teaching high school English

By Presto Plans I first realized the power of bell ringers years ago, thanks to a particularly unruly class that would bounce off my walls after lunch. After consistently wasting the first ten minutes of class getting students seated, settled, and ready to learn, I decided to give bell-ringers a try. They were immediately a classroom game-changer. Bell-ringers—sometimes referred to as “warm ups” or “do nows”— are questions, tasks, or other warm up activities that students complete at the…

In today’s society, it is important that students can use their critical thinking skills in their everyday lives. The perfect place for students to learn how and to practice critical reading, writing, arguing, and even listening is the high school English classroom. Here are 10 critical high school English lessons and skills that teachers should be teaching their students!

Are you looking for books to use in your high school classroom that will actually engage your students? High school novels aren’t always the easiest to choose, especially when you have a group of students who are reluctant readers. Try a few of these suggestions for novels to teach in high school English that will keep your students excited about reading.

Pretend you're an alien from outer space ...

Happy August! We got home from our six day road trip last night, and now it’s time for me to buckle down and start thinking about BACK TO SCHOOL. Our first teacher work day is August 17th, so I’m less than two weeks away now… In honor of that, I thought I’d bring back “Teaching Tuesday”...Read More »

Teaching with games in the classroom is not just “fluff.” Middle school and high school English teachers, learn how you can reinforce core English language arts skills AND engage students with games like Goosechase, Superfight, and more! #highschoolenglish #englishlanguagearts #middleschoolela #ela

Are you looking for quick, simple tips for teaching writing in high school English? These ideas totally changed the way that I teach and...

There are so many positive classroom ideas for high school that high school teachers should steal from the elementary world...

Using in class discussion is a perfect way to foster critical thinking in high school English classes. Whether it is the Socratic Method...

Much like students who spend more hours on the hook of an essay than they do the bulk of an essay, I often found myself with a case of English teacher writing block when it came to planning my first day of school activities. Though I have ten years (x two semesters each) of ... Read More about First Day of School Activities for High School and Middle School English