teaching high school English

By Presto Plans I first realized the power of bell ringers years ago, thanks to a particularly unruly class that would bounce off my walls after lunch. After consistently wasting the first ten minutes of class getting students seated, settled, and ready to learn, I decided to give bell-ringers a try. They were immediately a classroom game-changer. Bell-ringers—sometimes referred to as “warm ups” or “do nows”— are questions, tasks, or other warm up activities that students complete at the…

Using in class discussion is a perfect way to foster critical thinking in high school English classes. Whether it is the Socratic Method...

Using Micro Teaching--stories students can read in under 10 minutes--is a great way to introduce skills, techniques and so much more in high school English classes. For AP® Literature and all ELA classes 9-12.

Here are SEVEN engaging activities for the first week back to school in middle school and high school English Language Arts. #middleschool #highschool #8thgrade #7thgrade #6thgrade #ELA #english #languagearts

You’re welcome! Here are 15 TED talks for the classroom that are sure to prompt discussion, writing, and reflection...

If you are a high school English teacher you know that the first week back to school is critical for establishing classroom routines, setting expectations, developing norms, and getting to know your students. You also need to get into some meaningful content! This is every lesson you need for that first week of school! I walk you through how to establish a safe place of learning, how to create classroom norms, and what content your students will be most successful with that first week of…

Pretend you're an alien from outer space ...

There are so many positive classroom ideas for high school that high school teachers should steal from the elementary world...

Teaching with games in the classroom is not just “fluff.” Middle school and high school English teachers, learn how you can reinforce core English language arts skills AND engage students with games like Goosechase, Superfight, and more! #highschoolenglish #englishlanguagearts #middleschoolela #ela

It can be difficult to get students excited about learning grammar, and even more difficult when you don't feel comfortable teaching it. In this #2ndaryELA Twitter chat, middle and high school English Language Arts teachers discussed approaches to teaching grammar, topics covered, avoiding boring lessons, and incorporating grammar into other aspects of ELA curriculum. Read through the chat for ideas to implement in your own classroom.