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It's Lit Teaching

High School English and TPT Seller Resources

Life Tips for Teachers

5 Preparations You Need to Teach Your New English Class

August 9, 2020

When I was a first-year high school English teacher, I had no idea where to even begin planning and getting ready for my first year. It probably took me a whole three years of teaching before I had a grasp on what essentials I needed to prep before the first day of class. With another year about to begin, I thought I’d share what I’d learned the hard way. In this blog post, I’ll share the 5 things you need to prepare to teach your new English class!

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Teach a New English Class Need #1: Kick-Butt First Week Activities

You want your students to know from the first day that this class isn’t going to be boring, routine, or predictable. But you also want to begin practicing routines and establishing expectations early.

Think about what teaching practices are important to you and how you want your classroom culture to feel. Try to incorporate those ideas into your first week, if not your first day, activities. 

If discussions will be important to your class, make sure students spend some time speaking to one another during those first few days. If your teaching style includes hands-on activities, make sure you have students manipulate something with their hands early.

I used to do a long slideshow on the first day. I’d introduce myself, then present class rules and expectations, and end with some kind of “About Me” questionnaire for students. 

There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, but it wasn’t authentic to me or my teaching. I would essentially lecture for an hour on the first day, but never again during our semester. 

And those questionnaires? I would glance at them, but they never actually helped me to get to know my students or put personalities and faces to names. 

Plus, I’m a pretty extreme introvert. That first-day lesson always left me anxious and drained. 

Cover for Teachers Pay Teachers resource by It's Lit Teaching: Editable Back-to-School Stations
These back-to-school stations include editable directions. Mix-and-match stations and customize directions to make this activity perfect for your first day!

Now, I start new semesters with a classroom scavenger hunt. I place policies and expectations around the room. Students label a blank classroom map and find the answers to classroom policy questions.

On the second day, we do Back to School Stations. Students still learn about me, the classroom, share information with me, set up their folders, etc. 

But instead of students being bored listening to me drone on and on for an hour, they’re active participants. They get to move and be creative. They are forced to interact with my classroom library and touch and flip through books they’ll be able to read. 

The best part? I get to walk around and interact with students. I’m not just standing at the front of the room running through slides, but I’m able to discuss books with students and comment on their “About Me” sheets as they work on them. 

By the end of the first couple of days, I’ve learned a few names. I know my “readers” and “non-readers.” And students know that in my class, they’ll have to move, participate, and know that I will be asking them questions about books!

Cover of Teachers Pay Teachers product from It's Lit Teaching: Digital and Editable Email Writing Lesson and Assignment
This lesson is perfect for virtual instruction or as a sub plan.

Admittedly, this year will look a little different since I’m starting virtually. Instead of these stations, I’ll have students use FlipGrid to introduce themselves. I’ll also be using the first week as an opportunity to teach some email basics and have my students write me a formal email about themselves.

Those first few days set the tone for your class, your expectations, and your relationships with students. Don’t forget to put the same level of effort into them that you would for any content-driven lessons. 

Pinterest Cover for It's Lit Teaching blog post: "5 Things You Need to Teach Your New English Class"

Teach a New English Class Need #2: An Independent Reading Program

I’m sure that others will disagree with me, but I believe that an independent reading program is essential for any English class. If we are to turn students into lifelong readers, then we need to teach the skills around independent reading.

Before your new semester begins, you should know how you want to incorporate independent reading into your class. 

Some teachers do independent reading as a whole unit. Others weave in independent reading through their whole calendar year. (I think the latter is best, but start where you need to!)

You can have students read independently at home or in class. I do one a week for thirty minutes because it works well with my schedule and curriculum. Others do ten minutes at the beginning of each class period. 

If you’re not sure where to even begin, there are plenty of resources you can read to help you get started:

You can either utilize your school’s library or create the classroom library of your dreams. Or both!

Once you know when and how you’ll use independent reading in your class, you also need a way to assess it. 

I’m not a big believer in book reports or tests for independent reading (I feel that independent reading should reflect real-life reading as much as possible). But student follow-through is often difficult to acquire when there are no points attached. 

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So how are you going to make independent reading “worth it” to students who wouldn’t otherwise read on their own? 

There are countless ways to do this. Some teachers do projects. You could have students write book reviews and post them online or share them with other students. 

One way I put a “value” on independent reading is with quick exit tickets. They are fast and easy, but pretty much impossible to complete if you don’t read. I have some that focus on reading strategies and others that focus on story elements–skills and knowledge that is universal, regardless of students’ novel choices. 

I also use a fun “#Bookstagram” activity. My students are obsessed with Instagram, so I knew incorporating some social media would catch their attention. 

Product Cover for Teachers Pay Teachers product: Reading Strategy Independent Reading Exit Tickets
These exit tickets allow student to focus on reading strategies like making predictions, inferences, and connections.
Product Cover for It's Lit Teaching Teachers Pay Teachers Resource: Story Elements Independent Reading Exit Tickets
These exit tickets allow students to review basic story elements like setting, characters, and plot development.
Cover for It's Lit Teaching Teachers Pay Teachers Resource: #Bookstagram Instagram Activity For Any Novel
This #Bookstgram activity can work as a quick and fun assessment for any novel

Teach a New English Class Need #3: A Writing Framework

No doubt your students will be writing in your classroom. 

But how are you going to teach writing? How will you scaffold it?

While frameworks don’t always reflect real-life writing, they’re a great place to start. Frameworks make writing easier for struggling or unconfident writers while making writing easier to teach. 

There are so many kinds of frameworks. I recommend talking to your colleagues to see what they use. (A framework used by the whole school will be easier to implement than expecting students to piecemeal different strategies from room to room.)

Also, consider the writing you plan on assigning. The writing students will do in a creative writing course, for example, will require totally different scaffolding than argumentative writing. 

Personally, I use a claim, evidence, and reasoning framework. My whole building does, so we can strengthen and scaffold student writing across all four years–not just one. 

This bundle includes everything I use to teach C-E-R directly. Then, I include the language of “claim, evidence, and reasoning” in the instructions of all of my writing assignments and re-teach and review constantly.

Because I know my framework, I can use its language every time I create a new writing assignment. My students know what is expected every time they write. 

Teach a New English Class Need #4: Beginning of Class Routines

Knowing how you want your class to begin every day is crucial. If your class begins the same way every day, it eases anxiety for students. They will know your expectations and how to meet them. 

Should students grab their independent reading books first or their folders? Should they get out their homework for review or grab a new assignment?

I’m a big fan of daily warm-ups or bell ringers. English teachers have so many possibilities when it comes to beginning of class warm-ups!

For my regular English courses, I have students correct or label parts of sentences. (Think D.O.L style.)

An easy option that’s especially great for creative writing is a five-minute journal writing. You can have students free write about anything they want for a no-prep bell ringer. I find my students often want some direction, however, and coming up with new writing prompts every day can take a surprising amount of mental energy and time.

Cover of It's Lit Teaching Resource: Creative Writing Journal Prompts for High School
These journal prompts are a huge time-saver and completely editable!

If you like the idea of journal writing, but don’t want to panic the night before class daily about writing prompts, you can grab this totally editable Google Slides resource. Included are enough prompts to have two new ones for a whole quarter (plus, you’ll have the ability to edit them or add your own!).

A more rigorous example of a daily warm-up is to do a poem of the week. The concept is that each week, students study a different poem. Each day, they analyze a small piece of it. Then, students can even write a poem of their own based on that mentor text. (You can read all about this method of daily poem analysis here.)

Cover of It's Lit Teaching Product: Poem of the Week Bundle
This Poem of the Week Bundle includes enough poetry analysis warm-ups for ten weeks, poetry writing worksheets for ten weeks, plus a bonus Create Your Own Poem of the Week Project!

If this sounds appealing (or you just need some quick, poetry activities in your back pocket), be sure to check out my Poem of the Week Bundle. 

Knowing how you’ll begin each day not only makes planning easier, but it’s especially helpful for grounding high-anxiety students. 

Teach a New English Class Need #5: A Solid Curriculum with Meaningful Assessments

Obviously, the clearer your curriculum map, the easier planning will be. Now, your hands may be completely tied by your district; or, you might have total freedom. 

Either way, you should try to get a deep understanding of your curriculum before the school year or class starts. This means knowing what you’ll read, what skills your students will work on, and how you’ll assess them.

Again, depending on your mandated curriculum, you may be required to assign certain essays, projects, or novels. 

If you’ve never personally chosen a new novel to teach, don’t worry! I’ve got tips for you here.

If you are able to choose the books you teach, I encourage you to have at least one unit outside of the canon. Try to get some diverse voices in your curriculum. Choose a novel that will engage students and connect them to their immediate reality. 

I definitely have suggestions for this! I talk about using The Hate U Give in this post, and I discuss teaching Dear Martin right here. 

Try and do the same for your assessments–assign one that is a little unusual. I highly encourage you to try at least one authentic assessment. 

With my The Hate U Give unit, we do a final discussion in which I bring in other staff members to have deep conversations with my students. In my Internment bundle, the assessment is a Social Justice Leaflet, in which students can create a leaflet around any social issue that’s important to them. 

Teachers Pay Teachers Product Cover: The Hate U Give Discussion Assignment
Turn this discussion into an authentic assessment by having students discuss with people outside of their classes.
This social justice leaflet project allows students to choose a passion issue to dive deeply into.

Authentic assessments are just that: they assess students as they perform a real-world (authentic) task. You can learn all about authentic assessments in detail here. 

Conclusion

Whew! I know. This list seems like a lot to do for only 5 things!

But I promise, if you spend some time mapping out each of these five essentials, you’ll start your new English classes stronger and with way less stress. 

I used to arrive to school on the first day two hours early because I had so much to do and so much unplanned. Now, I arrive at my normal time, coffee in hand, and a smile on my face. 

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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.⁣
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My newest blog post is a guide to maximizing your earnings during a Teachers Pay Teachers sitewide sale. ⁣
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𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄 (𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗶𝗼!) 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 2021 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀!⁣
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Grading finals and preparing for third-quarter tod Grading finals and preparing for third-quarter today...⁣
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And another good thing is that there are some awesome TPT sellers out there.⁣
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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!⁣
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But that's what TPT is for--to help burnt-out teachers save time, plan faster, and get back to the pressing work. ⁣
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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. ⁣
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Now, I'm going to hit "buy" over on TPT and get back to a relaxing evening!⁣
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𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗣𝗧 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 "𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗱" 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗣𝗧? 𝗢𝗿 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀?⁣
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Confession: I love a little "woo woo" with my hard Confession: I love a little "woo woo" with my hardcore business strategies.⁣
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But I'm an English teacher--I'll read the source material myself, thank you very much 😜⁣
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🔅 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.⁣
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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.⁣
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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:⁣
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If it's been a while since you've touched that resource, you might be thinking that it's time for an update. ⁣
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𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱? 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:⁣
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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.
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