Each month, we share five things we love as part of our Footnotes Newsletter. Dive into our March 2024 edition to discover the latest English language arts resources, articles, and other gems that we think you should see!

1. Lines on the Court, Lines in the Poem: Poetry Analysis and March Madness

The frustration of missing free throws in basketball games led educator Shelby Boehm to reflect on the pressure students feel when analyzing poetry. Just as her dad's coaching helped her improve her accuracy outside of games, Shelby realized students needed a low-pressure way to approach poetry analysis. Inspired by March Madness brackets, she developed March Poetry Madness to encourage informal discussions and build confidence in students' analytical skills. See how she put this plan in motion at the NCTE Blog!

2. From Lyrics to Literary Devices: 3 Excellent Songs to Analyze Irony

One of the best ways to learn about literary devices is to see them in action! At Nouvelle ELA, educator Carina Assayed believes music can be a great medium for exploring different techniques while making lessons engaging and enjoyable. In this example, students can dissect lyrics from three popular songs across genres to examine different forms of irony.

3. Learning Science Might Help Kids Read Better

It’s been said that the more background knowledge a student has about a topic, the better they’re able to understand texts about it. Seems pretty straightforward, right? The problem lies in how students gain that background knowledge. This article by The Hechinger Report looks at recent studies on the issue and examines how adding more science and social studies lessons to the curriculum may improve overall reading comprehension.

4. Restorative Practices: Nurturing Relationships While Addressing Teacher Burnout

Restorative practices have gained recognition for creating supportive learning environments. However, actually adopting these practices can be emotionally demanding for teachers, leading to burnout. So what’s the solution? Jenna at Musings from the Middle School has some ideas.

5. AI can do your homework. Now what?

It’s been more than a year since AI chatbots like ChatGPT entered mainstream conversation. In that time, education has been irrevocably changed as more students are using chatbots to do the thinking for them. But is it possible to use chatbots responsibly? In this insightful video by Vox, teachers and students share their thoughts on AI’s impact on the learning process, looking at both the pros and cons of the technology.