Foreshadowing in literature is hints given by the author of what will happen later. To demonstrate mastery of foreshadowing in literature, students must achieve five levels of understanding:They must be able to define foreshadowing – Level 1 is simple memorization. It is possible for students (or even a really smart monkey) to recite the definition without understanding it.Students should be able to identify foreshadowing – Level 2 eliminates the monkey. It shows the ability to apply the definition in a literary setting. Any high school student can do this with a bit of practice. Identification, however, falls short of mastery.Students should be able to substantiate predictions based on the author’s clues. Level 3 is really close to mastery. It requires high level thinking, even if the predictions are wrong. It falls short of mastery insomuch that the skill is only relevant as it pertains to a specific storyStudents should be able to determine the author’s purpose in using the foreshadowing – Level 4 indicates mastery of foreshadowing in literature. The ability to analyze author’s purpose facilitates critical thinking and will help individuals make sense of advertising, political speeches, editorials, and news reports. In short, knowing what the author’s purpose is will help them make informed decisions.Students should be able to use foreshadowing in their own writing for a specific purpose – Level 5 is difficult to measure.  Few students reach this mark and is a highly advanced skill.Free Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htmComplete Lesson Plans Collections: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/Edgar Allan Poe Short Story Lesson Plans: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/collections/short-story-lesson-plans/products/edgar-allan-poe-short-stories

“Masque of the Red Death” is one of those stories that became more relevant around March of 2020 with the Covid-19 pandemic. Plagues and pandemics have not only been a part of human history, but in many cases they have changed history. We are fortunate today that we have communication and medical capabilities that limit the effect of pandemics and disease. So despite the disruption to our lives and the personal tragedies some of my listeners may have faced due to Covid-19, I think it’s ok to look forward with optimism and faith. In the end, however, we control our thoughts and we can choose to look forward with faith or dwell on the negatives of the last couple years. How might looking forward with faith and gratitude make a difference in your life?LinksFree Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htmComplete Lesson Plans Collections: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/Edgar Allan Poe Short Story Lesson Plans: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/collections/short-story-lesson-plans/products/edgar-allan-poe-short-stories

Caesar has ample information to ascertain there is a viable threat against his life, so why does he not heed these warnings?It’s because of pride. He thinks he’s untouchable. He thinks that his decrees carry the force of god.How are we like Caesar? Do we listen those who are “beneath” us or do we think we’re too good to listen to the advice of our students, our colleagues, and others? If so, we may be setting ourselves up for a huge downfall, hopefully nobody’s going to stab you, but we may be setting ourselves up for a metaphorical stab in the back.TakeawaysJulius Caesar shows why humility might be the best way to avoid a gigantic fall.“Beware the Ides of March” is probably the most famous warning in literature.What warnings are you ignoring in your classroom or personal life?ResourcesJulius Caesar Blog Post at ELACommonCoreLessonPlans.comFree Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htmComplete Lesson Plans Collections: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/Julius Caesar Lesson Plans https://trent-media.myshopify.com/products/julius-caesar-lesson-plans-unit-plan-and-teaching-guide?_pos=1&_sid=47f2fed56&_ss=r

Why teach foreshadowing in Literature?Teaching foreshadowing in short stories may cover the following Common ELA Standards. RL.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the textRL.9-10.5  Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.Two Minute Lesson Plan: Suspense Lesson PlanI’m a big fan of charts.  This chart deals with suspense. This link connects to short stories for teaching suspense.Discuss how writers create suspense: (1) foreshadowing; (2) pacing; (3) dangerous actionCreate a two-column chart.In the left column write an example of how the author creates suspense.  In the right column, label it as pacing, dangerous action, or foreshadowing.Check out this Suspense in the”Most Dangerous Game” chart. It’s a word document, so you can edit its contents to fit whatever story you wish.Free Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htmComplete Lesson Plans Collections: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/Edgar Allan Poe Short Story Lesson Plans: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/collections/short-story-lesson-plans/products/edgar-allan-poe-short-stories

Charles Dickens’ father was a pay clerk in a navy office. Because of financial difficulties, the family moved about until they settled in Camden Town, a poor neighborhood in London, England. At the age of twelve Charles worked with working-class men and boys in a factory that handled "blacking," or shoe polish. While his father was in debtor's prison, the rest of the family moved to live near the prison, leaving Charles to live alone. This experience of lonely hardship was the most significant event of his life. It colored his view of the world and would later be described in a number of his novels.Today’s quote comes from Great Expectations, a novel I first read in college when I was going through my read everything by Charles Dickens phase. A great choice you can make is to head on over to elacommoncorelessonplans.com.If you recall the novel, Pip grows up impoverished, receives a large sum of money from a generous benefactor, and makes a mess of his life. His financial mess can be attributed to a lack of financial restraint:"So now, as an infallible way of making little ease great ease, I began to contract a quantity of debt."TakeawaysGreat literature is more than a great story.Just because we’re teachers doesn’t mean we’re destined to be poor.Create a budget and stick to it.Resources15 Good Money HabitsFree Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htmComplete Lesson Plans Collections: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/

Today’s quote comes from David Copperfield, a novel I first read in college when I was going through my read everything by Charles Dickens phase. Young David Copperfield meets Mr. Micawber who has many a problem with money; that is, he has no ability nor desire to manage his money well, always incurring debts and never able to pay them off, landing him eventually in debtors' prison. By the way, if you’ve seen the movie that came out a couple years back, Mr. Micawber does not get the kind treatment that Dickens gives him in the novel. And since we’re talking about the movie, I must say I absolutely loved it.Today’s money quote is very wise and ironically comes from the bumbling money manager himself, Mr. Micawber:“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.”TakeawaysGreat literature is more than a great story.Just because we’re teachers doesn’t mean we’re destined to be poor.Create a budget and stick to it.Resources15 Good Money HabitsFree Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htmComplete Lesson Plans Collections: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/

After teaching high school for 20 years, I was a little nervous about my new middle school teaching assignment. Then I realized it’s kind of the same as teaching high school, except students are smaller and the stories are different.The skills, however, remain the same–just at a different level.And of course the learning target stays the same: “I can cite textual evidence to support analysis.”You mean, middle school students are capable of citing textual evidence and analyzing literature?They are with this “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros lesson plan.Links“Eleven” Support-Refute Organizer“Eleven” Blog PostShort Story Teaching Guide CentralShort Stories for Teaching Empathy

I’ll be honest. I usually stop reading Julius Caesar after Act 3 and show the movie for Acts 4 and 5 because everything after act 3 is just falling action. And there’s a lot of falling.TakeawaysI’m not sure the play’s worth teaching/reading after Act III. There are a couple good movies you can show on YouTube to give students the ending they crave.Shakespeare depicts Marc Antony as a cut throat politician.Back-stabbing is a topic high school students can relate to.ResourcesJulius Caesar Blog Post at ELACommonCoreLessonPlans.comFree Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htmComplete Lesson Plans Collections: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/Julius Caesar Lesson Plans https://trent-media.myshopify.com/products/julius-caesar-lesson-plans-unit-plan-and-teaching-guide?_pos=1&_sid=47f2fed56&_ss=r

TakeawaysHabits create our future. What type of future are your habits creating?Consistent exercise will change your life.Start small, master it, go less small.ResourcesBenefits of Exercise Blog Post https://thehighlyeffectiveteacher.com/how-exercise-boosts-teacher-wellbeing/Free Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htmComplete Lesson Plans Collections: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 4, 2022An Analysis of "The Road Not Taken" by Robert FrostOf all Robert Frost poems, none are more famous than "The Road Not Taken." My analysis of it leads to the following observations and queries.The rhyme scheme is a b a a bThe poem uses the well known metaphor of a path being compared to life, and a divergent path representing a choice.Both paths are appealing to the poem's speaker (2).He can only see so far down the first path and took the other (4-5).The first path is full of undergrowth; the second is grassy (5,8).They are both worn just the same (10).He chooses the second path, yearning to take the first another day, but deep down inside knowing he won't (13-15).He knows he makes the wrong choice and sighs (16-17).He lies by saying he "took the one less traveled by" (19).The last line is ambiguous: is he rationalizing or is he being ironic.LinksSymbolism in Robert Frost Poetry Lesson Plan Free Download PDF"The Road Not Taken" Blog PostPoetry Lesson Plan Bonanza

(Originally Published November 21, 2021) I just taught this last week and I forgot just how good it was. I’m talking about Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment by Nat Hawthorne.TakeawaysDHE isn’t exactly what it appears to be. The participants believe it’s a scientific experiment, but it’s actually an experiment on human behavior.There’s a ton of symbolism in here that adds depth to the story.Use the cringy movie to enhance instruction.LinksShort Stories for Teaching Science Fiction"Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" on ELACommonCoreLessonPlans.comLiterary/Video Comparison Handout

Shakespeare makes it clear that Caesar was a very popular ruler of Rome. It’s also clear that Mark Antony uses this to incite the people to rebellion. But does the literature represent reality?Act III is one of the greatest acts in the history of drama, full of famous lines, such as “ET tu Brute?” but one must look to Marc Antony for the greatest lines in the plan and the greatest speech in all of literature. For those of you who haven’t ever seen a young Marlon Brando as Marc Antony, you really haven’t experienced the full Shakespeare experience.Life LessonThe assassination fallout would have gone much better for the assassins had Brutus gotten off his high horse just a little. It’s like, Brutus, you just stabbed your freaking best friend. You’re not all that honorable, dude!Although I’ve never stabbed anyone, I sometimes get on my high horse in the classroom and act like I’ve never made a mistake. This could get you in trouble, alienate colleagues, and make you look like a total cornhole.I’d also like to add a bonus life lesson. Caesar thought these people over whom he ruled were his friends. He was mistaken and paid for this mistake with his life. Too often, I’ve seen colleagues think his or her students were friends and the repercussions of such thoughts have brought trouble and disgrace upon many a teacher. Your students are not your friends. They are your students. I’ve always urged young teachers to maintain strict boundaries between themselves and their students. This includes social media.TakeawaysSmart people do stupid things.Watch Marlon Brando’s Julius Caesar speech. I’m sure it’s on YouTube.Your students aren’t your friends.ResourcesJulius Caesar Blog Post at ELACommonCoreLessonPlans.comFree Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htm

Today’s quote of the day is one of Shakespeare’s most famous lines, which naturally makes it one of the most famous quotes in Literature.Quote: Caesar: Cowards die many times before their deaths; / The valiant never taste of death but once. / Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, / It seems to me most strange that men should fear, / Seeing that death, a necessary end, / Will come when it will come. (II, ii, 32-37).Analysis: Caesar shows bravery in these lines. His actions, however, demonstrate recklessness. Little does Caesar know, his death will come in the next act. This is irony, which we’ll talk more about in a few minutes.That’s because Caesar is not showing bravery. He’s showing pride and arrogance and stupidity. It’s ironic that this quote is oft quoted for those trying to rally others to bravery. That’s one of the many delicious things about Shakespeare is that some of his best lines are said by his most tragic and foolish characters (I’m looking at you Polonius).TakeawaysAlthough Caesar is wise in his assessment of cowards dying many times before their death, it’s safe to say he didn’t realize his one death was coming so soon.Sometimes backing down is the more courageous act. It takes humility.Let’s not take unnecessary risks by not having good lesson plans.ResourcesJulius Caesar Blog Post at ELACommonCoreLessonPlans.comFree Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htmComplete Lesson Plans Collections: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/Julius Caesar Lesson Plans https://trent-media.myshopify.com/products/julius-caesar-lesson-plans-unit-plan-and-teaching-guide?_pos=1&_sid=47f2fed56&_ss=r

Caesar has good reason to worry about Cassius and if Cassius was his only threat, he would have survived the assassination plot. It’s the threats he couldn’t see that lead to his death. Those threats include his best friend Brutus and other noble Romans.So what are we overlooking as we prepare for the upcoming school year? We can prepare for known threats, but how are we preparing for the unknown? What habits are we establishing in the classroom that will help us recognize and extinguish classroom problems?I did a podcast episode long ago on the one habit that changed my career.I’ve got a warning for you: If you don’t have good lesson plans, your class might be a disaster. That’s why I have 2 resources for you in the show notes: (1) If you’re looking to make your summer a little more productive or perhaps you want to free up some time and not take the metaphorical knife to the back in the fall, I’ve got great news. I’ve created a course specifically designed for ELA Teachers on how to create a semester’s worth of lesson plans in just a few days. So imagine having all your lesson plans done for the entire first semester or even the entire year on the first day of school. (2) I’ve put together a collection of Julius Caesar lesson plans over at ELACommonCoreLessonPlans.com. Of course, you can find more than just Julius Caesar lesson plans.TakeawaysCassius and Julius Caesar are both astute politicians who sometimes ignore sound advice and accept bad advice.We all know Caesar dies, so why do we enjoy the play so much? It’s because of Shakespeare’s ability to use the English language with purpose.What habits are you cultivating to make you ready for the unseen dangers that lurk in the classroom?ResourcesJulius Caesar Blog Post at ELACommonCoreLessonPlans.comFree Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htmComplete Lesson Plans Collections: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/Julius Caesar Lesson Plans https://trent-media.myshopify.com/products/julius-caesar-lesson-plans-unit-plan-and-teaching-guide?_pos=1&_sid=47f2fed56&_ss=r

(Original published onThursday, August 26, 2021 and republished in honor of all my colleagues starting school today) Let's face it, the start of the school year can be challenging. You might even say it sucks. Today's podcast addresses the true reason the start of the year is so bad and it probably isn't the reason you think it is.This is definitely the podcast episode you'll want to share with all your colleagues.Skip to about 9:40 if you can't wait to discover the real reason the start of the school year is the way it is and what you can do to change it.

In today’s episode of the Teaching ELA Podcast, I discuss the one habit that changed my life. I know that sounds like a bit of hyperbole--because it is--but if you do this one thing before you leave school today (and every other day), you’ll sleep better at night, feel a lot less stress, and be present when you’re with the people you care about most.TakeawaysThere’s no sense in leaving on time if you’re stressed out all the time.Once you get your end of the day routine dialed in, this will become automatic and staying after your contract time will be rare.It’s good to have a selection of quick lesson plans (like the ones in the notes section of this episode) for those days when you’re just not on top of things.Links/ResourcesSome quick and ready to use lesson plan handouts to help you start the one teacher habit that will change your life.ELACommonCoreLessonPlans.com

The first time I read Catcher in the Rye, I liked and felt bad for Holden Caufield. The second time I read it, I couldn’t stand Holden Caufield and was happy about his demise. These contradictory feelings toward one of American Literature’s most famous protagonists is in line with Caufield’s contradictory feelings toward just about everything.LinksFree Video Course Sign Up : https://forms.aweber.com/form/34/1733538234.htmCatcher in the Rye Blog PostComplete Lesson Plans Collections: https://trent-media.myshopify.com/

(Originally Published on AUGUST 02, 2021) In today’s episode of the Teaching ELA Podcast, I discuss several short stories with a focus on characterization: “The Catbird Seat,” “Leinengen vs The Ants,” “A White Heron,” “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket,” and “The Story of an Hour.” I’ve got an emergency lesson plan you can get on the board right now involving characterization and something from one story in particular that you may not be familiar with.TakeawaysCharacterization is easy to teach with a simple 2-column chart that requires students to cite textual evidence and requires students to use this evidence to support analysis.The analysis chart allows differentiation for all levels. You change the necessary levels of complexity while getting all students to master the same skill.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 ResourcesCharacterization Lesson Plans Collection“The Cat Bird Seat” at elacommoncorelessonplans.com“A White Heron” at elacommoncorelessonplans.com“Leiningen vs. the Ants” at elacommoncorelessonplans.com“Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket” at elacommoncorelessonplans.com“The Story of an Hour” at elacommoncorelessonplans.com

Originally Published on FEBRUARY 28, 2022

(Originally published on JANUARY 17, 2022) The battle for your students’ soul rages. Today we’ll discuss several high interest short stories for middle school and high schoolLet’s not mess around. Here’s the one thing you can teach to keep students engaged while engaging them with great short stories.Links9 High Interest Short Stories at ELAcommoncorelessonplans.comLit/Movie Comparison HandoutScience Fiction Lesson Plans Collection