The cure for "I hate poetry!"

Your students (and maybe even you) might cringe at the word poetry. For many, poetry feels like finding the hidden meaning the poet worked so hard to hide from the reader. If poetry confuses your students, they’re likely to avoid it altogether.

In Whispering in the Wind, master educator Linda Rief... more

There's no denying that television is a forceful presence in students' lives. Yet in writing classrooms the assumption is often that television is only an obstacle to teaching critical print literacy. Little careful attention has been paid to exactly how television influences the ways in which students write, or how their experiences with television might be used to help... more

While actors may be the heartbeat of a theatrical performance, the director is its soul. Whether you're directing a comedy or a drama, under a marquee or under an oak tree, as the director, you're responsible for coordinating and scheduling every aspect of the show, and you're the one who gives it its energy, professionalism, and sense of purpose.

In The Theater... more

In 1967, Hair launched a revolution. It rejected every convention of Broadway, of traditional theatre in general, and of the American musical specifically. It paved the way for the nonlinear concept musicals that dominated American musical theatre innovation thereafter. It also launched the careers of such actors... more

Lenore Kelner draws on extensive experience as a classroom teacher and a director of her own educational theater company to encourage all teachers to utilize creative drama techniques.

—The Story Bag Newsletter

The Creative Classroom provides teachers in grades PreK-6 with a number of creative drama strategies for use in the classroom,... more

Do your math students offer one- or two-word responses in class?

Do your carefully planned lessons feel unsuccessful? “I’ve tried everything,” you think. “Shouldn’t math be a little more engaging?” Ilana Seidel Horn understands your frustration.

Participating in math class feels socially risky to students. Staying silent often feels safer.... more