by Kelly Keene When I was a first-year teacher, the excitement of starting my first school year with my own classroom came with a side of stress and anxiety. The amount of work it takes to set up a new classroom from scratch, in a very limited timeframe, pressures most new educators to get their … Continue reading Another August
Lesson Ideas
Paradox
by Kelly Keene I love to think about paradoxes, and collect oxymorons on a list in my phone. We get to consider the power of the paradox when we read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice with the 12th graders, and I like to point out how oxymoronic language can often que readers into complex texts … Continue reading Paradox
River and Drum Syntax Lesson
I was first introduced to this lesson by the South Coast Writing Project (SCWriP) in the summer of 2014 out of UCSB. I've used it in my classroom many times over the past ten years and it always helps students think differently about sentence length and complexity. It's a great lesson, challenge or quick write … Continue reading River and Drum Syntax Lesson
Don’t Stop for Death; An Analysis of Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop For Death”
by Kelly Keene The one certainty we know in life is that at some point, it ends. This is a scary thought for many. Even billionaires, with all the wealth and power they possess, cannot thwart death itself. Emily Dickinson, in her poem Because I Could Not Stop For Death paints an image of Death … Continue reading Don’t Stop for Death; An Analysis of Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop For Death”
Mask Up!; An Analysis of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask”
Written by Kelly Keene Public scorn and ridicule can be brutal. Subtle microaggressions might also feel like daggers if you don’t fit in, or are a part of a marginalized group. When we marginalize people, sometimes they adapt by pretending to fit in. Sometimes, that is easier than standing up to the violence of prejudice. … Continue reading Mask Up!; An Analysis of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask”
Light’s Dance at Dawn; An Analysis of Alvin Feinman’s Poem “November Sunday Morning”
by Kelly Keene I stayed late at work last week, and it felt like such a grind. Especially now, that the days get darker sooner. My reward was the magnificent November sunset. I got to witness its fiery oranges and pinks it all the way home. Light takes on a life of its own this … Continue reading Light’s Dance at Dawn; An Analysis of Alvin Feinman’s Poem “November Sunday Morning”
A Reckoning of Memory; An Analysis of Indran Amirthanayagam’s “The City, with Elephants”
by Kelly Keene Elephants have incredible memories. They form tight-knit communities, and are even known to mourn their dead, and remember them seasons after they’ve passed. In Indran Amirthanayagam’s poem The City, with Elephants, he uses the image of “the elephants of reckoning” to describe a city with a disconnect between its working and privileged … Continue reading A Reckoning of Memory; An Analysis of Indran Amirthanayagam’s “The City, with Elephants”
A Guiding Star: An Analysis of “To a Star Seen at Twilight” by John Rollin Ridge
By Kelly Keene To a Star Seen at Twilight by John Rollin Ridge is a poem about inspiration. The speaker, a solitary observer, pauses to look at the first star to appear as night begins to fall. Twilight, the last vestige of light before the total dark, blocks out all stars except for the brightest … Continue reading A Guiding Star: An Analysis of “To a Star Seen at Twilight” by John Rollin Ridge
Dear Captain Carter
What would have happened if Lydia Bennet kept in touch with one of her earlier interests, Captain Carter? Today, in my AP English Literature and Composition class, we wrapped up Volume 1 of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Students discussed which characters they liked or didn't like, and we had a quick write that challenged … Continue reading Dear Captain Carter
Kelly Keene 