The Teaching ELA Podcast

Sep 26 2022 7

The Teaching ELA Podcast artwork

Most ela teachers feel like they don't have enough time to get everything done that they need to get done. That's why every podcast episode of the Teaching ELA Podcast has a goal to get you something you can use right now, tomorrow, or a week from next Tuesday. That means you can leave on time today and still have a great lesson for tomorrow.Welcome to the Teaching ELA podcast where I help ELA teachers thrive in and out of the classroom. In this podcast I discuss real teaching for real classrooms--whether it’s lesson plans and lesson ideas for a specific piece of literature, a teaching strategy or life strategy, I talk about things ELA teachers need. My promise is that with each episode you'll have an ELA lesson plan or teaching strategy you can use right now and in the days to come. No more fruitless searches for short story lesson plans, novel lesson plans, poetry lesson plans, or writing lesson plans. They're all right here on the Teaching ELA Podcast.

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5 Levels of Foreshadowing

Sep 26 2022 9 mins

Foreshadowing in literature is hints given by the author of what will happen later. To demonstrate mastery of foreshadowing in literature, students must achieve five levels of understanding:They must be able to define foreshadowing – Level 1 is simple memorization. It is possible for students (or even a really smart monkey) to recite the definition without understanding it.Studen

"And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all"

Sep 25 2022 4 mins

“Masque of the Red Death” is one of those stories that became more relevant around March of 2020 with the Covid-19 pandemic. Plagues and pandemics have not only been a part of human history, but in many cases they have changed history. We are fortunate today that we have communication and medical capabilities that limit the effect of pandemics and disease. So despite the disrup

Beware the Ides of March

Sep 24 2022 6 mins

Caesar has ample information to ascertain there is a viable threat against his life, so why does he not heed these warnings?It’s because of pride. He thinks he’s untouchable. He thinks that his decrees carry the force of god.How are we like Caesar? Do we listen those who are “beneath” us or do we think we’re too good to listen to the advice of our students, our colleagues

Hint: This episode has a foreshadowing lesson plan

Sep 23 2022 6 mins

Why teach foreshadowing in Literature?Teaching foreshadowing in short stories may cover the following Common ELA Standards. RL.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of th

Pip from Great Expectations Sends Me on a Rant

Sep 22 2022 17 mins

Charles Dickens’ father was a pay clerk in a navy office. Because of financial difficulties, the family moved about until they settled in Camden Town, a poor neighborhood in London, England. At the age of twelve Charles worked with working-class men and boys in a factory that handled "blacking," or shoe polish. While his father was in debtor's prison, the rest of th

David Copperfield's Most Important Lesson...And I'm Not Talking Lesson Plan

Sep 21 2022 8 mins

Today’s quote comes from David Copperfield, a novel I first read in college when I was going through my read everything by Charles Dickens phase. Young David Copperfield meets Mr. Micawber who has many a problem with money; that is, he has no ability nor desire to manage his money well, always incurring debts and never able to pay them off, landing him eventually in debtors'

Teaching "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros

Aug 16 2022 5 mins

After teaching high school for 20 years, I was a little nervous about my new middle school teaching assignment. Then I realized it’s kind of the same as teaching high school, except students are smaller and the stories are different.The skills, however, remain the same–just at a different level.And of course the learning target stays the same: “I can cite textual evidence to

I'm a Good Podcaster and so is My Horse

Aug 15 2022 5 mins

I’ll be honest. I usually stop reading Julius Caesar after Act 3 and show the movie for Acts 4 and 5 because everything after act 3 is just falling action. And there’s a lot of falling.TakeawaysI’m not sure the play’s worth teaching/reading after Act III. There are a couple good movies you can show on YouTube to give students the ending they crave.Shakespeare depicts Marc A

Good Habits Outside of the Classroom Produce Good Habits In the Classroom

Aug 14 2022 9 mins

TakeawaysHabits create our future. What type of future are your habits creating?Consistent exercise will change your life.Start small, master it, go less small.ResourcesBenefits of Exercise Blog Post https://thehighlyeffectiveteacher.com/how-exercise-boosts-teacher-wellbeing/Free Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htmComplete Lesson Plans Collections

National Poetry Month Poem of the Day: "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost

Aug 13 2022 3 mins

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 4, 2022An Analysis of "The Road Not Taken" by Robert FrostOf all Robert Frost poems, none are more famous than "The Road Not Taken." My analysis of it leads to the following observations and queries.The rhyme scheme is a b a a bThe poem uses the well known metaphor of a path being compared to life, and a divergent path representing