The Teaching ELA Podcast Trent

Foreshadowing in literature is hints given by the author of what will happen later. To demonstrate mastery of foreshadowing in literature, students must achieve five levels of understanding:They must be able to define foreshadowing – Level 1 is simple memorization. It is possible for students (or even a really smart monkey) to recite the definition without understanding it.Students should be able to identify foreshadowing – Level 2 eliminates the monkey. It shows the ability to apply the defi...

“Masque of the Red Death” is one of those stories that became more relevant around March of 2020 with the Covid-19 pandemic. Plagues and pandemics have not only been a part of human history, but in many cases they have changed history. We are fortunate today that we have communication and medical capabilities that limit the effect of pandemics and disease. So despite the disruption to our lives and the personal tragedies some of my listeners may have faced due to Covid-19, I think it’s ok to ...

Caesar has ample information to ascertain there is a viable threat against his life, so why does he not heed these warnings?It’s because of pride. He thinks he’s untouchable. He thinks that his decrees carry the force of god.How are we like Caesar? Do we listen those who are “beneath” us or do we think we’re too good to listen to the advice of our students, our colleagues, and others? If so, we may be setting ourselves up for a huge downfall, hopefully nobody’s going to stab you, but we may b...

Why teach foreshadowing in Literature?Teaching foreshadowing in short stories may cover the following Common ELA Standards. RL.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary...

Charles Dickens’ father was a pay clerk in a navy office. Because of financial difficulties, the family moved about until they settled in Camden Town, a poor neighborhood in London, England. At the age of twelve Charles worked with working-class men and boys in a factory that handled "blacking," or shoe polish. While his father was in debtor's prison, the rest of the family moved to live near the prison, leaving Charles to live alone. This experience of lonely hardship was the most significan...

Today’s quote comes from David Copperfield, a novel I first read in college when I was going through my read everything by Charles Dickens phase. Young David Copperfield meets Mr. Micawber who has many a problem with money; that is, he has no ability nor desire to manage his money well, always incurring debts and never able to pay them off, landing him eventually in debtors' prison. By the way, if you’ve seen the movie that came out a couple years back, Mr. Micawber does not get the kind...