Best Practices

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English

*THWACK*

What was that noise?

Oh, just your student's dozing head hitting the desk. Again.

Are you looking for a way to jazz up The Great Gatsby? Or make Beowulf less beastly? We've got the tools to help you take your lessons to the next level and keep your students eager for English class.

1. Literature Guides

If you think you know everything about our Lit Guides, think again. You and your students may already be familiar with our summary, theme, and character sections. But wait! There's more! Challenge your students to a quiz-off with our quizzes, use our questions to launch great discussions, and instantly look like a web wizard with our Best of the Web resources.

Check out more ways to use our Lit Guides in your classroom with this handy article.

2. Essay Lab

Wish your students had an essay-writing fairy godmother (who wasn't you on your precious Saturday night)? Shmoop's free Essay Lab is the next best option. Essay Lab walks students through the entire process of writing a spectacular paper, breaking the Herculean task down into manageable chunks, and spitting out—er, gracefully producing—a pristine final product.

Whether your students need help crafting a water-tight thesis statement or are diving in head first to write a killer argumentative essay, we've got the goods.

We have over twenty types of Essay Lab, each with specific tips and examples to inspire your students' best work.

Want more deets on Essay Lab? We've got you covered.

3. Videos

If internet kitten videos are sabotaging your students' productivity (and who among us is immune?), let Shmoop save the day. Our wacky and informative videos will have your students hooked.


From "Features of a Shakespearean Tragedy" to "The Hunger Games Series," we promise our videos will serve up a blend that's equal parts wit and wisdom.

Use 'em as a jumping off point for discussion or as a quick refresher before the final exam. Or, you know, just so you have 3 minutes to go pee when the morning coffee kicks in. More tips for how to use Shmoop Videos in the classroom can be found here.

4. Teaching Guides

Love our Learning Guides? Then why don't you marry them?

Sorry, got into student mode there for a sec. But you can take the relationship to the next level with our Teaching Guides. We've got a Teaching Guide for every book you can think of, and each one includes brain-bending activity ideas, essay and discussion questions, reading quizzes, and specific tips for navigating difficult topics in the classroom.

Find out more about how you can use our Teaching Guides in the classroom here.

5. Courses

If you seriously can't get enough Shmoop in your classroom, our Online Courses were designed with you in mind. Each course provides complete curriculum, is Standards-aligned, and includes intros, readings, activities, and teacher notes for each day's lesson.

Have your students interface directly with Shmoop or just pillage our materials and Picasso 'em back together however you'd like.

Head on over to our article on Courses best practices for more info on using them in your classroom.

6. Common Core

 

Love it or wish you could leave it, Common Core is here, and you'd best know your stuff. Let Shmoop help you navigate the Common Core Standards. We'll translate them into plain English (or Spanish) and point you to Shmoop lessons or resources so you'll know what the dickens we're talking about.

So what are you waiting for? Get the ball Rowling and try something new in your classroom... a la Shmoop. (For more deets, head on over to our article on using Shmoop's Common Core resources.)

7. AP® Test Prep

AP English Literature and AP English Language are some of the most daunting exams on the planet. "How many books am I supposed to read?" "How much analysis am I supposed to be able to do?" Yeah, it ain't easy. Our guides to the AP exam will whip students into shape and get them ready for prime time. Want more deets on using Shmoop AP prep in your classroom? There's an article for that.


Interested in getting Shmoop into your school or district? Email sales@shmoop.com and let our Sales Shmooperstars know who you are and what you're looking for.

Just have a question about something in Shmoopland? Hit us up at support@shmoop.com. It's kind of gross how often we check our email, so we'll get back to you in the blink of a cursor.

AP is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.