The only other time I scored for the prose question was the infamous Zenobia question of 2018 (taken from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Blithedale Romance). Although many students misinterpreted the nature of that relationship, I remember really loving the Zenobia prompt. This year, I enjoyed reading for the prose question once again. This year’s prose excerpt … Continue Reading
This reader reflection was written by Brian Hannon and Susan Barber, and we acknowledge this post does not earn the sophistication point. I (SB) was so excited to read for Q3 this year since it’s the question I have the least experience with both at the reading and in the classroom. I’ve only read for … Continue Reading
What an absolute treat is was to have Aimee Nezhukumatathil speak to AP Lit teachers for professional night at this year’s reading. She is just a bundle of pure joy, and even though the event was on Zoom, her personality was not diminished one tiny bit! Here are my takeaways from the night: 1 – … Continue Reading
In the two weeks leading up to the AP Literature and Composition exam, it is easy to panic. What do you review from the past 180 days? There are so many units, so many enduring understandings, so many skills. What little tricks can help your students make the jump from a 3 to a 4, … Continue Reading
Student choice. Genuine investment. Low-stakes writing practice. Poetry analysis. Digital citizenship. Personal engagement. Empowering student voice. A few years ago in the nascence of #TeachLivingPoets, I (Melissa) was brainstorming ways to get students invested in not just poetry, but poets. Reading individual poems wasn’t offering the kind of long-term appreciation I was hoping to nurture. … Continue Reading
When I was in my teacher preparation program, a few experiences stand out, none more than the day when my methods professor told us that we had to plan an entire novel unit. You would think that this would make aspiring English teachers all giddy. The training wheels were coming off. We were moving past … Continue Reading
True confessions of an English teacher: I am not a Shakespeare lover. Shakespeare is not on my syllabus yearly, but this year when I took Frankenstein out of this year’s curriculum, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed to bring back Hamlet. This was confirmed when I got a call from Peggy O’Brien at … Continue Reading
My basketball season ended a week ago. Even though our record wasn’t that impressive, I am proud that we, as a team, made a concerted effort each day to enjoy basketball. The season spans four months and can be so taxing mentally and physically. If you don’t find ways to make it fun, it can … Continue Reading
Every now and then we all need a refresher. All of us. We need to step out away from the speed at which life whizzes past and avoid the monotony of death-by-checklist. We need to escape the din and discordance of bells dictating our lives, emails, GroupMes, Facebook boards, and Instagram reels by grounding ourselves … Continue Reading
One of the secrets to acquire knowledge is to read a lot. And so I try. But whenever we get close to a New Year, the Influencers that inspire me on YouTube and Instagram are cashing in on my inadequacies. They are gloating about how they read over 100 books this year + you can … Continue Reading
