Dystopain book stack + The Shallows Of all the dystopian texts I’ve taught to my grade 11 and grade 12 English classes, none has been so impactful on students as Ray Bradbury’s prescient novella, Fahrenheit 451, with its volatile protagonist, the fireman Montag. I find it to be a good mix of reading length, density (its style is quite poetic and uses imagery in fascinating ways), and real world relevance. It’s more personal than George Orwell’s 1984, which has extended discou

Vince Cancilla earned his Specialized Honours B.A. in English Literature at York University, and his Masters of Education with...

Did you ever have a teacher who had a mug that was essentially an extension of their arm, an omnipresent fixture in hand or on desk, and seemed to have a life of its own — something classic or kitschy, or perhaps campy, or from some far distant land or time? Every teacher needs to have one of these favourite mugs — not only for the mug itself, but because of the life-and-energy-giving heavenly nectar it contains, much needed fuel for the hard task of teaching. For me, that me

Imagine watching a movie of your life — would you see yourself as the hero of the story? While that's our usual experience, there are many types of characters in a story — the Villain, the Mentor, the Guardian — and so on. But what do they all have in common? They all have an origin story. My origin story begins in Jane and Finch in Toronto in the 1980s (the best decade for cartoons and candy!). I grew up in government housing in a magical place called 20 Yellowstone St, a pl

Do you want to master techniques for reading and writing poetry? Then this new lesson series from Aslan Academy will be the perfect fit. Much of the power of great writing comes from using rhetorical and figurative devices that enhance the beauty of a written text. Often, the marriage of form and content reveals deeper levels of meaning, and the relationship between them highlights important thematic emphases. In this series, you can learn the basics of poetry and figurative

What is the true cure for the mad disease of racism? Is the current trend in society to "woke politics" actually any form of real solution for the corruption of the human heart? Harper Lee's monumental novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" provides an alternate approach to this perennial human problem. When legal systems and politics fail, it is the innocent love and empathy of a child — Scout Finch — that often destroys the monstrous power of discrimination and prejudice. Explore th

Are you teaching Shakespeare and need some activities to help students analyze characters? Check out our new Symbolizing Characters activity package for Shakespeare's "The Tempest", complete with Teacher's Guide and activity sheets for 5 major characters: Prospero Miranda Ferdinand Ariel Caliban. Also includes Suggested Answer Keys for each character! Making Shakespeare personal and relevant can sometimes be challenging, as the historical context creates a distance from the

Welcome to Aslan Academy! Aslan Academy's vision is all about recovering the human in humanities. We provide creative, critical, and conceptually rich curricula for teachers, specializing in teaching products for high school English Literature and Language Arts and the Humanities. We seek to equip teachers with quality content that will enable them to take their teaching to the next level. That means our teaching products are complete and in-depth, giving you everything you n