 

I’ve also used this process with other topics. 

Whiteboard from Yaddy's Lesson Using Film
Connecting Ready Player One to literary themes

Case study: Ready Player One and the Environment for Informational Texts. 

As part of state-mandated curriculum, I had to teach about the environment using informational texts and that one Al Gore movie and some cheesy early 2000s music videos. My issue? I didn’t like that the material seemed ancient, and not relevant to my students. 

Then, I figured, why not just show them Ready Player One so that they can see the environmental impacts technology can have? It’s interesting, full of pop culture references, and a great way to bring students out of the daze of early 2000s anything. 

All in all, I think that this form of teaching made the material easier to digest for my students, and helped keep them engaged with novels or any unit of study I was teaching. 

And it can for you too. 

Make sure to subscribe to Heather’s website for amazing book reviews and teaching strategies. And if you want more tricks, stories, and kickass teacher hacks from me, head on over to https://www.yaddysroom.com and subscribe to my newsletter for monthly freebies and overall awesome stuff. 

You might also enjoy

How to Teach When Students are Years Behind?How to Teach When Students are Years Behind
How to Close Read A Novel with Students of Any Skill Level Pinterest PinHow To Close Read a Whole Novel with Student of Any Skill Level
How to Implement a New Novel in Your Classroom: a guide and case study for high school english teachers pinterest pinHow To Implement a New Novel in Your Classroom
Previous:
Your Students Will be OBSESSED with this Novel!
Next:
Want the Perfect Horror Novel for High School Readers?

Categories

  • Complete Guides
  • Experiences in the Classroom
  • Life Tips for Teachers
  • Lit Literature Reviews
  • Teachers Pay Teachers Tips
  • Teaching Strategies

Latest on Instagram

This quote still hits me hard, even though 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘉𝘰𝘺𝘴 is now almost 20 years old. ⁣
⁣
Even though it might not be the newest, shiniest young adult novel out there, All American Boys is still worth incorporating into your classroom.⁣
⁣
𝗜𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗯𝗼𝘆𝘀--𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲. After the black teen is mistakenly assaulted by a police officer, and the white teen witnesses it, their stories are told parallel to one another. ⁣
⁣
𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀. ⁣
⁣
The language is mild at worst and the two perspectives offer balance for any conservative districts that might be afraid to stray too far from the canon.⁣
⁣
Teach it. Put it on your shelves. ⁣
⁣
Read my full review on All American Boys in your classroom through the link in my bio. ⁣
⁣
#itslitteaching #englishclasses #teachingenglish #elateacher #2ndaryela #englishteachers #englishteaching⁣
#highschoolteacher #iteachhighschool #iteachela #iteachwriting #educating #schoolteacher #secondaryela #bookreviewblog #bookpost #readstagram #bookwormlife #bibliophilelife #avidreader #readersgonnaread #booksonbooks #booksaremagic #booksconnectus⁣
#classroomlibrary #booksworthreading #bookreviewers #bookreaders #knowjusticeknowpeace #socialjusticeeducation
New blog post 👉 TPT Seller Success: How to Earn New blog post 👉 TPT Seller Success: How to Earn the Most from Sitewide Sales⁣
⁣
No one really knows when the next Teachers Pay Teachers sitewide sale will be (the quarter 1 sale is notoriously difficult to predict).⁣
⁣
But having a game plan for 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 it is announced could help you earn more when it arrives!⁣
⁣
My newest blog post is a guide to maximizing your earnings during a Teachers Pay Teachers sitewide sale. ⁣
⁣
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄 (𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗶𝗼!) 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 2021 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀!⁣
⁣
#itslitteaching ⁣
#tptseller #tptteachers #tptstore #tptteacher #teacherpreneur #edupreneur #highperformancehabits #bizcoach #teachinglife⁣
#collaborationovercompetition #entrepreneursuccess #businesslessons #tptstore #teachersoftpt #weareteachers #teacherssupportteachers #togetherwearebetter #teacherblog #teacherbloggers #teachertalk #teacherlifestyle #teacherstuff⁣
#teachersfollowingteachers #teachergoals #teacherinspo #teachersupport #teachingtips #educating #schoolteacher
Grading finals and preparing for third-quarter tod Grading finals and preparing for third-quarter today...⁣
⁣
I have NOTHING prepared if I'm honest. Since August I've been so fixated on surviving this semester that I haven't really thought past that.⁣
⁣
But the good thing is the WE DID MAKE IT. ⁣
⁣
And another good thing is that there are some awesome TPT sellers out there.⁣
⁣
Confession: I feel a little weird sometimes buying from TPT now that I have my own store. Like, I should be making things, not spending money on them!⁣
⁣
But that's what TPT is for--to help burnt-out teachers save time, plan faster, and get back to the pressing work. ⁣
⁣
And I am so grateful to all of the sellers out there who share their work on the platform. I'd much rather my money go to another hardworking teacher than a giant publisher. ⁣
⁣
Now, I'm going to hit "buy" over on TPT and get back to a relaxing evening!⁣
⁣
𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗣𝗧 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 "𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗱" 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗣𝗧? 𝗢𝗿 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀?⁣
⁣
#itslitteaching⁣
#tptseller #tptteachers #tptstore #tptteacher #teacherpreneur #edupreneur #highperformancehabits #bizcoach #collaborationovercompetition #entrepreneursuccess #businesslessons #tptstore #teachersoftpt #instateachers #instagramteachers #educatorsofinstagram #igconnect4edu #teachersupport #teachingresources⁣
#teachersonig #teachersoninstagram #doneisbetterthanperfect #digitallearning #virtuallearning #virtualteaching #onlineteacher #teachonline #remoteteaching #distanceteaching
Confession: I love a little "woo woo" with my hard Confession: I love a little "woo woo" with my hardcore business strategies.⁣
⁣
I've just always been that way. ⁣
⁣
🔮 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘵. ⁣
⁣
🔮 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥. ⁣
⁣
🔮 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵-𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘵. ⁣
⁣
I love all of the "Law of Attraction" and manifestations ideas I've been hearing about in my business podcasts (or maybe I'm just listening to the business podcasts that are served up with a side of spirituality...?).⁣
⁣
But I'm an English teacher--I'll read the source material myself, thank you very much 😜⁣
⁣
🔅 𝗜𝗻 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹, 𝗜 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗯𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆.⁣
⁣
If, however, you're not looking to learn every single thing about the manifestation world, those are probably your big takeaways. So I just saved you a lot of reading, lol.⁣
⁣
𝗔𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲? I can't be alone! (I can smell your oils down the hallway!)
The cycle of updating and maintaining TPT resource The cycle of updating and maintaining TPT resources:⁣
⁣
If it's been a while since you've touched that resource, you might be thinking that it's time for an update. ⁣
⁣
𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱? 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:⁣
⁣
𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳?⁣
𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴?⁣
𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸?⁣
𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵?⁣
𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘴?⁣
𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯?⁣
𝘋𝘰 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘸 (𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 3%) 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦?⁣
⁣
If you answered yes to any of those, it might be time to update. ⁣
⁣
(Don't worry, every TPT seller has a list a mile long of products to update!)⁣
⁣
𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗲-𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁. Add some new Pinterest pins. Include it in a blog post. Let your IG followers and email subscribers know that it has a shiny new finish. ⁣
⁣
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻, 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮. Are your views and conversions going up?⁣
⁣
Give it plenty of time (at least six months) before doing any drastic tweaking. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲, 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲!⁣
⁣
👉𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀? ⁣
⁣
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗧𝗣𝗧 only newsletter!

#itslitteaching #tptseller
What are you dreaming up for 2021?⁣ ⁣ Besides What are you dreaming up for 2021?⁣
⁣
Besides a world in which I can travel, hug my friends, and skip the "mask-ne" on my face, I'm dreaming up some big goals for this year. ⁣
⁣
⭐ Launch more tools and share more information to help teachers begin their Teachers Pay Teachers stores⁣
⭐ Marry @zionthelyon in October (and survive the wedding-planning process until then)⁣
⭐ Offer an entire done-for-you Creative Writing course on my Teachers Pay Teachers store⁣
⭐ Make yoga a habit that's so instinctual, I don't even think about it⁣
⭐ Go back to school to learn about web development⁣
⭐ Organize my entire home⁣
⁣
...and so much more. I have bitten a lot off this year, but I'm up for the challenge. ⁣
⁣
⁣
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿? I'd love to see what you're going to accomplish in 2021!⁣
⁣
#itslitteaching ⁣
#englishclasses #teachingenglish #elateacher #2ndaryela #englishteachers #englishteaching⁣
#highschoolteacher #iteachhighschool #iteachela #iteachwriting #educating #schoolteacher #secondaryela #tptseller #tptteachers #tptstore #tptteacher #teacherpreneur #edupreneur #highperformancehabits #bizcoach #collaborationovercompetition #entrepreneursuccess #businesslessons #tptstore #teachersoftpt #teacherinspiration #teachertips #teachermotivation
This book is a must-read for white people.⁣ ⁣ This book is a must-read for white people.⁣
⁣
Years of working with at-risk, high-poverty, diverse students had already done wonders for making me aware of my own personal privilege. ⁣
⁣
But Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give really connected some major dots for me. ⁣
⁣
✊ Riots aren't caused by uncivilized people. They're a symptom of systemic oppression and the natural result of injustice and anger building over time.⁣
⁣
And while I never thought I'd need to be intimately familiar with the workings of riots, 2020 proved me wrong. I'm so glad that I (and the students to whom I've taught this novel) had read this book prior to the Kenosha riots.⁣
⁣
It allowed me to approach the whole ordeal with more understanding, more empathy, and helped me to stay focused on the priorities--human lives and justice--rather than getting caught up in the property damage. ⁣
⁣
I've recently bundled all of my resources for this wonderful novel with some related titles (Dear Martin and All American Boys) into one epic literature circle unit.⁣
⁣
𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘆, 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁-𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗼. ⁣
⁣
(Oh, and everything included is both PRINTABLE AND DIGITAL!)⁣
⁣
#itslitteaching ⁣
#englishclasses #teachingenglish #elateacher #2ndaryela #englishteachers #englishteaching⁣
#highschoolteacher #iteachhighschool #iteachela #iteachwriting #educating #schoolteacher #secondaryela #digitallearning #virtuallearning #virtualteaching #onlineteacher #teachonline #onlineenglishteacher #remoteteaching #distanceteaching #knowjusticeknowpeace #socialjusticeeducation #classroomlibrary #instateachers #instagramteachers #educatorsofinstagram  #teachersonig #teachersoninstagram
Repeating the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. is Repeating the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. is not enough.⁣
⁣
We must live them.⁣
⁣
I know in my own district, the curriculum is often compartmentalized. It's February--time for an African American literature unit. It's MLK day--time for a biography lesson.⁣
⁣
While these are steps in the right direction, we are long past the time for a single African American unit. 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼. ⁣
⁣
We can't continue to lump entire groups of people into a one-month unit and call our work done. ⁣
⁣
Honor the work done before us today and try to imagine places in your classroom in which you can push against the traditionally white canon. ⁣
⁣
𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘂𝗺, 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂⁣
⚫ 𝘈𝘥𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦?⁣
⁣
⚫ 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺?⁣
⁣
⚫ 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴?⁣
⁣
Change happens from within--from within us and from within our classrooms. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁, 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆, 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗼. ⁣
⁣
#itslitteaching⁣
#englishclasses #teachingenglish #elateacher #2ndaryela #englishteachers #englishteaching⁣
#highschoolteacher #iteachhighschool #iteachela #iteachwriting #educating #schoolteacher #secondaryela #knowjusticeknowpeace #socialjusticeeducation #instateachers #instagramteachers #educatorsofinstagram #igconnect4edu #teachersonig #teachersoninstagram #bookreviewblog #bookpost #readstagram #bookwormlife #bibliophilelife #avidreader #readersgonnaread #classroomlibrary
What is it you need to cover or teach?⁣ ⁣ Lite What is it you need to cover or teach?⁣
⁣
Literature circles are great for exploring a variety of topics. ⁣
⁣
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: ⁣
⚫ A genre (𝘥𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘢𝘯, 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳)⁣
⁣
⚫ An author (𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴, 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦)⁣
⁣
⚫ A book type (𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘤 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴, 𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘴)⁣
⁣
You can still teach your required content while providing students with choice, differentiation, and the ability to collaborate with their peers. ⁣
⁣
𝗧𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗼.
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Let’s Keep in Touch!

Meet me in The Lounge!

Signup for my newsletter The Lounge and be the first to hear about new teaching resources, blog posts, and oh, so much more!

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.

Featured!

Pinterest pin for It's Lit Teaching blog post: "TPT Seller Success: How to Earn the Most from a Sitewide Sale"

TPT Seller Success: How to Earn the Most from a Sitewide Sale

Pinterest pin for blog post: "Literature Circles: What You Need to Know"

Literature Circles: What You Need to Know

Pinterest Pin: Don't Make These Stupid Mistakes With Your TPT Money

Don’t Make These Stupid Mistakes with Your TPT Money!

My Reading Picks!

Amazon Associates Disclosure

Heather Cianci is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com or myhabit.com.

Instagram

No images found!
Try some other hashtag or username
Design by SkyandStars.co
Back Top

© 2018–2021 Heather Cianci