I teach high school and for my student's first project, they write a children's story using what they learned throughout the unit. They create a book and then they read it to a group of elementary students.

Last year, I allowed them to use canva's AI image creator to illustrate their book. As a teacher, I feel like this "tool" is really helpful. It solves the problem of students saying they can't draw and their final product turns out really nice for the elementary kids. But as a regular person, I'm struggling with the ethical implications I guess.

I've already spoken with our art teacher and having the art students illustrate the books for them just isn't feasible. And having them just use Google images makes the final product look like crap.

I'm just wondering what everyone's thoughts are and if anyone has any other ideas.

Teaching seniors has proven to be a struggle sometimes, and it seems like the curriculum is not engaging enough for them. While I can’t change the curriculum, I do have a little freedom with what we read.

We do read Macbeth, and that seems to be the most reliable piece we read. But last year, we taught The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. While I love that book, the seniors view it as such a chore to get through.

What novels, plays, or short stories do you recommend?

I have heard Dorian Gray is a novel that engages them. I have considered Lord of the Flies as well. I would appreciate any suggestions.

Note: I work in southeast Georgia in a conservative county. While I would love to, we can’t teach things like Perks of Being a Wallflower or The Kite Runner.

Please consider supporting Exceptional Needs Students!

My students do a fluency practice each day, in which they read a short, short, short excerpt (120 words or under). I know it is restricting, but its the parameters that were set for me.

What are some of the most influential, moving, and impactful paragraphs from literature that you would want a high schooler to read?

Thank you so much for your consideration and help with putting great literature in front of students.

Hello, I remember seeing a while back, maybe a few months ago, someone posting/commenting with a worksheet that had like 100 theme topic words in alphabetical order. There were also instructions on how to narrow down several theme topic words to arrive at what a text was about. I also remember one of the comments responding to that post saying "wow I spent all my time writing my own and it was available as a worksheet the whole time?!"

I regret not saving the comment. Wondering if anyone saw that comment and knows what I'm talking about or could link me to a similar worksheet?

Thanks in advance!!

Hello! I’m teaching 4th grade language arts (special education/resource) this year and never have been so I’m just looking for some good book recommendations!

Read alouds, independent reading, etc.

Hey folks,

How do you assess your book club units? I’m struggling with how to make sure the assessments are authentic and accountable given anything that goes home (like note-taking) can be potentially AI generated. I also struggle with what to look for in the moment during discussion groups and how to record so I don’t miss anything.

Hello!

I’m a 9th/10th grade ELA teacher, and I’m trying to brainstorm things I can occupy students with if they finish early. Right now, I’ve been encouraging them to read, do homework for another class, or draw/color. However, most kids opt for playing games on their Chromebooks (which I dislike because I feel like it’s distracting to other kids).

I design low-stakes, fun extension activities and try to encourage participation. However, if it isn’t graded, most kids opt out.

What do you do in your classroom to keep early finishers occupied without assigning busywork? I want to go completely Chromebook-free in my class, but I don’t want to do so until I have solid alternative options in place so kids don’t turn towards disruptive behaviors.

My colleagues seem to fly through novels and lessons throughout the year. We are starting week 4, and the other teachers have already started their first novel. I am still teaching the skill I want them to use once we start the novel. I want to practice with some shorter texts first. Am I doing it wrong? Should I jump in first and teach the skill later? Maybe I am doing too much??? Am I making it harder than it needs to be?

I apologize. I know I am rambling. Imposter syndrome kicking in. *Sigh*

Honesty and constructive criticism will be appreciated.

Looking for help translating a whole novel into Spanish for a student!

Hi all! What are your go-to ways to make worksheet practice a little more fun without creating a bunch of extra prep for yourself?

I’m going to be teaching more grammar and word study lessons this year, and I really do not want to reinvent the wheel every week. I have a bunch of premade worksheets from books/resources I already own, so I’m looking for super low-prep ways to “zhuzh them up” a little.

I teach middle school, and I’m totally fine with students working together, talking through answers, moving around, turning it into a game, etc. I’m not worried about the worksheet itself being completed independently because I plan to use a short individual exit ticket afterward to see what each student actually learned.

Basically: How do you make a boring worksheet feel less like a boring worksheet without having to redesign the whole thing?

Would love any easy routines, games, structures, partner ideas, or tricks you use! Thank you in advance!

Hey everyone,

I will be continuing my studies in Messina, Italy, and I will be looking for a part-time job there. Since job opportunities in Messina can be quite limited, especially for someone who doesnt speak Italian yet, I am also looking for remote work that I could do alongside my studies to help support myself financially.

​I am an English language graduate, and I want to get into online teaching. Currently, I have no teaching experience. How can I get someone to hire me, or how can I find students to teach? I believe I am qualified to teach lower levels as well as children.

Thank you so much for the help.

Hey there!

I am an English teacher in my 16th year, and I have gotten tired of waiting for a writing program that can help combat AI in the classroom. So, I made one myself.

Think of it like a Google Doc, but the teacher controls when students have access!

It's WritersLock.org .

- Students can only access the writing surface when I grant them access.
- They cannot see the prompt, sources, or their writing until I grant access.
- Once they leave for any reason, they are locked out until I let them back in.
- They cannot copy/paste. Those functions are permanently disabled.
- I can watch them write live, in real time, while they work on the teacher dashboard.
- My comments on the margins connect directly with the scoring rubric.

It really has so many great features that I've been waiting for!

Let me know what you think! It's been a game changer for my classroom with regard to student accountability and authenticity in the wake of AI!

WritersLock.org

MORE THAN A DECADE AGO, Queens teacher Nicole Radosti Pipia’s fifth- and sixth-grade students seemed to love reading novels in school. 

“The Giver” by Lois Lowry was prized for its mystery. “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio taught them about kindness and acceptance. “Freak the Mighty” by Rodman Philbrick showed them the power of friendship. 

Now, she said, they don’t read any. Instead, students often spend class time reading excerpts and short stories to better prepare them for the sorts of questions they’d encounter on standardized exams.

The demands of her school’s reading program leave no room to study novels, the English teacher said.

“We’re told that we cannot deviate from the program, and if you have to do the program, there’s literally no time,” Pipia said. 

Another New York City middle school teacher, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation, said her school taught novels before the pandemic. Now, “it can be done, but not with the constraints placed on us as teachers,” she said. 

For the past few years, her school has required her to have her students — most of whom are English language learners and struggling readers — spend half of each 40-minute class period, four days a week, completing an online targeted reading intervention program, she said. They often end up clicking through the program and visiting Spotify and YouTube instead. The remainder of the period is devoted to the school’s core curriculum, which does not require novel studies. 

The classroom library she spent a decade building has become “purely decorative,” she said. With teachers no longer using books, she said, her school is “literally throwing them away.” Even if she had the time to teach a book, the veteran teacher said, her students either have no interest in reading or barely know how. 

“Half of them have never read a book,” she said. “In 10 years, we went from kids reading multiple novels in class to them having never opened a book.” 

https://nysfocus.com/2026/08/26/new-york-students-reading-fewer-books

Hi everyone,

I’m an undergraduate English student and I’m really torn between choosing linguistics or literature for my first research project.

I’ve noticed a pattern in my university and online: most English language education students end up doing literature research. When I asked my professor about linguistics, he said it’s “too scientific” for undergrads because it requires statistics, surveys, and proving facts, while literature is just analyzing a quote and giving your opinion.

Is this common in other universities too?

Do you think students avoid linguistics because it seems harder, or because advisors don’t recommend it, or just because people don’t really know what linguistics is?

I personally love language and want to do linguistics, but I’m scared it’ll be too difficult for a first research project.

Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

Teaching 9/11 to students born long after it happened gets tougher every year-especially when using it to teach media literacy and primary source analysis.

Retro Report put together a FREE resource collection featuring short documentaries, lesson plans, and close-reading/writing activities covering first responders, the war in Afghanistan, and post-9/11 civil liberties.
You can grab the ready-to-use resources for free here: https://sparklp.co/e8bf07a7/

Hey everyone, after 8 years of teaching all grades, subjects and areas of ELA in my small school, I have come away feel unsatisfied with my past units, mostly because it feels so disorganized, So I did an overhaul of my units and have a new curriculum that I am trying to roll out this year. Im still a little uncertain based on timing and my students interest. We have two semesters, four marking periods each and each marking period is 4 weeks. I would appreciate any feedback, ideas, or units that have worked well for you or how I can improve on my ideas!

Heya!

We are a husband and wife (ex-English teacher) who are concerned about how easy it is for kids to offload their work (and writing... and thinking....) to AI.

We want our own kids to not only be able to write and think for themselves, but to choose to do so.

So we built a digital writing space to help encourage them to write more called Humdrum.
noticehumdrum.com

Humdrum is writing as exploration and play, not assignments and grammar. There are many different ways to get started (prompts, story dice, side quests), so kids never have to stare at a blank page.

I personally hated writing all throughout school, and it wasn't until later in life that I found how freeing and powerful it can be. Our goal is to help kids like me form a positive relationship with writing, and begin to build a writing habit. Hopefully a lot earlier than me. : )

Humdrum is available for classrooms via Clever Library and for families at home.
It's free to use through Clever, and family accounts have a free trial.

noticehumdrum.com
https://clever.com/library/app/humdrum

If you have any questions, please reach out!

Jacob