The Teaching ELA Podcast

(Originally Published August 23, 2021) The only thing you need to know is that the ELA Teacher at your school (that's probably you) is the most important employee at your school.

That's why everything I do at the Teaching ELA podcast is to provide the tools to help you get better and get home on time.

After all, the most important person at the school has the right to spend time with the people he or she values the most.

In today’s episode of the Teaching ELA Podcast, I discuss several short stories for teaching theme: “The Necklace,” “The Interlopers,” “The Minister’s Black Veil,” “A White Heron,” and “The Short Happy Life of Frances Macomber.” I’ve got an emergency lesson plan you can get on the board right. And if there’s one short story involving theme you need to teach, we have that, too.

Takeaways

1. Determining theme is the ultimate end in citing textual evidence to support analysis.
2. The analysis chart allows differentiation for all levels. You change the necessary levels of complexity while getting all students to master the same skill.
3. Teaching the skill of citing textual evidence to support analysis and determine theme makes teaching all other standards either no longer necessary or easier to teach.

Links and Resources

1. Theme Lesson Plans Collection
2. “The Necklace” at elacommoncorelessonplans.com
3. “A White Heron” at elacommoncorelessonplans.com
4. “The Interlopers” theme lesson plan at elacommoncorelessonplans.com
5. “Minister’s Black Veil” at elacommoncorelessonplans.com
6. “The Story of an Hour” at elacommoncorelessonplans.com

As far as Friars go, you can’t do much worse than Friar Laurence. He conducted the marriage ceremony of two teenagers who had known each other for a couple of days without permission from their parents. Who does that? (Originally Published on June 22, 2022)

Life Lesson

Be careful who you’re taking advice from.

Links

• Romeo and Juliet Unit Plan
• Free Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htm
• Complete Lesson Plans Collections: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/
• Blog Post about Friar Lawrence

The classroom was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two burnt out flourescent lamps replaced—hers and the one by the empty chair opposite. On the white board behind her, two tall glasses, soda water, whiskey. Fresh ice cubes in the Thermos bucket.

Mary Maloney was waiting for her principal's evaluation before going home from work. If only she had used these "Lamb to the Slaughter" activities and lessons, she wouldn't have stuffed a giant, frozen leg of lamb in her purse, just in case the meeting didn't go well.

Ever wondered what it would be like to have dozens of complete short story units already done with handouts, quizzes, assignments, and answer keys? You don’t need to wonder anymore. (Originally published May 23, 2022)

Links

• Assorted Short Stories with Irony Lesson Plans
• Irony in "Lamb to the Slaughter” Lesson Plan
• “Lamb to the Slaughter” Blog Post 
• “Lamb to the Slaughter” Movie Lesson Plan
• Short Story Catalog at ELACOMMONCORELESSONPLANS.com

In today’s episode of the Teaching ELA Podcast, I discuss several short stories with a focus on conflict: “The Most Dangerous Game,” “To Build a Fire,” “The Monkey’s Paw,” “Through the Tunnel,” and “Harrison Bergeron.” I’ve got an emergency lesson plan you can get on the board right now involving conflict. (Originally Published on September 20, 2021)

Takeaways

1. Everyone can connect with conflict. Use the 2-minute lesson plan involving conflict and point of view to help students internalize literature.
2. Although most stories involve multiple types of conflict, I’ve given you exemplary texts for teaching the five major types of conflict.
3. Teaching the skill of citing textual evidence to support analysis makes teaching all other standards either no longer necessary or easier to teach.

Links and Resources

1. Conflict Lesson Plans/Handouts
2. “To Build A Fire” by Jack London at elacommoncorelessonplans.com
3. “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs at elacommoncorelessonplans.com
4. “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connel at elacommoncorelessonplans.com
5. “Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing at elacommoncorelessonplans.com
6. Short Stories for Teaching Conflict at elacommoncorelessonplans.com

The following incident took place in the portables located out in the jungleish part of the school not too long ago.

UNLESS she alters her course and there’s no reason why she should, she’ll reach your classroom in two hours at the latest.”

Mr. Leiningen sucked placidly at a rolled up scantron about the size of a corncob and for a few seconds gazed without answering at the agitated Department Chair. Then he took the scantron from his lips, and leaned slightly forward. With his bristling grey hair, bulky nose, and lucid eyes, he had the look of an aging and shabby eagle.

“Decent of you,” he murmured, “waddling all this way just to give me the tip. But you’re pulling my leg of course when you say I must do bunk. Why, even a herd of superintendents couldn’t drive me from this portable of mine...

Links

• Short Stories for Teaching Conflict Lesson Plans
• Setting and Atmosphere in “Leiningen vs. the Ants”
• “Leiningen vs The Ants” blog post
• Short Story Teaching Guide Central
• Complete “Leiningen vs. The Ants” Unit Plan

I know it’s May. After all, it is National Teacher Mental Health Month. But when I think of myths surrounding mental health and achievement and success, I think of failures associated with New Year’s Day and its accompanying slew of New Year's Resolutions.

How many people do you know that made NYR? And how many people do you know who actually achieved them? 

Many failures fall victim to the myths of mental health and achievements.

Takeaways

1. Improving your state of mind requires changing your thoughts.
2. Changing your thoughts is not the same as positive thinking.
3. It’s ok not to be happy all the time. In fact, being happy all the time is evidence of being a sociopath, of someone who’s well adjusted.

ELA Teacher Links

• Teaching Emotional Intelligence: Short Stories for Teaching Empathy
• Short Story Catalog at ELACOMMONCORELESSONPLANS.com
• Poetry Collections at ELACommonCoreLessonPlans.com

Two-Minute Lesson Plan

Symbolism

All symbols point to death. They include

1. Darkest night of the year
2. Frozen lake
3. Woods–lovely, dark and deep
4. sleep

In "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," Robert Frost contemplates death. The setting symbolizes death. There's a "frozen lake" nearby a woods filled up with snow on the "darkest evening of the year." The speaker is enchanted with the woods, death, and stops to ponder. The rhyme scheme, with one line of rhyme present in each preceding stanza, mirrors the thought of death reaching into the speaker's thought. Although the woods become inviting to the tired traveler, as death does for some, the speaker realizes he cannot yet stop and rest because of his "promises" (14). The last two lines seem to be a lament at what lies ahead--a long life without rest.

Links

• Stopping by Woods lesson plan at elacommoncorelessonplans.com
• Poetry Lesson Plans Galore

“Harrison Bergeron” shows a dystopian society where government and the misapplication of equality has evolved with tragic consequences. In the year 2081–less than 60 years away–the meaning of equality has changed from being equal under the law as intended (with varying degrees of success) in the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution to equality meaning that everybody has to be equal on every which way.

In this case, government working under the pretense of promoting equality strips away individual rights in an effort to gain absolute control of its populace. Although the degree to which it is done in the story is extreme, the concept shouldn’t be foreign to anyone who follows current events.

Links

• “Harrison Bergeron” Blog Post
• Science Fiction Short Story Lesson Plans
• Short Story Catalog at ELACOMMONCORELESSONPLANS.com
• Poetry Collections at ELACommonCoreLessonPlans.com

Once Romeo sets his mind to something, he sees it through, even if there is evidence to the contrary. Because he’s convinced Juliet is dead and because he has already made up his mind to end his life, he ignores everything else that’s going on.

Links

• Romeo and Juliet Unit Plan
• Free Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htm
• Complete Lesson Plans Collections: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/