13 Creative Poetry Month Lessons to Engage Middle Graders
Bring poetry month lessons to the classroom this April (aka National Poetry Month)! We specifically chose these 13…
March 22, 2023Bring poetry month lessons to the classroom this April (aka National Poetry Month)! We specifically chose these 13…
I have to admit…I am biased toward teaching any dystopian unit. I find any opportunity I can to…
How do you celebrate women’s history month in the classroom? Make space in your curriculum to celebrate women…
With love in the air, I have been reading a ton of LGBTQ YA books this February. Whether…
For the last five years, the first unit I teach is always a short story unit. Every year,…
New year, new bookshelf goals! A personal goal of mine this school year is to add more diverse…
Looking for text recommendations and engaging resources that you can use during Native American Heritage Month (and year…
From sci-fi to fantasy to historical fiction, this list of short stories has something to interest every reader…
These contemporary poems by Black authors will help diversify your poetry unit, help students process current events, and…
Whether you’re hosting a lit circle or adding to your classroom library, these novels in verse will be…
Change it up with these NEW short stories for teaching American Lit in middle & high school ELA.…
May is AAPI Heritage Month, so to celebrate, here are 5 short stories that will help your students…
One tool for promoting diversity in the classroom is using texts by international authors. Here are 5 texts…
In this post, I share tips, ideas, & resources for teaching Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes. My students…
No matter what you read, there’s something you’ll love on my list of the best books of 2021!…
Looking for more books with trans characters to add to your classroom library? I have recommendations for middle…
Do your students struggle to identify instances of symbolism in a text? Yeah, mine too. So today I…
Do you want to be teaching social justice in ELA but you don’t know where to start? Check…
Want a contemporary novel for your curriculum? Need classroom library suggestions? Check out Clap When You Land by…
Happy Hispanic Heritage Month, y’all! We celebrate this every year from September 15th to October 15th, and we…
I recently finished Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron and it got me thinking about using inclusive YA…
Are you looking to create a more inclusive classroom library? Are you asking yourself, “What should I read…
With the decade drawing to a close, it’s time to reflect on the great books released in 2019!…
This week we’re chatting about Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz, a heartwarming #ownvoices tale of two…
It’s Native American History Month! How are you celebrating and honoring Native culture in your classroom? One great…
Books can be both mirrors, reflecting students’ lives, or windows into the lives of others. You know the…
Writer & teacher L. Samantha Smith joins us to chat about The Stars and the Blackness Between Them…
Since we started the YA Cafe Podcast, we’ve gotten a lot of questions about LGBTQ middle-grade novels. This…
BookTuber, Nikea JaLynn (cohost of the series #BlackGirlLit), joins us to chat about The Revolution of Birdie Randolph…
Are you teaching short stories for high school, and all you have is a dusty anthology of “classic”…