GilTeach
1,518 Followers
Rutledge, Missouri, United States
About the store
After sixteen years in the classroom--taking risks, researching new methods, and working hard to figure out how to teach my students to think for themselves--I know what works.
I have written my own curriculum for over 25 books; I have prepared students for the MCAS, SAT, and AP tests; I have helped hundreds of students write successful college essays.
If you want to learn how to find success in just about any kind of writing; if you want to learn how to approach a challenging text and understand it; if you want to learn why studying English is so much fun and really worth your time, I can teach you what you need.
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Programs & methods
Media Bias & Digital Media Literacy Unit: Reliable, Credible Sources v Fake News
Want to teach your high school students how to stop the spread of fake news? It's essential that teens learn the skills they need to evaluate sources, but they can't truly decide if a source or website is biased or trustworthy with a checklist. In fact, when the famous Stanford study on Students' Civic Online Reasoning was repeated in 2019, they found that students who had been taught to use a checklist like the C.R.A.P method for evaluating sources could be misled "by focusing their attentio
8th - 12th
English Language Arts, Informational Text
CCSS
RI.9-10.1
, RI.9-10.2
, RI.9-10.3
+15
Personal Narrative Writing Unit for High School: Essay Writing, Prompts, Rubric
Looking for a comprehensive narrative writing unit that will take your students from inspiration to finished product? You want your students to become better writers, but it’s not easy to give them the instruction that will actually improve their skills. Simply explaining what good writing is or giving students worksheets to fill out about characteristics of writing won’t get them anywhere. In fact, it will only teach them that they are “bad at” writing and that there is no point in trying to i
9th - 12th
Creative Writing, English Language Arts, Writing
CCSS
W.11-12.3
, W.11-12.3a
, W.11-12.3b
+5
Harlem Renaissance Unit: Art, Music, Lit. | African American Literature Unit
Tired of superficial resources on the Harlem Renaissance that just go through the motions when it comes to adding diversity to your plans? So often, in an attempt to study more than dead white males, teachers seek out texts by people of color. But lacking the time or energy to really engage in the research required to plan a great unit, they incorporate a few lackluster biographies and add some short pieces to their plans and leave it at that. The addition of those inane powerpoints, superficial
9th - 12th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Literature
CCSS
RL.9-10.1
, RL.9-10.2
, RL.9-10.3
+52
The Crucible Unit Act 1, 2, 3, 4 Quizzes, Questions, Activities Honors, Standard
Do you want your unit on The Crucible to inspire independent thinkers who see the play’s relevance to their own lives? If your students’ experience of Miller’s classic play involves filling out meaningless worksheets, sitting silently while you give powerpoint lectures, or waiting for you to explain the play to them, you’re doing them a great disservice. You're encouraging them to accept your answers rather than seeking them out themselves. In fact, by giving your classes the message that their
9th - 12th
English Language Arts, Literature, Writing
CCSS
RL.11-12.1
, RL.11-12.2
, RL.11-12.4
+18
Elements of Poetry Unit High School: Poetry Terms & Elements, Literary Analysis
Need your students to understand how poetic elements create meaning in a text? So often, students are able to identify and define, but they don’t fully understand why literary elements are important or why they are such an essential part of literature. The kind of instruction that focuses on memorizing definitions kills the joy in literature and only serves to make students see English class as a boring waste of time. But when students understand that literary devices are a wonderful way to add
9th - 12th
Close Reading, Literature, Poetry
CCSS
RL.11-12.4
, SL.11-12.1
Twelfth Night Unit | Shakespeare | Standard, Honors, AP Literature & Composition
Tired of students groaning and rolling their eyes whenever they hear the word “Shakespeare”? Reading a Shakespeare play is challenging for students—but flashy handouts and cute classroom decor will not teach your students the skills they need to read, understand, or enjoy the Bard's work independently. When students misbehave, put their heads on their desks, or just stare vacantly into the distance, it’s not because they aren’t capable of understanding Shakespeare—it’s because they are aren’t gi
9th - 12th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Writing
CCSS
RL.11-12.1
, RL.11-12.2
, RL.11-12.3
+9
The American Dream Unit: Literature, Film, Poetry, & Synthesis Essay Writing
Tired of only teaching dead white males in your American Dream unit?The pursuit of the American Dream is a classic theme in literature, but often, when students only examine canonical texts, they get a limited understanding of it. The reasons why the American Dream is not always attainable for all are complicated, but if your lessons don't include texts and sources from people of color, your students will lack depth of understanding. This diverse unit will engage your students with powerful p
9th - 12th
Close Reading, Literature, Writing
CCSS
RL.11-12.1
, RL.11-12.2
, RL.11-12.4
+15
Growth Mindset Activities High School: Growth vs Fixed Mindset Quiz & TED Talk
Looking for some engaging no-prep activities to introduce your classes to growth mindset? Teachers know how important it is to teach students about growth mindset, but it’s not enough to hang some posters or teach them some popular catch phrases about effort. This kind of well-intentioned instruction will only lead to students who feel bad about themselves and are a challenge to teach. Growth mindset is more than just a belief in effort. Students need to understand the brain science behind the
9th - 12th
Character Education, English Language Arts, Informational Text
CCSS
SL.11-12.1
, SL.11-12.1c
, SL.11-12.1d
+1
The Great Gatsby Unit & The American Dream | Differentiated Standard & Honors
Tired of superficial resources on The Great Gatsby that just go through the motions when it comes to truly examining the important questions? Why do we lie to ourselves and others? Should we do everything for love? What is the American Dream? How do factors such as race, class, or gender help or hinder people from achieving their dreams? Fitzgerald’s classic novel is classic for a reason—in this short, lovely text, he asks some of the biggest questions of our times. But you need to make sur
9th - 12th
Creative Writing, English Language Arts, Literature
CCSS
RL.11-12.1
, RL.11-12.2
, RL.11-12.3
+24
American Literature Full Year ELA Curriculum: High School English 10th 11th 12th
Looking for a full-year American Literature curriculum that will engage your most reluctant learners while still challenging your most advanced honors students? Spanning American literature from Puritans to young authors writing today, this truly diverse curriculum has differentiated plans for honors and standard level classes. From the Salem Witch Trials to the Harlem Renaissance, from Puritan sermons to Indigenous poetry, from personal identity to public myth, and from the legacy of slavery t
9th - 12th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Writing
CCSS
RL.9-10.1
, RL.9-10.2
, RL.9-10.3
+65
72 High School Poems: Poetry Units 9th 10th 11th & 12th Grade English Curriculum
Tired of students groaning and rolling their eyes whenever they hear the word “poetry”? You can’t really be surprised they act this way when they’ve been lead to believe that reading poetry means trying to figure out some inane, irrelevant puzzle. And when they’ve only experienced poetry written by old white men who died one hundred years ago, it’s no wonder that they are bored out of their minds. On the other hand, poetry units that are billed as fun and entertaining are often just flashy, v
9th - 12th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Poetry
CCSS
RL.9-10.1
, RL.9-10.2
, RL.9-10.4
+37
Puritan & Colonial American Literature | Salem Witch Trials | Anne Bradstreet
Want to teach a Puritan literature unit that will get your students engaging independently with texts, making connections to contemporary issues, and excited to discuss essential questions that really matter? From their world view to their religious beliefs to their daily life, the people of the early colonial period lived lives very different from those of contemporary Americans. The texts included in this unit will give students a glimpse into those lives. Three of the pieces included in thi
9th - 12th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Poetry
CCSS
RL.9-10.1
, RL.9-10.2
, RL.9-10.4
+22
Cognitive Bias | Implicit Bias | Identifying Bias | Critical Thinking Activities
Tired of students who are afraid to think for themselves? If your goal is to open your students’ minds, to get them to think critically, to help them become more receptive to new ideas, or to show them the importance of examining the evidence before jumping to conclusions, you’ll need this resource. These informative and engaging lessons on cognitive bias will challenge your students to consider fascinating questions about the way that the human brain works. Why is it that when people are face
9th - 12th
English Language Arts, For All Subjects
CCSS
RL.11-12.1
, RL.11-12.2
, RL.11-12.4
+14
Walt Whitman & Emily Dickinson Introduction to Poetry Unit: Graphic Organizer
Looking for an effective, practical guide to teach students to analyze poetry independently? So often, students get the message that poetry is “hard” or “boring,” and it’s no wonder they believe this when they are expected to sit passively while their teacher lectures them on the true meaning of a text. The kind of instruction that bestows knowledge on students creates passive learners who feel disempowered, frustrated, and learn to hate poetry and literary analysis. I have spent many years tea
9th - 11th
Close Reading, Literature, Poetry
CCSS
RL.11-12.1
, RL.11-12.2
, RL.11-12.4
+7
Danger of a Single Story TED Talk, World Literature Short Story, & Irony Writing
Want your students to learn real empathy? All over the world, people are becoming more divided, more fractured, and more out of touch with other human beings. If we want to go forward together to solve the problems that we face, we need to come to a deeper understanding of others as full human beings. Now more than ever, it is vitally important encourage your students to become more compassionate citizens who will take care of one another in the future. Studying Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s fab
9th - 12th
Close Reading, Creative Writing, Literature
CCSS
RL.9-10.1
, RL.9-10.2
, RL.9-10.3
+29
Six Word Memoirs: Fun High School Creative Writing Unit | Prompts, Revision
Looking for a fun lesson to get your students playing with writing, revising their work, and learning more about their classmates? Too often, short writing activities either feel like meaningless busywork or push students into major assignments before they’re ready. Reluctant writers shut down, stronger writers get bored, and you’re left wondering if the activity taught anything useful about writing. This standards-aligned, low-key activity changes that. Because students start with their own e
9th - 12th
Creative Writing, English Language Arts, Writing
CCSS
W.6.3
, W.6.3b
, W.6.3d
+32
18 High School Short Story Units: 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th Grade English Curriculum
Want to empower your students to think for themselves—without drowning them in worksheets?Too many short story units turn reading into an exhausting, overwhelming, unproductive mess: pages of low-value questions, box-checking tasks, and work that looks busy but teaches nothing. When students start to believe that “English class” means filling out packets or sitting through lectures, they stop trusting their own ideas. They stop taking risks. And they stop reading with curiosity. But it doesn’t h
9th - 12th
Close Reading, Creative Writing, English Language Arts
CCSS
RL.9-10.1
, RL.9-10.2
, RL.9-10.3
+44
Shakespeare's The Tempest Complete Unit: Race, Gender, Class, & Colonialism
With themes ranging from colonial oppression to romantic love, from art to slavery, and from family betrayal to the beauty of nature—this play offers so much to explore. But if you want your classes to get excited about reading this challenging text, your students will need to be excited to delve into the book and feel empowered to tackle the difficult language on their own. You’ll also need to help your classes to make connections between their own lives and those of these fictional characte
9th - 12th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Literature
CCSS
RL.9-10.1
, RL.9-10.2
, RL.9-10.3
+45
Harrison Bergeron Questions for Close Reading & Discussion, TED Talk, Activities
Want to inspire your classes to engage in healthy discussion and speak out against injustices? Students are bombarded on a daily basis with the message that it’s better to go along to get along, and that conflict is scary and to be avoided. They are led to believe that their voice isn’t important, especially when fighting against forces that are more powerful than they are. Believing this message can lead to a generation of future leaders who feel powerless and hopeless and do nothing to make t
9th - 12th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Short Stories
CCSS
RL.9-10.1
, RL.9-10.2
, RL.9-10.4
+16
27 American Dream Poems: High School Poetry 10th, 11th, & 12th Grade English
Want to immerse your students in the diversity of this country by studying engaging poetry together? Your students will learn so much when they explore the essential questions of American Literature with these ready-to-go lessons. A collection of questions on 27 poems, spanning from Puritan poetry to the 20th century, this bundle will provide you with over a month of rigorous, engaging, and ready-to-go lessons. The themes explored in these units--materialism, love, race, family dynamics, class
9th - 12th
Literature, Poetry, Writing
CCSS
RL.9-10.1
, RL.9-10.2
, RL.9-10.4
+28
Showing 1-20 of 262 results
About the store
Experience
After sixteen years in the classroom--taking risks, researching new methods, and working hard to figure out how to teach my students to think for themselves--I know what works.
I have written my own curriculum for over 25 books; I have prepared students for the MCAS, SAT, and AP tests; I have helped hundreds of students write successful college essays.
If you want to learn how to find success in just about any kind of writing; if you want to learn how to approach a challenging text and understand it; if you want to learn why studying English is so much fun and really worth your time, I can teach you what you need.
Teaching style
One of the best pieces of advice that I ever received as a teacher was that at the end of the day, the students should have worked harder than I did. I don't do the "sage on the stage" lecture. Instead, I empower students with the skills to find their own answers. In the end, what they've learned is to think for themselves.
My own education history
I have a MA from Stanford in English Literature and a BA from Barnard College, also in English literature.
Additional biographical information
After many years as a public school teacher, I have moved my family to a rural eco village. When I'm not busy homeschooling my kids, I am hauling water to our off-grid home or meeting with neighbors about how best to work together.
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