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Poetry Identity Project

One of the biggest challenges that I have as an AP Lit teacher is finding opportunities for my students to write creatively. Because the class is so focused on literary analysis, it sometimes feels like I don’t have the time or space to assign writing that doesn’t directly help them on the exam. Still, I always make sure to find the time for Identity Posters because when we share them, I notice…

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Annotations for Smarties

This post first appeared on APLitHelp.com. Annotation for Smarties – 5 Tips for Teaching Students Active Reading and Critical Thinking by Jori Krulder “How many of you have ever gotten to the end of a page of assigned reading, and realized you have no idea what you just read?” Every year, I pose this question to my English classes, and every year, just about every hand goes up, including…

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Anchors for the Course

Anchors for the Course

This class is all about the exam; this class is not at all about the exam. – Lisa Boyd We start the year with this quote and talk about living in the dichotomy of learning that prepares students for the exam while at the same time not making the class a sole test prep experience. AP Literature is so much more than the exam. Y’all know because you see it in your classes as I do. This class…

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The Big Picture: Course Planning, AP Literature Skills, and AP Classroom

The Big Picture: Course Planning, AP Literature Skills, and AP Classroom

by Lisa Boyd I have a confession to make.  I didn’t really use AP Classroom last year in my AP Literature classes.  When AP Classroom opened and we could finally see the resources available to us as teachers, my academic year, which begins in late July, was already well underway.  I had already spent weeks and weeks familiarizing myself with the new AP Literature Enduring Understandings and…

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Course and Curriculum Planning

Course and Curriculum Planning

Approaches to AP Literature – Part 1 by Gina Kortuem When I first accessed the AP Lit Course and Exam description (aka the binder) online in June, I had a physical reaction. My face drained of all color and my husband even rushed to my side, worried I might pass out. I turned to him and said, “Oh my God. I have to change everything.”  Of course, I’m a classic overreactor. One small panic…

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College Essays

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1TQZnpzDrvsYhw1mbYKXSZlBdTXEdfM8s3sPHK7WLDKk/edit?usp=sharing

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Anyone Else Need a Reset?

Anyone Else Need a Reset?

You’ve got this.

Almost there.

Look how strong you are.

“Running” through the park earlier this week, I happened upon a small yet meaningful moment that served as a reset for me. But first, let me tell you about my mental state.

(more…)

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2020: We Can Make Something Beautiful of This

2020: We Can Make Something Beautiful of This

Tomorrow is the first day of the 2020 -2021 school year. I along with many other teachers in Atlanta and other counties in Georgia will set our alarms tonight, get up early, and head to work tomorrow. 

My commute – a 10 minute bike ride through Piedmont Park – will be replaced with walking down my stairs to the dining room table where I now work. This year I won’t be enjoying our traditional…

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Learning and Unlearning about Race

Learning and Unlearning about Race

“This is not a black person issue; this is a humanity issue.”  I wish I knew who to attribute this quote to but did not catch the name on the news conference. I have a lot of learning and unlearning to do about race, racism, and systemic racism. Here are five books that have challenged and shaped my views over the last few years. Read these books. Have the tough conversations. Use your influence…

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To the Class of 2020

To the Class of 2020

The Class of 2020 !!

Each year I give a commencement address to my students. This has been such an usual year, and I am still collecting my thoughts as we wind up the year. Until then, this is one of my former addresses (2017) repurposed for her for now. This address speaks to the parallels of approaching writing which also can apply to how we approach life. Class of 2020 – your big…

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Remembering Mrs. Roby

Yesterday I found out that my high school English teacher passed away. She was a legend in Trussville, Alabama, and as you can imagine, a large inspiration for me. The following content was written a few years ago but every word still holds true.

Yesterday was my high school English teacher’s birthday, and I have been thinking all day about her. She was a legend, and I am sure that the…

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Praying for Students Life as we know it changed very suddenly last week. Many of our students will now be facing circumstances that are difficult to process.

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"Crossing"

This is based on an activity that I’ve done for the past several years with my students on the first day. I’m switching out poems though because I love the Jericho Brown poem “Crossing” and think it fits well.

Begin by projecting the first line on the poem for students and ask them to free write and brainstorm on paper their thoughts – both positive and negative – about rivers. After about…

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An English Teacher's Reading Life: February

An English Teacher's Reading Life: February

Leap year!! That means an extra day of reading in 2020. February was a good reading month primarily because I had a few work trips which gave me some extra travel time for audible. February offered a lot of variety and just good all-around reading.

Nothing to See Here ★★★★★ Wilson, Contemporary Fiction,  2019, 272 pages

“I started to care less about the future. I cared more about making…

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Reading: January, 2020

Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl, 2006, Nonfiction

“For the world is in a bad state, but everything will become still worse unless each of us does his best.”

Frankl’s book unpacks life at Auschwitz from a psychological point of view rather than a narrative of daily events. His thoughts when face with his own mortality (and the mortality of others) on a daily basis forces him to consider life’s…

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#StopTeacherGuilt

There are so many education trends that I can get behind: interdisciplinary learning and projects, culturally responsive teaching, and the promotion of teaching living poets and disrupting texts in an effort to expand the canon. I just love so much of what’s happening in education today and most of it is founded in grassroots teacher movements. One trend that has crept into education, however,…