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Part of a Legacy: Ahsoka Tano and Trauma Responsive Education
Hello readers! I had a wonderful time presenting at DePaul University’s Pop Culture Conference! I had lots of wonderful questions and feedback from the audience, and I am so thankful for Emily Strand and Dr. Amy Sturgis as they supported me and encouraged me to share this topic. I also want to extend a HUGE
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Review: “Melkor, Moon Letters, and Menelmacar: Middle-earth in the Science Classroom,” by Kristine Larsen
Astronomer and physicist Dr. Kristine Larsen has frequently written about the connections between Tolkien’s fictional cosmology and modern astronomy, but this chapter, found in Approaches to Teaching Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” and Other Works, edited by Leslie A. Donovan, focuses specifically on Larsen’s pedagogical approaches in her physics and astronomy courses. Though the
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“Time in Teaching” Part 4: Authors as Educators and Practical Lessons for Non-Fictional Teachers
A Guest Post Series by Dr. Joseph Torres, Ph.D. Dr. Joseph Torres, Ph.D. is a a mathematician; a teacher of math, science, and music at a classical Catholic high school; a philosophy student at Holy Apostles College and Seminary, a former literature student at Signum University; an amateur theologian; a lover of Catholic liturgy; a
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“Time in Teaching,” Part 2: T.H. White’s Merlyn
A Guest Post Series by Joseph Torres, Ph.D. Merlyn the Architect To explore Merlyn’s teaching style and decisions as they related to his reversed timeline, we will first explore White’s purpose in having Merlyn live backwards in time. According to La Jeunesse, White’s novel is “a literary science experiment in which White attempts to engage
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Time in Teaching: Merlyn and Morgan as Anachronistic Educators, Part 1
A Guest Post Series by Joseph Torres, Ph.D. Educators use their personal histories and past experiences to develop methods to teach their students to conquer new problems. This implies that an educator for whom the past and future are mingled or confused might teach in a different way from teachers with traditional relationships to time.
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Teacher With Magic- Marie Prosser
Hi friends! I’m so pleased to present another Teacher With Magic! This is a fun exploration of how to blend fantasy and science in the classroom! A big thank you to Marie for her participation. And remember, if you would like to participate in this informal survey, you can click here for the original form.
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The Science of Reading is Magic!
In the last few years, the Science of Reading has gotten attention from schools, school board members, curriculum designers, and literacy teachers all across America. Some call it the latest buzzword or fad, while others say that it’s essential for reading instruction. For the last twenty years, it has been the subject of critical studies
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Happy 2023!
Happy 2023, Followers! I’ll admit, it was a tough year at Teaching With Magic. I had a lot of changes happen over the course of the year, but many of those changes were wonderful. My son, my Little Smauglet, came into the world, and I’ve spent the last year trying to keep up as he
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Disney’s Obi-Wan Kenobi and Teacher Burnout
Once upon a time ago, I promised that I would write an updated Teacher Feature on Obi-Wan Kenobi after the release of the Disney show. However, after watching the show, I decided to take a different route. There were some ideas and themes that met my expectations for the show, but there were others that
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Teacher Feature: Obi-Wan Kenobi
I’ve been sitting on this post for a little while, but I’m happy that I’m excited that I am finally presenting it to the public. This is my initial analysis of Obi-Wan Kenobi as a teacher and Jedi master, as presented in the Original and the Prequel trilogies. As the quintessential Campbellian mentor figure, Kenobi
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Clay Deveau: Teacher With Magic
Hello, everyone! Welcome to Teaching With Magic’s newest post segment, TEACHERS With Magic! These posts will include survey answers from real classroom teachers who have used fantasy and science fiction in their classrooms. You can find the survey here if you’d like to participate! Today’s teacher: Clay Deveau Subject/Age Range: Reading Interventionist- Kindergarten through 5th
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The Second Age, Part 3: We Did It, and So Can You!
The Final Piece of a 3 Part Segment on The Second Age of Middle Earth! Here’s how you can use our strategies in your own classroom.
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The Second Age: Part 2
Activating prior knowledge is a critical skill when teaching new material. Here’s how we used the story of The Lord of the Rings as a scaffold for introducing the Second Age material from the Alkallabeth and The Unfinished Tales of Middle Earth. (Image Credit: Ted Nasmith’s “The Return of Aldarion”
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The Second Age of Middle Earth: Preparing for “The Rings of Power” and other entryways into Tolkien’s Legendarium
“Rings of Power” is on its way! Read about our pedagogical approaches in our SPACE courses and how we introduce the Second Age of Middle Earth to new readers.
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New! Teachers With Magic!
Hello friends and followers! Are you a teacher who loves fantasy? Are you a teacher OF fantasy? I want to hear from you! I’m researching how teachers in the primary world use fantasy in their classrooms. Are you a science teacher who teaches environmental sustainability with hobbit houses? Are you a history teacher who uses
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We’re Back!
Hello, friends and followers! It’s been a crazy couple of months here at Teaching With Magic. No sooner did I finish my final Masters Thesis at Signum University when my son decided to come into the world a good three weeks early! Since then it’s been a whirlwind of diapers, nursery rhymes, and finding our
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Series Theory: An Examination of the Modern Fantasy Epic
I am delighted to announce that yesterday I have completed the necessary requirements for my Master of Arts in Language and Literature at Signum University! It’s been a hectic couple of months here at Teaching with Magic, between tutoring, teaching, and writing this thesis! Soon, my son will be making his grand debut, but I
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“Music of Middle Earth,” “The Council of Elrond” and the Magic of Multimedia
How do we foster creativity in the classroom with art and multimedia? Read about my use of creative projects, fanart and multimedia, and film adaptations to make connections with the text. Art by Alan Lee, “The Council of Elrond.”
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Teacher Feature: Gandalf
Expert teacher, or expert troll? Why leaving students to their own devices can sometimes be the best lesson.
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Fall 2021 Class Offerings!
Fall is here, and so the school year begins! Many states and countries are still up in the air in their responses to COVID 19, leaving many parents unsure of how consistent their child’s education will be. Luckily, with my classes, your child will receive flexible yet consistent rigor in their learning and have fun
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Here’s What’s Coming…
What’s next for Teaching With Magic? Find out today!
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Teacher Feature: Luke Skywalker
Hello, new readers and followers! Thank you for your support! One of the ways that I engage in pedagogical practice is to take notes on how other teachers use various strategies to engage their students. In the Primary World, that involves observing real teachers in real time. In my Secondary blog World, however, I like
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Digital Recovery at the Prancing Pony… Podcast… Moot!
Oh, what a joyous springtime it has been, dear readers! As the sun begins to shine more warmly upon our faces and blissful summer approaches, I look back on this past year and what it has meant for me as an educator and as a student. I’m constantly in awe of the things that my
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New Updates!
Hello, followers! It’s been an exciting few months here at Teaching With Magic! I’ve been spending a lot of time the last few months creating fun, accessible literacy based curriculum for my one-on-one preschool and elementary students. Many of them are only just learning how to read and it’s been exciting to watch them grow
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Reflections of Book Club
This post revisits my online fantasy book club pedagogy and provides new critical insights as I reflect upon my process.
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Planting Linguistic Seeds with Tolkien: Part 3
A Guest Post Series with James K. Tauber James K. Tauber is a philologist, linguist, and software developer who works with scholars around the world using computers to better understand languages and texts. This is the third of three guest posts, based on a presentation given at New England Moot in 2019, on how Tolkien’s
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Planting Linguistic Seeds with Tolkien: Part 2
James K. Tauber of “Digital Tolkien” reveals how Tolkien’s fictional writing systems and languages highlight significant patterns in the English language.
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Planting Linguistic Seeds with Tolkien’s “The Hobbit”
What are some ways to get children invested in language and linguistics? James Tauber of Digital Tolkien explains how in this guest post series!
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Video: “Potter Pedagogy” at The Chestnut Hill Harry Potter Conference, 2019
Last year, I wrote to you about the Chestnut Hill Harry Potter Conference and shared my experiences in presenting my paper on active learning models at Hogwarts. Here is my presentation in full!
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Teacher Feature: Master Yoda
Today’s Teacher Feature veers away from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, onward to a Galaxy Far, Far Away… Lucas’ exploration of the wise, old mentor archetype (as described by Campbell’s Hero’s Journey Cycle) has brought us a few role models and figures that Star Wars enthusiasts have respected, debated, and compared for the past
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Book Clubs… Online??
We know and love that book clubs work. They are a wonderful way to get your friends together and talk about your favorite stories. It is beautiful to think that the book that is so closely tied to your heart is shared with a group of common minded people, a group that can be as
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Announcement: Fantasy Book Club Series on Outschool!
Hello readers! I’m very excited to announce that I’ve listed my first Book Club on Outschool! Outschool is a platform for kids ages 3-18 to take courses on their favorite subjects. It’s great for children who are home schooled or want to learn more about their favorite topics. This summer, I’m starting my Fantasy Book
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The Other Side of Remote Learning
This Isn’t Exactly an Ideal Situation “There are too many equity concerns to grade remote work fairly.” “Remote learning just doesn’t work. Kids need to be in school.” “My kids don’t show up or turn in their work.” “I miss my kids too much, I want to see them again.” For the past two months,
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Teaching and Working from Home: Adapting Education and Online Learning Models
Teaching online is a brave new world in this current climate. School closures and government mandates have led administrations to scramble to provide effective online education to their students. But what is effective online education?
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There Are No Limits to Imagination
Today’s post is an informal reflection of a concept that I have been wrestling with for a few weeks. It is a concept that is implicit to many of you who read my blog, and to many of my colleagues and fellow researchers who work in the world of fantasy literature, and even education. Imagination
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Book Review: “The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child” by Donalyn Miller
Donalyn Miller’s “The Book Whisperer” is an incredible journey from a teacher who instills a love of reading in every student who has come her way.
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Teacher Feature: Severus Snape
Many fans are conflicted with their feelings about the Potions Master, Severus Snape. Up to Book 7, we see him as a bully and a murderer, until it is revealed that he has been playing double agent out of love (or guilt, however you choose to see it) for Lily Evans Potter. Whatever his intentions
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Holiday Reading Challenge
There are times when I wonder if insomnia is a blessing or a curse. Recently, it’s been a bit of both. My semester at Signum is over for the present, and the lack of sleep (as well as a decent commute to work) has given me the opportunity to get quite a bit of reading
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Scholarship in the Potterverse
Hello friends! I’ve been battling a nasty cold for the past few days, and it has left little room in the brain for thinking. Therefore, today’s post shall simply be the sharing of a wonderful podcast episode from “Reading, Writing, Rowling,” in which I participated in a panel of interviewed scholars after the conclusion of
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The Case for Dramatic Play
Recently, I’ve been getting a lot of questions from parents who are interested in my company’s Preschool Prep program and who see this idea in various preschool programs. They ask me, “What is Dramatic Play, and why is it necessary in preschool programs?” “Why does my son’s classroom have such elaborate play centers?” “Why does
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The Pedagogies of Earthsea, or Ways to Become a Wizard.
A few weeks ago, my classmates and I voyaged together through Ursula K. LeGuin’s A Wizard of Earthsea for our Modern Fantasy class. This was my very first foray into LeGuin’s world of the Archipelago, and I am still amazed at her smooth storytelling. Through the eyes of the arrogant young Ged, we learn what
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Badger Business: Badgers in Children’s Literature in the 20th Century
Last week I had the absolute pleasure of presenting at New England Moot on a topic that I have found near and dear to my heart- badgers! Badgers, in addition to being absolutely adorable, are also the unsung heroes of anthropomorphic literature. Throughout 20th and 21st century children’s literature, they have consistently been featured with
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Happy Mooting!
Shawn Marchese said it best in his debrief of Tolkien 2019: “here’s a word we use in our community a lot: fellowship. We often use it slightly tongue-in-cheek (like precious), but it really does characterize the Tolkien community in a very important way… All of us… are Tolkien fans, first and foremost, and that makes
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Book Review: Stephanie Affinito’s “Literacy Coaching”
I’m always reading- whether it has to do with reading strategies, wizards, neuroscience (occasionally) , or unicorns, I am ALWAYS reading. To that end, I’d like to post some book reviews to share not only what I’m reading, but also why it is important to the work I’m doing as a literacy teacher and overall
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The Case for Audio Books: “Magic” to their Ears
One of my favorite memories of my childhood is of our cross country road trips as a family. My Dad is a history buff and loved taking us to Civil War memorials and American Revolution reenactments. We would stuff the car with snacks, coloring books, water, and toys to keep us company. During that time,
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Motivation- It Can Be an Aggravation!
Tips and tricks on motivating your child to read.
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Coming Soon: Pop Culture Conference 2024!
May the Force be with me on May Fourth, because I will be presenting at DePaul University’s Pop Culture Conference of 2024! It’s been such an intense year- between parenting a toddler, working as a full time teacher, AND producing the podcast has left little time for academic writing (as you can tell by the
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