Year: 2026

If you’ve ever wondered why some tests feel like checkpoints and others feel like final judgments, you’ve already noticed the difference between formative and summative assessment. These two types of assessment are at the heart of how teachers measure learning — and understanding them can change the way you teach, study, or support a child in school. Summative vs formative assessment is one of the most searched topics in education, and for good reason. Teachers want to use the right tools at the right time. Parents want to understand how their children are being evaluated. Students want to know what to expect. This guide breaks everything down in plain, simple language — with real classroom examples, practical strategies, and honest advice from over a decade…

You walk into a classroom — or log into an online session — and within the first few minutes, students decide something important. They decide whether they trust you. Whether they believe you know what you’re talking about. Whether they’re going to invest their time and attention in what you have to say. That decision is about authority. And if you want a long, successful career in English teaching, learning how to build authority as an English teacher is one of the most important skills you can develop. But here’s what many teachers get wrong. Authority is not about being strict. It’s not about having the most impressive resume or the longest list of qualifications. Real teaching authority is earned through consistency, clarity, genuine expertise,…

Have you ever asked a class what a dove represents and gotten blank stares in return? Or tried to explain why the green light in The Great Gatsby isn’t just a light — and watched confusion spread across every face in the room? If so, you already know the challenge. Symbolism is one of the most important literary concepts students need to understand, but it’s also one of the hardest to teach well. I will show you exactly how to teach symbolism in a way that makes sense, sticks in students’ minds, and actually makes reading more enjoyable. Whether you’re teaching in a physical classroom or online, whether your students are in middle school or high school, this guide gives you real strategies, activities, and…

If you’ve ever stood in front of a class of 12-year-olds holding a copy of Romeo and Juliet, you know that look. Eyes glazing over. Confused frowns. The silent panic of a student trying to decode “What light through yonder window breaks?” You’re not alone. Teaching Shakespeare to middle school students is one of the most rewarding — and most challenging — things an English teacher can do. The good news? It doesn’t have to be painful. After more than a decade of teaching Shakespeare in classrooms and online, I can tell you with confidence: middle schoolers can absolutely love Shakespeare. They just need the right entry point. I will show you exactly how to teach Shakespeare to middle school students in a way that’s…

Introduction: Why Close Reading Matters More Than Ever If you want to teach close reading effectively, you need more than a good book and a few questions. You need a clear method, the right activities, and an understanding of what students actually struggle with. Close reading is one of the most powerful literacy skills a student can develop. It teaches people to slow down, think carefully, and understand not just what a text says, but how and why it says it. Whether you are a classroom teacher, a parent helping your child with homework, or an ESL learner trying to improve your English comprehension, learning how to teach close reading will change the way you approach any written text. In over ten years of teaching…