Creative English Teacher

Book Review: The Writer's Journey by Chris Vogler

March 15, 2019 • Book Review • Mythology • Teaching Ideas

Although I am a teacher of typical English courses as well, it was a mythology course that gave me the biggest challenge of my life. (You can read more about that adventure here.) Teaching mythology challenged me to develop my teaching style—prompting the creation of almost all the materials you will find on this website. So, needless to say, mythology is special to me. Beasts, quests, and monsters are all part of mythology, but at its heart is the hero. Not surprisingly, one of my favorite things to teach is heroes and the concept of the Hero’s Journey. If you...

How to Use Script-Stories in the Classroom

February 23, 2019 • Readers Theater Script-Stories • Teaching Ideas

This post will focus more on how to use script-stories in your classroom!Implementing a new style of learning (even for a single lesson) may seem daunting at first; however, script-stories are not difficult to use. In fact, they streamline the oral reading that most teachers do already. Many teachers read aloud to their students, and many also call on their students to read aloud. Script-stories simply streamline that process by dividing the story into parts. This breaks up the work for the teacher while engaging the students on a deeper level.

Five Reasons for Teaching Dante's Inferno

January 27, 2019 • Five Reasons To Teach Series • Readers Theater Script-Stories • World Literature

A trip through Hell may seem like an awkward topic to navigate, but don’t abandon hope all ye who enter here: Teaching the Inferno is one of my favorite units of the year. So here are five reasons to teach Dante’s Inferno.

Defeating the Doldrums

January 22, 2019 • Encouragement • Teaching Ideas

The doldrums are a region of the sea where the prevailing winds become erratic or fade away completely. Since January is sometimes seen as the doldrums of the school year, here is some encouragement to get us through!

Ten Reasons Why Disney Movies Are Modern Mythology

December 27, 2018 • Mythology • World Literature

From Pinocchio, Cinderella, and Dumbo to Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Mulan, Disney animated movies are an almost-universal language, a collection of common stories we practically all recognize. They may be popular entertainment, but they also serve some of the same functions that myths did for ancient peoples.