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You: The Story—A Journey into Narrative Writing with Ruta Sepetys
New York Times bestselling author Ruta Sepetys chats with Stephanie Nugent about how to use her new book Unveiling You: The Story to help your...
Whether teaching literature or rhetoric, close reading is an essential and often difficult skill to teach. This note-taking system, which is a modification of the Cornell note system, helps students slow down and examine a text closely through a structured approach that requires them to summarize details and analyze meaning through the inclusion of purpose statements.
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Interview with a Character (ELA Activity)
There are so many more interesting methods to writing a character analysis than writing an analysis paragraph. Oftentimes, English or language arts...
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Getting Nothing for Someone
Just last week, my oldest son asked me what I wanted for Christmas. My answer? Nothing.
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Interactive Plot Map
Carmel McDonald walks you through how she walks her middle school ELA students through narrative structure with an interactive plot map. Download her...
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#Neveragain—No, Really
From San Antonio, you take I-35 S until you hit Hwy. 90W just outside of the city limits. You’ll then hit Castroville, which everyone pronounces...
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Real to Reel: Textual Evidence
Code-switching is changing something about yourself to fit a certain situation or audience. The way you might talk to your friends versus talking to...
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Celebrating Women Storytellers
Join us for a conversation in honor of Women's History Month in partnership with Simon & Schuster with authors Alicia D. Williams, Priyanka Taslim,...
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Rock Star Poets
The “Greatest Hits” album. All the greats do it—Creedence Clearwater Revival, Tom Petty, Elton John, Madonna, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mariah Carey—so it only...
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10 YA Reads for Summer
I just finished my tenth year teaching high school English and let me tell you, teens like to read… well, most of them. Some of you might be doubting...
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Myth with a Side of Mashed Potatoes
Like most kids ushered though elementary school in the days when the Charlie Brown holiday specials aired on television once a year and if you missed...
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Women’s History Month: Fighting Words
In Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s Fighting Words, 10-year-old protagonist Della gives readers a front row seat to her daily life in foster care with her...
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New Beginnings: Let's Get Lost
Adi Alsaid has released many young adult books since his first title, Let’s Get Lost, but I can promise you, this one blazes through as just as good,...