Me, too. I just give the highlights. They struggle to actually read anyway, why make it more of a slog for everyone involved?

If you want to mix it up a bit, you can request the chocolate mousse filling for a white cake and vice versa. If you do that, just talk to someone about how to put it on the form.

Moulin Rouge

I came here to say this. I use this for Macbeth and Midsummer Night's Dream. They do a great job and the videos help my students understand.

In an effort to boost student scores, we're allowing any student who scores "meets" or "exceeds" on the state test to skip the final for that subject class. I teach 10th grade ELA. These students take the reading test this year, so anyone who achieves those standards can skip my final if they choose. To be fair, it's no skin off my teeth. These scores affect state funding, so I'd rather have kids trying to do well instead of just clicking through.

This is mine. Lucy is my girl!

The "Thank you for your attention to this matter" got me.

Linus!

I do show this to my 11th graders as part of our 1984 unit. We talk about how things are targeted to them based on what they like and interact with. It's also good for propaganda. You know your 8th graders. If you've watched it and feel like they can handle it, go for it.

Our family used a cookie sheet last time we were all together. With 8-10 people around the table and the sheer amount of snacks, it was needed! Plus, Grandma is 90 so it helped her see and reach.

Animal Farm is perfect for teaching rhetoric. This week, we studied propaganda by analyzing commercials for milk, read Squealer's talking points about throwing Snowball out paying attention to his rhetoric, and related herd mentality to politics and animal imagery through political cartoons that use sheep. Next week we're covering Putin (from the 2010s, not now) and doing a whole day on the First Amendment and what freedom of speech really means.

I'm doing my first semester of speech and debate this year. I'm incorporating Animal Farm. This book is perfect for teaching fallacies, logic, critical thinking, real vs fake news, and so much more. We don't discuss the politics. We stick to the analogy to the Russian revolution and use that backdrop to look at all of those things.

I've done a puzzle & riddle May term class where the students solved puzzles and riddles, created their own escape rooms, and then went to an escape room as a field trip. This was really fun and one of my most popular.

I also did an "And Then There Were None" themed murder mystery. We read an abbreviated story, made predictions and guesses about who was committing the crimes, and had a "murder mystery party" complete with costumes and roles at the end. I can't remember where I found the ATTWN game, but it's online somewhere.

My husband says that Wildcard Kitchen is just a revamped Cutthroat Kitchen and I tend to agree. I do like the sabotaging done by contestants on CK better than the random cards on WC, though.

Read Handmaid's Tale in the fall and was pleasantly surprised by their acceptance. We're starting Animal Farm this week with a lesson on the Russian revolution which feels like it lines right up. The 11th grade will be reading 1984 soon and I'm not sure how it will go.

Brisk Teaching will do this. I've used it for videos, as well. Just look through to make sure it's correct before you use it!

Thank you - I've been trying to find this information since the news came out. With one in college and one getting ready to go, this eases my mind a little (for now).

We got the message that 7th grade boys were calling each other "Richard" and to send them to the office if we heard it. It's like they think we're clueless about what they're saying.

My 3rd period seniors last year worked their way to being my favorite. When they first came into my room in 10th grade (small school - I teach 10-12), I thought they would be the death of me. By the time they came back as seniors, we had figured each other out and discovered they loved me as much as I loved them. I miss those kids and love when they come back to visit.

• Brisk Teaching for comments on papers. I can upload the rubric (make sure you have a very clear and specific rubric!) and have Brisk bounce the paper off the rubric, giving comments about each piece. After I've read the paper, I go through the comments tweaking them to fit what I want to say.
• I told the students at the beginning of the year that I'm no longer giving specific feedback on grammar/mechanics which has saved me a ton of time!

By doing these things, I've gone from approx 15 minutes per paper to approx 8 min per paper.

I've read it probably 15 times and every time I read it I discover something new. It's like visiting old friends and having them tell you a secret you never knew. There's a reason it's my favorite. Enjoy!!

I teach high school English and use the first line of The Gunslinger when teaching creative writing. It's the only opening line of a book I know because it drew me in so completely.