13 Unique Sources of Inspiration for English Teachers

Professional Development and Inspiration

In 13 years of teaching, I estimate that I have read To Kill a Mockingbird about 1 million times.

I can recite parts of Julius Caesar unprompted.

With a glance, I can predict what feedback a student needs on their writing.

And I know exactly where to fast forward The Crucible movie to avoid any nudity.

These are just some of the skills you pick up as an English teacher. Over the years, teaching tried-and-true texts helps you perfect certain skills. You learn important hangups for students and know where to anticipate misunderstandings. You refine resources, assessments, and lesson sequences.

However, sometimes that gets old. After you’ve taught a lesson three or four dozen times, you begin to wonder what you’ve already said. Did I use that example with this class? Or was that the previous class? Or was that last year?

To keep from having too many of those experiences, it’s important to keep things fresh. Sometimes that means cycling in new resources, upgrading old ones, trying new strategies, or introducing new technology. For me, reading helps keep me inspired and curious. That’s why today I want to share 13 unique sources of unique inspiration for English teachers.

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Staying Inspired

Staying up-to-date on new trends and research in education is a full-time job. No one could possibly read (or pay to read) every new study, survey, or data set. Instead, it’s helpful to curate a few sources that help you keep up on recent developments without getting overwhelmed. That’s why I recommend these 13 newsletters; they are the perfect, bite-size doses of inspiration for English teachers.

Professional development is another meaningful and hands-on way to find inspiration. While attending professional development provides many opportunities, leading PD can actually be far more valuable. Designing your own PD presentation can be terrifying, but it can also help you dig in to your own beliefs and provides a valuable chance to reflect.

For me, pursuing graduate work has been a source of continual inspiration (and sometimes frustration). Recently, I finished my Ed.D. While the experience had its ups and downs, the challenge definitely helped me level up as a teacher. Read all about my experience and see if advanced degree work is for you!

In particular, two recent articles spoke to my pedagogical heart. They are ideal inspiration for English teachers (and really anyone at any content level).

First, Edutopia published this article about scaffolding. While scaffolding has long been a cornerstone of my instruction, this was such a refreshing article that gave me lots of new ideas to try in my classroom.
Additionally, Edutopia also published this article about multimodal learning, which has not been a cornerstone of my classroom. As I was reading this article, it gave me lots of ideas about how to challenge and stretch myself as a teacher.

Poetry Inspiration

Changing or swapping the poems you teach can be a low-stress way to update instruction. Poems are so short that it’s much easier to make a change here than with longer works like novels. Recently, these resources have caught my attention. They are perfect inspiration for English teachers!

First, Poetry Foundation has put together a collection of Ecopoetry. This is an area of poetry about which I know very little, so it was fascinating to explore! Reading through these texts also helped me put together a collection of texts for Arbor Day or Earth Day.
Similarly, Poetry Foundation also has a collection of Queer Love Poems. While I have taught works from Sappho, Ali Liebegott, Audre Lorde, this is always an area in which I can expand my knowledge. Reading through this collection is also a great inspiration for adding more diverse LGBTQIA+ titles to your classroom library!
Finally, MIT Press published an article about Emily Dickinson’s “letterlocking.” I had never heard of letterlocking before, but the gist is that Dickinson used the structure of sending letters, including the envelopes themselves, to add another layer of meaning to her writing. It’s so clever! Next time I teach American literature, I’m excited to include this detail in our study of Dickinson. Check out my favorite resources for exploring Dickinson’s poetry.

Inspiration for Teaching Writing

For many teachers, teaching writing can be extremely challenging. Teaching writing involves so many skills and layers, and that’s all before you consider how much time it takes to provide meaningful feedback! For this reason, I wanted to share some inspiration for English teachers working in the composition classroom!

First, I’m always looking for ways to incorporate creative writing in my classroom. While few assessments include prompts for creative writing, we know that the more students write (whether formal or informal, structured or creative), the more confidence they will feel and the more quickly their words will flow. For this reason, I really enjoyed this article about using obituaries as a source of inspiration. I think there’s a Halloween-themed writing activity in there somewhere!
Additionally, I also enjoyed reading this description of how analogy factors into our creative thinking. Longform comparisons play an important part in classroom explanations and in great literature, so this was definitely a source of inspiration for English teachers that I wanted to pass on.
This article from The American Scholar is about commas! I found this article absolutely fascinating. I love teaching students about the relationship between grammar and meaning. Check out my favorite resources for helping students practice and explore grammar.

Inspiration for English Teachers

Sometimes there are articles and posts that seem like they were written specifically as inspiration for English teachers!

First, if you teach The Odyssey, you will love these two resources.
- MIT Press published an article about Greek temples that fits right alongside Odysseus’ journey. Pairing this article with “The Cattle” or “Homecoming” would be a great way to help students synthesize across fiction and nonfiction.
- Additionally, the New York Times Learning Network also published a collection of ideas and suggestions for teaching The Odyssey. The suggestions range from nonfiction articles to music playlists and writing prompts, giving more than enough inspiration for English teachers.
- The Odyssey is near and dear to my heart, so I’ve collected all my favorite resources in this ultimate bundle.
Similarly, Folger Shakespeare Library is a great source of inspiration for English teachers!
- First, this review of a Romeo and Juliet graphic novel was surprising, creative, and insightful.
- Second, this podcast episode about Shakespeare’s daughter helped encourage me to think more about feminist criticism of Shakespeare’s works.
- Finally (and I saved the best for last), this article draws connections between Taylor Swift and Shakespeare. Taylor Swift plays a weirdly significant role in my instruction: inspiring the way I teach author’s purpose, introduce literary criticism, and incorporate tortured poets in my classroom.