This teaching blog is shaped by a clear conviction: the books and stories we choose for our students matter deeply. Every text, story, and film I write about is the result of a personal and thoughtful choice — selected from what I have personally read, studied, loved, and found significant, profound, and enduring.
Here you will find reflections, analyses, and ideas for middle and high school classrooms. Analysis becomes discovery, and stories become encounters. They are not chosen simply because they fit a syllabus; they are rich in beauty, depth, and human insight — and students deserve what is most beautiful, most challenging, and most significant in storytelling. This teaching blog is where that search begins.
Latest Posts
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To Kill Two Mockingbirds: Stories of Boo Radley and Tom Robinson
Read more: To Kill Two Mockingbirds: Stories of Boo Radley and Tom Robinson“It is a sin to kill a mockingbird,” says Atticus in chapter 10. If you’ve ever had a student exclaim, “Oh, wait, that’s the title! But… what does it mean?”, this article will help you dive deeper into the metaphor, exploring the stories of Boo Radley and Tom Robinson and offering insights for your classroom…
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Mystery Writing Activities Through Film: From Vertigo to Knives Out
Read more: Mystery Writing Activities Through Film: From Vertigo to Knives OutWhat if you could turn films into hands-on learning experiences with mystery writing activities? Using Vertigo and Knives Out, middle school students explore plot twists, hidden clues, and suspense, then create their own thrilling short stories.
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Circe Novel by Madeleine Miller: A New Voice from Myth for High School Students
Read more: Circe Novel by Madeleine Miller: A New Voice from Myth for High School StudentsReading the Circe novel with my students opened a new window onto the Odyssey. Miller’s retelling captivated us all, offering rich opportunities to explore character, power, and the human side of the gods.
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Why Every High School Student Should Read D. Grossman’s “Someone to Run With”
Read more: Why Every High School Student Should Read D. Grossman’s “Someone to Run With”David Grossman’s Someone to Run With is more than a novel—it’s a powerful journey through friendship, courage, and self-discovery. Follow Assaf and Tamar with your students across Jerusalem as they face impossible challenges, discover the true meaning of love and loyalty, and learn what it means to grow up.
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Walking Beside Bilbo: Insights on Friendship In The Hobbit for Middle School Readers
Read more: Walking Beside Bilbo: Insights on Friendship In The Hobbit for Middle School ReadersBeneath its dragons and gold, The Hobbit is a book about friendship: about unlikely companions, quarrels forgiven, and the discovery that what makes a journey matter is the person beside us. A reading for the middle school classroom.
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Atticus Finch: A Character Analysis
Read more: Atticus Finch: A Character AnalysisAtticus Finch is remembered as a lawyer and a father—but he is, above all, a teacher. A character analysis of how he educates, and what he learns in return.
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