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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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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The Myths Behind the Movie: Teaching with Percy Jackson
Read more: The Myths Behind the Movie: Teaching with Percy JacksonFor a lot of my students, the Greek gods arrive on a screen before they ever reach a book. Rather than fight that, I use it. Here’s how The Lightning Thief becomes a way into real mythology — every throwaway line about a god a door into the myth underneath.
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Teaching Greek Mythology: Start with the Questions, Not the Gods
Read more: Teaching Greek Mythology: Start with the Questions, Not the GodsIgnite your middle schoolers’ curiosity by turning their biggest questions into gateways for exploring Greek mythology. Transform myths into powerful tools for curiosity and critical thinking in your classroom!
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“Someone to Share in an Adventure”: 3 Quotes to Open the School Year
Read more: “Someone to Share in an Adventure”: 3 Quotes to Open the School YearStarting middle school feels like stepping into a grand adventure — full of new faces, challenges, and discoveries. In this post, explore inspiring quotes from The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter that invite 6th graders (and their teachers!) to embrace the year with wonder, courage, and connection.