Creative English Teacher

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.

Five Reasons for Teaching The Canterbury Tales

December 10, 2018 • British Literature • Five Reasons To Teach Series

Although spring showers haven’t exactly pierced the drought of March to the root—in fact, winter’s coming on fast—I am inspired to write about The Canterbury Tales. Why? Because it’s a blast to teach in my British Literature class! Yes, you heard me right. An “old, moldy” classic is a blast to teach! So without further ado I give you five reasons to teach this entertaining (and sometimes raunchy) classic! The Canterbury Tales perfectly captures the emergence of the Middle Class. Many great works of literature perfectly capture a particular time period. When Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, the Middle...

Script-Stories: Making Reading an Experience Instead of a Struggle

November 10, 2018 • Encouragement • Readers Theater Script-Stories • Teaching Ideas

Just because in a traditional classroom students may be able to find the answers to multiple-choice questions by picking through a “reading” passage—ironically, without actually reading it—is this really what reading is all about? It may be a good test-taking skill, and it will hit the standards that we are supposed to cover. But what about those deeper, personal “standards” that we have secretly inside us? What about those of us who want our students to love literature?

Creative Innovator Profile: Mr. (Fred) Rogers

November 04, 2018 • Creativity • Encouragement • Innovators

Mr. Rogers’s creative idea was that television, which he personally did not enjoy, could be a tool for good. He wanted to educate, reassure, and heal the children of the world.