Thanks to Brian Hannon for creating these lessons and sharing with our community! If this is the first time seeing his site, I’d encourage you to also spend time checking out the poetry lessons and novel pairings. These resources are AMAZING! We hope you all have had a relaxing and restful summer! We’ve noticed an … Continue Reading
This year’s poetry response, “Monologue for Saint Louis” by Colleen McElroy, was a highly accessible poem for students. I was excited to score this response since I am from St. Louis and am familiar with the area that her poem mentions. This poem reminded me of the poem “Black Walnut Tree” that appeared on the … Continue Reading
THE BASICS CHALLENGES I have been on the AP Literature and Composition Test Development Committee for five years working on the exam and Q1 is always my favorite question to write, teach, and score. Students, however, do not share my sentiments and often find Q1 to be the most challenging. Here are its particular difficulties:
I only teach seniors (a blessing then a curse after spring break), and by the time they get to senior English, most roll their eyes and sigh heavily when I tell them we’re starting poetry. Some of this is just normal senior attitude, but some is a classroom experience that has left students uninspired and … Continue Reading
Today’s post is written by Brian Hannon, a long-time friend who shares our love for teaching and poetry. (And is just fun to be around in general.) I share Brian’s LMS Curriculum website at my APSIs each summer and literally hear teachers gasp when they see the amount of quality lessons provided – for free. … Continue Reading
Thanks to Emily Wessel for sharing thoughts from this year’s reading. You can find the prompt and poem here: 2024 FRQ Set 2 Exam Questions This was my first year reading for Q1 and I really enjoyed it. This poem was accessible and allowed students to explore many different literary elements and techniques. I will … 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
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
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
Thanks to Brian Hannon for sharing his resources at LMS Curriculum with us this week. This is one of my go-to sites for inspiration and ideas, and these new materials are AMAZING! – SB As much as I champion the use of poetry in our classrooms, I do admit that I, too, struggle with implementing … Continue Reading
