Top 10 Books from 2022

I’m finally finding my way back to reading after the pandemic disrupted my reading rhythms and ability to concentrate, but I’m far more relaxed about tracking and pushing myself to read more. Now I’m more concerned with reading what I want, when I want, and not feeling guilty if I’m not setting “reading records.” So … Continue Reading

Teaching Sonnets and Disrupting Sonnets

This post by Adrian Nester originally appeared on APLitHelp.com in March of 2019. I’ve added some additional resources at the end. When I received my copy of Terrance Hayes’ book American Sonnets for my Past and Future Assassin I decided that I wanted to freshen up my sonnet unit to look beyond the traditional sonnets. … Continue Reading

Micro Horror

Here’s a quick lesson I’ve put together for Halloween that will serve two purposes. First, we’ve been pushing ourselves the last three weeks digging into our choice novels and need something a little out of the routine and fun. (All work and no play make Mrs. Barber and AP Lit students a dull crowd). Second, … Continue Reading

Indigenous People Literature

Indigenous People Literature by Susan Barber Happy Indigenous People Day! I wanted to highlight some texts by indigenous authors that I use in class. There are so many other works that could be on this list, but hereā€™s a start if youā€™re looking to add indigenous voices to your curriculum. There, ThereĀ by Tommy Orange ā€œIf you … Continue Reading

Choice Reading – One…

Weā€™re finishing our first choice novel in class, and I always have questions from teachers about how I run choice reading. How do you know … Continue Reading

Teaching Structure in Poetry

Our first poetry unit is Counting Descent by Clint Smith and our first official lesson on structure was this week. I LOVE teaching structure because itā€™s one of the few concepts that students have very little exposure to or experience with in their prior lit classes. If they have had experience with structure, few know … Continue Reading

College Essays – The Writing Conference

College football, pumpkin spice lattes, and college essays – happy fall y’all! Brian shared The Biggest College Essay Mistakes a few weeks ago, and I wanted to follow up with how I handle writing conferences specifically pertaining to college essays. I spend very little time teaching the college essay but rather highlight a few points … Continue Reading

LMS Voice Curriculum

Susan’s note: I typically have Brian Hannon join my APSIs for session to show us around LMS Voice Curriculum, a site filled with poetry resources. Not only does the site have poetry lessons that are ready to go in the classroom (with a writing workshop lesson, a literary analysis lessons, an essay prompt for the … Continue Reading

Say No the Syllabus: Day One (and Two) Activities

With just over 1,500 people voting in this survey on the AP Lit Facebook group, most teachers are heading back to work right about now. I was in the fortunate (HA) group who went back in July and am already a full week into my year with the Class of 2023.  While we all sit … Continue Reading

The AP Exam: Behind the Scenes

This June I served on the APĀ® Standard Setting Panel. I know that many of you have questions about the increased pass rate, and I know that I would have been firmly among the group of cynics myself if I had not been involved in the process. (Something about teaching the last two years has … Continue Reading