Building Book Love

Some of the most powerful learning happens when students have a real audience and a real purpose — and few subjects deliver that more naturally than journalism. In this collaborative post, teachers are sharing their best ideas for teaching journalism in high school. From podcasts to projects, there's something here for every kind of journalism student! Play Podcasts to Teach Journalism in High School  What if your journalism students solved a cold case?  That's exactly what happened in a neighboring district not far from me. Prompted by a journalism project, a group of East Tennessee high schoolers cracked a nearly 40-year-old serial murder mystery, and their ... Read More about Ideas for Teaching Journalism in High School

One of the great ironies in life is that teachers have lots of time to travel but limited funds to do so. But as you’ll see in this post, when you start using flexibility as your currency, a whole new world opens up for more teacher travel (literally).  This post contains affiliate links; I may earn a commission if you apply through these links.   I recently booked a business class seat from Boston to Istanbul for 65,000 points (that’s less than this sign-up bonus on my favorite travel card!!!). Do I live in Boston? No! Had I ever dreamed of visiting Istanbul? Not really! BUT, do you know what is only a one-hour and $35 flight away from Istanbul? My favorite warm ... Read More about Teacher Travel: Flexibility is your Currency 

Teaching classic American literature becomes a lot more engaging when you find an angle that makes it relative to modern high schoolers. When I was researching teaching Frederick Douglass, the perfect way to frame my lesson plan came into focus. Did you know that Frederick Douglass was the most photographed man in the 19th century? Do you know who else breaks records for selfies? Teenagers!  Frederick Douglass believed that his image could be just as powerful as his voice. That connection between identity and storytelling is something students instinctively understand, even if they have never thought about it in those terms. Using this photography angle, here are three ways ... Read More about Teaching “The Battle with Mr. Covey” by Frederick Douglass

When I was growing up, I thought my teachers were rich because they got to travel. They would spend their summers going to national parks, the beach, or even to other countries. As a little girl whose family vacations usually looked like a day trip to Dollywood, their travels sparked some serious wanderlust in me. Don’t get me wrong– Dolly Parton is my hero and my parents made my childhood so magical, but the dreamer in me couldn’t wait to travel farther from home like my teachers one day! And while my first teacher’s paycheck was more money than I had ever seen in my life, I soon realized that maybe my teachers weren’t as rich as I thought they were. Sure, my travel budget went ... Read More about Unhinged Things I’ve Done to Travel as a Teacher