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Lesson Plans

Books

Lit Circles

Projects

Reading

Writing

Lesson Plans

10 Best Short Stories for High School English Class

Finding the best short stories for high school English classes can feel like a challenge, but it’s one well worth taking on. Short stories bring so much value to the classroom, and I wholeheartedly believe they deserve a bigger spotlight in high school curricula. For reluctant readers, short stories are often the perfect middle ground—they’re approachable, engaging, and still packed with literary depth. From exploring complex themes to mastering literary analysis, short stories align seamlessly with every ELA standard I’ve encountered. These versatile gems are ideal when you’re pressed for time but still want to cover a variety of topics, or when you’re aiming to dive deeply into a single theme or concept. Whether you’re looking to reinforce skills, introduce

continue reading

20 Podcasts for High School English Class

Podcasts in the high school English classroom are a great way to bring some surprise into your lessons. Using podcasts in the classroom provides an easy way to hit those speaking and listening standards and can be especially helpful to enhance a unit or add an additional standalone lesson at the end of the unit or end of the year. You can assign these for hybrid learning, send links for remote learning, or just use them to enhance lessons. Read on for 20 podcasts you might like to use in class. #1: This I Believe People from all walks of life share their core personal beliefs through this NPR podcast.  #2: The Daily by The New York Times Keep students

continue reading

ELA Classroom Decor for Secondary Students

It is often difficult to find suitable ELA classroom decor when searching for the secondary classroom. You can’t go 10 seconds into a search for classroom decorating ideas without running into the elementary crowd. It makes sense that the oodles of cute and fun decorations are geared towards the younger grades, but I’m honestly bummed that there aren’t more readily available items for my ELA classroom. That’s why I created this list of ideas to decorate your secondary ELA classroom complete with some of the resources I’ve used in my own room. 1. Choose basic bins and bulletins. Choosing “classic” items for your classroom seems logical. Your tastes might change, or if you’re anything like me, you love all of

continue reading

Tips for Teaching CONFLICT in the Secondary ELA Classroom

When teaching conflict in the secondary ELA classroom, it’s important students really see its importance. The conflict is the ebb and flow of a story. It’s the interest to keep an audience reading. Its crux drives the climax. Its solution brings it to resolution. Read on to find some tips to bring into your ELA classroom. 1. Identify conflict in mentor texts This is one of the easiest activities to implement. Allowing students to see what conflict looks like in strong, recognizable texts is probably the easiest way to teach students how to identify conflict.  2. Specifically, conflict in YA realistic fiction Conflict is also freely on display in YA realistic fiction. Far from the Tree by Robin Benway (I

continue reading

6 Dialogue Writing Activities for the Secondary ELA Classroom

Dialogue writing activities are always a mainstay in any of my narrative writing units. I love seeing the creative writing my students turn in, but I often see it lacks dialogue or uses it incorrectly. It’s a skill that needs to be refined, but is sometimes overlooked in the grand scheme of things. I like to set aside time for activities that help review the mechanics of proper dialogue writing, as well as unique dialogue writing activities that let students practice the skill themselves. Read on for creative dialogue writing activities for your secondary students.   1. Create a Scene There are a lot of fun ways you can have students create scenes to practice writing dialogue. You can start with

continue reading

10 Spring Reading Activities for the Secondary ELA Classroom

Spring reading activities just bring a certain joy to the classroom. There’s more sun, the weather starts to improve, and we can almost feel the excitement of summer break creeping in. It’s the perfect time to refresh your lesson plans with engaging ways to foster a love of reading. Whether you’re looking to inspire reluctant readers, spark thoughtful discussions, or make independent reading more fun, spring offers a wonderful opportunity to bring new energy into your classroom. If your students—and you—are ready to see some academic bloom, take a look at my round-up of spring reading activities for secondary ELA. From creative projects to themed literature responses, these spring reading activities are designed to keep students motivated and focused as

continue reading

10 Student Project Ideas to Create in Canva

Need a round-up of activities to convince you Canva is amazing? Is there really anything better than Canva? It has so many options, pre-made projects, and amazing templates. You can take any content and turn it into a creative project where students can easily show 21st century skills. Gone are the days of the boring PowerPoint (except I definitely still use boring PowerPoint sometimes when appropriate). Enjoy this list of Canva inspiration. 1. Mood Boards Teaching mood is sometimes a confusing concept. Use Canva to help students create Mood Boards to pair analysis and artistry. I have a premade, purposeful, high-quality project here that can walk you through teaching this literary element in a fun way. Canva has plenty of

continue reading

10 Verse Novels to Celebrate National Poetry Month

I have a confession to make. Despite being an ELA teacher, I’m not a poetry super-fan. I know, I know. That probably sounds like blasphemy coming from someone who spends their days talking about literature. But here’s the thing – while traditional poetry has taken me a while to warm up to, I’ve absolutely fallen in love with verse novels. There’s something special about the way verse novels tell a story – how they strip a narrative down to its most powerful words, how they use rhythm and white space to create emotion, how they make even the most reluctant readers feel like they can finish a book. Verse novels don’t just tell a story, they make you feel it.

continue reading
day before spring break activities featured image

10 Day Before Spring Break Activities for Secondary English Language Arts

Spring break is on the horizon, and the energy in your classroom is shifting, so you know you need some solid day before spring break activities to make sure your students are engaged.. That last day before the break can feel like a challenge—students are eager, distracted, and counting down the minutes until their week of freedom begins. As a teacher, it’s easy to feel torn between wanting to embrace the excitement and ensuring your class time still has value. But here’s the good news: you can do both. By incorporating engaging, purposeful activities that still tie into your English Language Arts curriculum, you can channel that pre-break energy into creativity and meaningful learning. Whether it’s sparking imagination through writing,

continue reading

10 Best Short Stories for High School English Class

Finding the best short stories for high school English classes can feel like a challenge, but it’s one well worth taking on. Short stories bring so much value to the classroom, and I wholeheartedly believe they deserve a bigger spotlight in high school curricula. For reluctant readers, short stories are often the perfect middle ground—they’re approachable, engaging, and still packed with literary depth. From exploring complex themes to mastering literary analysis, short stories align seamlessly with every ELA standard I’ve encountered. These versatile gems are ideal when you’re pressed for time but still want to cover a variety of topics, or when you’re aiming to dive deeply into a single theme or concept. Whether you’re looking to reinforce skills, introduce

continue reading

20 Podcasts for High School English Class

Podcasts in the high school English classroom are a great way to bring some surprise into your lessons. Using podcasts in the classroom provides an easy way to hit those speaking and listening standards and can be especially helpful to enhance a unit or add an additional standalone lesson at the end of the unit or end of the year. You can assign these for hybrid learning, send links for remote learning, or just use them to enhance lessons. Read on for 20 podcasts you might like to use in class. #1: This I Believe People from all walks of life share their core personal beliefs through this NPR podcast.  #2: The Daily by The New York Times Keep students

continue reading

ELA Classroom Decor for Secondary Students

It is often difficult to find suitable ELA classroom decor when searching for the secondary classroom. You can’t go 10 seconds into a search for classroom decorating ideas without running into the elementary crowd. It makes sense that the oodles of cute and fun decorations are geared towards the younger grades, but I’m honestly bummed that there aren’t more readily available items for my ELA classroom. That’s why I created this list of ideas to decorate your secondary ELA classroom complete with some of the resources I’ve used in my own room. 1. Choose basic bins and bulletins. Choosing “classic” items for your classroom seems logical. Your tastes might change, or if you’re anything like me, you love all of

continue reading

Tips for Teaching CONFLICT in the Secondary ELA Classroom

When teaching conflict in the secondary ELA classroom, it’s important students really see its importance. The conflict is the ebb and flow of a story. It’s the interest to keep an audience reading. Its crux drives the climax. Its solution brings it to resolution. Read on to find some tips to bring into your ELA classroom. 1. Identify conflict in mentor texts This is one of the easiest activities to implement. Allowing students to see what conflict looks like in strong, recognizable texts is probably the easiest way to teach students how to identify conflict.  2. Specifically, conflict in YA realistic fiction Conflict is also freely on display in YA realistic fiction. Far from the Tree by Robin Benway (I

continue reading

6 Dialogue Writing Activities for the Secondary ELA Classroom

Dialogue writing activities are always a mainstay in any of my narrative writing units. I love seeing the creative writing my students turn in, but I often see it lacks dialogue or uses it incorrectly. It’s a skill that needs to be refined, but is sometimes overlooked in the grand scheme of things. I like to set aside time for activities that help review the mechanics of proper dialogue writing, as well as unique dialogue writing activities that let students practice the skill themselves. Read on for creative dialogue writing activities for your secondary students.   1. Create a Scene There are a lot of fun ways you can have students create scenes to practice writing dialogue. You can start with

continue reading

10 Spring Reading Activities for the Secondary ELA Classroom

Spring reading activities just bring a certain joy to the classroom. There’s more sun, the weather starts to improve, and we can almost feel the excitement of summer break creeping in. It’s the perfect time to refresh your lesson plans with engaging ways to foster a love of reading. Whether you’re looking to inspire reluctant readers, spark thoughtful discussions, or make independent reading more fun, spring offers a wonderful opportunity to bring new energy into your classroom. If your students—and you—are ready to see some academic bloom, take a look at my round-up of spring reading activities for secondary ELA. From creative projects to themed literature responses, these spring reading activities are designed to keep students motivated and focused as

continue reading

10 Student Project Ideas to Create in Canva

Need a round-up of activities to convince you Canva is amazing? Is there really anything better than Canva? It has so many options, pre-made projects, and amazing templates. You can take any content and turn it into a creative project where students can easily show 21st century skills. Gone are the days of the boring PowerPoint (except I definitely still use boring PowerPoint sometimes when appropriate). Enjoy this list of Canva inspiration. 1. Mood Boards Teaching mood is sometimes a confusing concept. Use Canva to help students create Mood Boards to pair analysis and artistry. I have a premade, purposeful, high-quality project here that can walk you through teaching this literary element in a fun way. Canva has plenty of

continue reading

10 Verse Novels to Celebrate National Poetry Month

I have a confession to make. Despite being an ELA teacher, I’m not a poetry super-fan. I know, I know. That probably sounds like blasphemy coming from someone who spends their days talking about literature. But here’s the thing – while traditional poetry has taken me a while to warm up to, I’ve absolutely fallen in love with verse novels. There’s something special about the way verse novels tell a story – how they strip a narrative down to its most powerful words, how they use rhythm and white space to create emotion, how they make even the most reluctant readers feel like they can finish a book. Verse novels don’t just tell a story, they make you feel it.

continue reading
day before spring break activities featured image

10 Day Before Spring Break Activities for Secondary English Language Arts

Spring break is on the horizon, and the energy in your classroom is shifting, so you know you need some solid day before spring break activities to make sure your students are engaged.. That last day before the break can feel like a challenge—students are eager, distracted, and counting down the minutes until their week of freedom begins. As a teacher, it’s easy to feel torn between wanting to embrace the excitement and ensuring your class time still has value. But here’s the good news: you can do both. By incorporating engaging, purposeful activities that still tie into your English Language Arts curriculum, you can channel that pre-break energy into creativity and meaningful learning. Whether it’s sparking imagination through writing,

continue reading

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