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, podcasts, and more we found in May!

1. Who Decides What’s in the Dictionary?

Have your students ever wondered how new words get added to the dictionary? Teach them the process with this fun lesson by TED-Ed! Show your students the quick video about the history of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, then have them answer the accompanying questions to test their comprehension.

2. How to Turn Any Review Activity into an Engaging Experience

Need a quick way to make reviewing information from your lessons fun? Rather than ask students to simply answer questions at their desks, why not try setting up activity stations around the classroom? In this post, Christina at The Daring English Teacher explains how she uses stations to promote student choice, collaboration, and critical thinking.

3. 7 Takeaways from This School Year That Simplify Teaching from Now On

No matter if you taught remotely, in-person, or somewhere in between, this school year has probably changed the way you work. In this episode of the Truth for Teachers podcast, Amy Stohs, a teacher from Virginia, discusses the lessons she’s learned from teaching during the pandemic and what teaching strategies she plans on employing in the future.

4. High-Quality Video Games Can Rival Good Books

Aside from being entertaining, video games are also a great medium for exploring narrative and literary techniques, as explained by educator Hubert Ham in this article for Edutopia. Read on to learn how to use student-friendly video games in the classroom to supplement traditional literature units.

5. The Legacy of Robert Frost

Known for his traditional approach to poetry, Robert Frost is considered one of America’s most famous poets. His work, which was often inspired by New England life, continues to be studied in classrooms today. To celebrate the 97th anniversary of Frost’s Pulitzer Prize win, Lisa Fink has gathered several teaching resources for exploring his poems in this post for the NCTE blog.