Literature

Side by side book covers, from left to right, Slay by Brittney Morris and Darius the Great is not Okay by Adib Khorram

5 Books I've Slept On

We've all been there– you hear endless praise for a book and buy it, fully intending to learn what all the hype is about. But then it sits on your TBR shelf for months collecting dust.

Four students sit around a book and discuss its contents

Active Reading Notes & Purpose Statement

Whether teaching literature or rhetoric, close reading is an essential and often difficult skill to teach. This note-taking system, which is a modification of the Cornell note system, helps students slow down and examine a text closely through a structured approach that requires them to summarize...

Graphic organizer showing the different parts of a narrative plot: exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution

Interactive Plot Map

Carmel McDonald walks you through how she walks her middle school ELA students through narrative structure with an interactive plot map. Download her worksheet below!

8 multicolored book covers

Please Judge These Books: Our Favorite Books of 2022

The golden rule of reading is “don’t judge a book by its cover,” and even though I’m not in this instance, it would lead to the same decision: buy it, read it, love it. This last year has been filled with beautiful book after beautiful book and entertaining storyline after entertaining storyline....

Illustration of a pear sitting on top of three books

Perfect Pear-ings

Your Bow Tie Literacy Guy Michael Guevara is showcasing his favorite book pairings! Add these titles to your classroom library and download an accompanying ELA lesson. Happy reading!

3 book covers against a light blue background. The first is #NeverAgain, the second is People Kill People, and the third is Parkland Speaks.

#Neveragain—No, Really

From San Antonio, you take I-35 S until you hit Hwy. 90W just outside of the city limits. You’ll then hit Castroville, which everyone pronounces Casterville and drive a bit before getting to D’hanis. After D’hanis, you’ll pass through Sabinal, then Knippa, and about an hour and twenty minutes later...