The English Department

07/20/2026

I asked five other high school English teachers one question: what do you wish more people had in their classroom toolkit?

Six free resources later, here's the answer.

Grab them here:

07/18/2026

Okay, so how do you actually START AP Lang? Here's my first day (and every day after that...the playlist is called 180 Days of Lang).

Welcome to the daily walk through of how and what I plan for each d...

07/12/2026

Dollar Tree came through again. Found these little containers, $1.25 for two, and they're exactly the right size for 3" die-cut stickers, which is what most student sticker packs come in. Took no time to get my whole collection organized and now everything actually has a home. If you love stickers like I do but need an easy way to organize them, this one's worth the trip!

07/11/2026

My sticker haul just arrived, and it turns out nobody loves stickers more than high school freshmen.

This is one of my favorite classroom management tricks: instead of a random sticker, I sort them into categories. On the first day, kids pick one for their English folder, and it becomes an instant conversation starter (you like trucks? Noted.) — then a cheat sheet for me all year.

The catch: I have to comb through every pack to w**d out the "creative" ones. Looking at you, ma*****na leaves disguised as palm trees.

Follow along to see how I organize the whole sticker chest for the year!

What's your favorite way to connect with new students on day one?

10/16/2025

“If ChatGPT were in my class? C-minus. Maybe.”
Why AI still doesn’t hold up when it comes to teaching real writing, plus what your students really need instead 🎥 Full convo with is live on YouTube!
💬 Drop your grade for ChatGPT in the comments.

10/14/2025

Why do students turn to AI instead of asking for help?
It’s not laziness—it’s often lack of confidence.
In Part 2 of my convo with , we talk about:
 🧠 Why struggling writers are most tempted to rely on bots
 🗣️ How to help students believe their own voice is enough
 ✏️ What teachers can do early in the writing process to build trust and ownership
If you’ve been wondering how to guide students toward authentic writing in a world full of shortcuts… this is your invitation.
🎥 Watch our full interview on The English Department YouTube channel!

10/12/2025

“You can’t take the bot to the test.”
 That’s the first thing tells her AP Lang students.
Because no matter how clever AI gets… it’s not going to write a timed rhetorical analysis under pressure. And it definitely won’t help when the stakes are high.
In the full interview we talk about:
 📝 How to reframe AI conversations with students
 🚫 Why ChatGPT isn’t a shortcut worth taking
 📣 What really motivates students to learn to write for themselves
🎥 Watch our full conversation now on The English Department YouTube channel!

10/12/2025

I was so jazzed to host Julie from on 180 Days of Lang this week! Part 1 of our conversation on AI in the English classroom is live now over on The English Department YT channel 🎥

08/30/2025

I don’t know why I’ve never thought of this until 13 years in! Our textbook has a lot of multi-part questions, and students often skip over the latter parts or sub-parts. Today before they started answering them I had them highlight the individual parts in contrasting colors. HUGE improvement in complete responses!

08/24/2025

My favorite way to engage reluctant readers is to learn about them, curate a SMALL stack of books for each of them, and have them on their desk when they come in on independent reading kick off day. I can’t always do this when I have huge classes, but when the opportunity arises I take it! 1️⃣ it shows kids you care and actually read their get to know you letter or survey 2️⃣ too much choice can be intimidating or overstimulating to a lot of kids, especially reluctant readers, and 3️⃣ you can encourage kids to try something new—especially if they always gravitate to the shortest books or something way below reading level. I wish I could show you their faces when they walk in. It’s like Christmas! Almost everyone chose a book from the stack I made them and everyone has stuck with their book so far!