Each month, we share five things we love as part of our Footnotes Newsletter. Take a look at some of our favorite English language arts resources, articles, and more we found in March!

1. Hands-On Figurative Language Activities for Your High School Class

Want to change the way you teach figurative language? English teacher Heather Cianci has some ideas for you. These activities ask students to identify examples of figurative language in texts and apply their knowledge of figures of speech to their own writing. Visit her blog to see them all!

2. Teaching with Equanimity: 5 Practices to Help You Stay #Unbothered

Whether it’s students misbehaving, unexpected schedule changes, or receiving the dreaded parent email, there are a number of reasons why teaching isn’t always a walk in the park. But how you react to these situations can make a world of difference. In this article for Truth for Teachers, Jay Benedith explains how cultivating equanimity can help you better process potentially stressful teaching scenarios.

3. Lesson Plan: Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wall-paper” & the “New Woman”

A classic, “The Yellow Wall-paper” offers a scathing critique of the role of women in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s era. Get students acquainted with the historical background of Gilman’s story with this free lesson plan created by EDSITEment, a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

4. It’s ‘Alarming’: Children Are Severely Behind in Reading

Even before the pandemic, American students' reading skills were declining. Now, new data has revealed that those levels have gotten worse in the wake of COVID-19. In this article, New York Times reporter Dana Goldstein explores the reasons why children are falling behind and what some educators are doing to build up crucial reading skills.

5. Reviewing EVERY classic I’ve read, ONE SENTENCE each.

Finally, our last link this month takes us to YouTube, where vlogger Leena Norms shares her opinions about some of the classic books she’s read over the years. Classics fan or not, you’ll surely get a good laugh at some of her reviews!