November 16, 2018

6 Humorous Novels to Make Your Secondary Students Laugh Out Loud

Not all students are looking for an emotionally heavy book when they are reading for pleasure. Think about your students who loved (or may still love) The Diary of a Wimpy Kid or the Captain Underpants series. These students want to laugh, not cry, at their books. Here's 6 humorous novels that I've recently read and would recommend to secondary students.
Not all students are looking for an emotionally heavy book when they are reading for pleasure. Think about your students who loved (or may still love) The Diary of a Wimpy Kid or the Captain Underpants series. These students want to laugh, not cry, at their books. Here's 6 humorous novels that I've recently read and would recommend to secondary students. Click the title of each to read my full review and ideas for using it in the classroom.

1. Scrawl by by Mark Shulman
This novel is written in a journal format by Tod as he sits in detention with his guidance counselor. He's a "bad kid" who loathes everything about the establishment of school and has quite the humorous way of describing his dislikes to his reader.

2. Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
Roy is the new kid at school barely surviving the efforts of the school bus bully to crush him, until he spots a boy his age running barefoot one day. Roy is determined to find the boy and find out what he's running from. When he does find out, Roy becomes involved in a battle to preserve the habitat of burrowing owls.

3. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
Greg thinks suffering the trials of being an outcast in high school is bad. Then his mom promises that he will befriend a classmate and former girlfriend who has been diagnosed with leukemia. Somehow Greg is able to infuse both situations with laughter for the other characters as well as the reader.

4. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Junior is a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation is also an outsider determined to make his own path in life. The novel also provides opportunities for teens to reflect on the loved ones they've lost.

5. Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce
The novel alternates between the present action, Liam lost in outer space with four other children, and the past events leading up to his adventure gone wrong. Liam is frequently mistaken for an adult, which has its benefits, but when he wins a trip to ride an exciting new thrill ride, which turns out to be a trip into outer space, he may have finally let things go a little too far.

6. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
This book is so much more than historical fiction. The narrator Monty is hilarious and the novel is full of adventure and action. There's romance in the plot, but also some mystery. The author even tackles issues of race, gender, and sexuality.

November 13, 2018

#2ndaryELA Twitter Chat on Tuesday 11/13 Topic: Grit in the ELA Classroom

Join secondary English Language Arts teachers Tuesday evenings at 8 pm EST on Twitter. This week's chat will be about a grit in the ELA classroom.
Brynn Allison, The Literary Maven, & Lisa Spangler, Mrs. Spangler in the Middle, host #2ndaryELA on Twitter every Tuesday evening from 8 - 8:30 PM EST. #2ndaryELA is a weekly chat for secondary English Language Arts teachers focused on a topic. Every Sunday, we post the topic and questions on our blogs to allow you to prepare for the upcoming Tuesday evening's chat. Thank you to everyone who joined us last week and we hope that you will join us again.

We'd also love for you to join our 2ndaryELA Facebook group, even if you aren't on Twitter. 2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. This group is an extension of our Twitter chat and a place for collaboration, questions, and encouragement. Feel free to post teaching ideas, success stories, resource links, photos, etc. that will enhance our instruction.

On Tuesday, November 13, our #2ndaryELA chat will be about grit in the ELA classroom.

Join secondary English Language Arts teachers Tuesday evenings at 8 pm EST on Twitter. This week's chat will be about a grit in the ELA classroom.

The Directions:
1. Log into Twitter on Tuesday from 8-8:30 PM EST.
2. Search for tweets with the hashtag #2ndaryELA in the search bar. Make sure to click “Latest.”
3. Introductions are for the first 5 minutes.
4. Starting at 8:05 (@literarymaven or @2peasandadog) will post questions every 5 minutes using the format Q1, Q2, Q3, etc. and the hashtag #2ndaryELA.
5. Respond to questions using the format A1, A2, A3, etc. with #2ndaryELA.
6. Follow any teachers responding and who are also using #2ndaryELA.
7. Like and respond to other teachers' tweets.

You can schedule your responses to the questions ahead of time using a scheduler like TweetDeck or HootSuite (but don't forget to use A1, A2, etc. and #2ndaryELA). Links are encouraged, so be sure to use a link shortener like tinyurlbitlygoo.gl or ow.ly Just visit one of those links and paste your long link to shorten it for Twitter. Using images is also encouraged when relevant.

New to chats? Here are the rules:
1. Stay on topic & stay positive!
2. Please do not post or promote paid products unless specifically asked.
3. If you arrive late, try to look through other posts before beginning.
4. Feel free to just read, like, and/or retweet.
5. Always use our hashtag #2ndaryELA, including in your replies to others.
6. Make sure your twitter feed is set to public. (Also keep in mind that Twitter is completely public – that means students, parents, and administrators can and will read what you tweet.)

You can also check out a quick video tutorial in this blog post.

Be sure to spread the word to any teacher friends who might be interested in joining us as well. We look forward to chatting with you Tuesday evening and in our 2ndaryELA Facebook group!

Get caught up on past chats here:

November 9, 2018

Acting Like A Professional (Even When Your Colleagues Don't)

Keeping it professional can be challenging when balancing the demands of students, parents, admin, and other staff members.  This #2ndaryELA Twitter chat was all about teachers' professional lives. Middle school and high school English Language Arts teachers discussed the structure of the ELA department at their schools. Teachers also shared what planning time looks like and how it is used effectively. Read through the chat for ideas to implement in your own classroom.
This #2ndaryELA Twitter chat was all about teachers' professional lives. Middle school and high school English Language Arts teachers discussed the structure of the ELA department at their schools. Teachers also shared what planning time looks like and how it is used effectively.

Read through the chat below to find out how to handle colleagues who don't pull their weight or are constantly negative. You'll also find out how others teachers support each other.

Hope you'll join us next week for another chat. We'd also love for you to join our 2ndaryELA Facebook group (even if you aren't on Twitter). 2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. This group is an extension of our Twitter chat and a place for collaboration, questions, and encouragement. Feel free to post teaching ideas, success stories, links, photos, etc. that will enhance our instruction.




Keeping it professional can be challenging when balancing the demands of students, parents, admin, and other staff members.  This #2ndaryELA Twitter chat was all about teachers' professional lives. Middle school and high school English Language Arts teachers discussed the structure of the ELA department at their schools. Teachers also shared what planning time looks like and how it is used effectively. Read through the chat for ideas to implement in your own classroom.

November 4, 2018

#2ndaryELA Twitter Chat on Tuesday 11/6 Topic: A Teacher’s Professional Life

Brynn Allison, The Literary Maven, & Lisa Spangler, Mrs. Spangler in the Middle, host #2ndaryELA on Twitter every Tuesday evening from 8 - 8:30 PM EST. #2ndaryELA is a weekly chat for secondary English Language Arts teachers focused on a topic. Every Sunday, we post the topic and questions on our blogs to allow you to prepare for the upcoming Tuesday evening's chat. Thank you to everyone who joined us last week and we hope that you will join us again.

We'd also love for you to join our 2ndaryELA Facebook group, even if you aren't on Twitter. 2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. This group is an extension of our Twitter chat and a place for collaboration, questions, and encouragement. Feel free to post teaching ideas, success stories, resource links, photos, etc. that will enhance our instruction.

On Tuesday, November 6, our #2ndaryELA chat will be about a teacher's professional life.

Join secondary English Language Arts teachers Tuesday evenings at 8 pm EST on Twitter. This week's chat will be about a teacher's professional life.

The Directions:
1. Log into Twitter on Tuesday from 8-8:30 PM EST.
2. Search for tweets with the hashtag #2ndaryELA in the search bar. Make sure to click “Latest.”
3. Introductions are for the first 5 minutes.
4. Starting at 8:05 (@literarymaven or @2peasandadog) will post questions every 5 minutes using the format Q1, Q2, Q3, etc. and the hashtag #2ndaryELA.
5. Respond to questions using the format A1, A2, A3, etc. with #2ndaryELA.
6. Follow any teachers responding and who are also using #2ndaryELA.
7. Like and respond to other teachers' tweets.

You can schedule your responses to the questions ahead of time using a scheduler like TweetDeck or HootSuite (but don't forget to use A1, A2, etc. and #2ndaryELA). Links are encouraged, so be sure to use a link shortener like tinyurlbitlygoo.gl or ow.ly Just visit one of those links and paste your long link to shorten it for Twitter. Using images is also encouraged when relevant.

New to chats? Here are the rules:
1. Stay on topic & stay positive!
2. Please do not post or promote paid products unless specifically asked.
3. If you arrive late, try to look through other posts before beginning.
4. Feel free to just read, like, and/or retweet.
5. Always use our hashtag #2ndaryELA, including in your replies to others.
6. Make sure your twitter feed is set to public. (Also keep in mind that Twitter is completely public – that means students, parents, and administrators can and will read what you tweet.)

You can also check out a quick video tutorial in this blog post.

Be sure to spread the word to any teacher friends who might be interested in joining us as well. We look forward to chatting with you Tuesday evening and in our 2ndaryELA Facebook group!

Get caught up on past chats here: