Creative English Teacher — American Literature

The weather is cooling down, the leaves are changing colors–it’s the perfect time to harness this Halloween vibe and study one of history’s most haunting episodes:  The Salem Witch Trials. As an English teacher, I combine this with The Crucible for a double dose of toil and trouble for my students. I find the combo of real-life events and the fictional play to be a powerful teaching tool. That being said, here are five reasons to teach the Salem Witch Trials: The Salem Witch Trials are an example of real-life horror. I remember, as a youngster, when I first learned...

When the leaves start to change and the weather gets a bit cooler, that means it’s almost time for my go-to Halloween story:  Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” In the lineup of American authors, I feel like Irving gets short shrift. Sure, his stories aren’t super deep, but they’re fun, which should count for something! They are also some of the first works that can be considered distinctly American. Before I get too far ahead of myself, here are five reasons to teach the short stories of Washington Irving. Washington Irving was America’s first celebrity writer. In the...