
This post originally appeared on the blog Faulkner’s Fast Five.
3. Mergers by Steven Layne – This science fiction flick would be perfect for 7th-9th graders who are obsessed with everything dystopian. Inspired by a visit to a school one day where he saw a couple of kids picking on another kid because of skin color, Layne explores the idea of what it would be like if all races were erased. I don’t think this text could be any timelier given current events, and a fellow teacher of mine is pairing it this year with the classic To Kill a Mockingbird. A complete unit guide is on my to-do list, and the author provides a short free one on his website. You could pair that with my literature analysis task cards and have some very interesting book clubs!
5. Peeled by Joan Bauer – I used this novel with my high school yearbook class once our book was finished. It’s perfect for piquing their interested in mystery, and it ties perfectly in with our journalism class. A reporter for her high school newspaper, Hildy Biddle is just waiting for a chance to prove herself as a real journalist. Not content just covering school issues, Hildy’s drawn to the town’s big story: the haunted old Ludlow house. It’s a fun, quick tale that you won’t have to beg your students to read. I’ll be putting together some of the materials I used for it soon!
… And a couple of other excellent picks that my students love with movies that are so bad, they might as well be in the category of those without movies because there’s no way they’d be worth giving class time for them are Macbeth and Fahrenheit 451. I have complete, modern unit plans for both of these in my store now!
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I have taught English and journalism for over a decade. I have experience at the middle school, high school, and college level. Rural and suburban. Regular, honors, and inclusion. I also teach PreK-K in Children’s Church and have taught K-2 in Awanas. I have worked as a CCSS ELA training specialist and done other consulting work for the state of Tennessee. I have a M.A. in English and an Ed.S. in Instructional Leadership. I have presented at numerous conferences, workshops, and trainings on various best teaching practices. Additionally, I have several articles published in national teaching journals.
Outside of teaching, I love photography and design, and many images from my collection appear in and on my resources. To me, my job is about teaching students to see, make, and appreciate real-world connections. The world around them is full of opportunity, and I want them to notice that and seize it. I want them not to just swallow information, but rather truly dissect and digest it to make informed decisions and choices. My teaching style is engaging, student-centered, collaborative, hands-on, critical-thinking inducing, fun, innovative, and standards-driven. Connect with me at my TpT store, at my blog, on Facebook, or on Instagram.