Sounding like Shmoop?

For some unknown reason, this primarily elementary school person has been spending time learning about resources for middle and high school. Most of the sessions I attended at NCTIES were related to middle or high school, and I have spent the first three days of this week at either a middle or a high school. I wonder if someone is trying to tell me something ...

In the workshop I did today, I asked teachers for resources they thought would be useful to other teachers so I could include them in a teacher resource my school system provides. After one session, a teacher asked me if I had ever heard of Shmoop. I had to tell her that was one I had not heard of (and in my mind I was wondering about the site based on the name). That teacher said that site was shown to them last year, and when she starts a lesson series on The Odyssey, she visits Shmoop. She showed me that Shmoop has learning guides and teacher resources. According to the website, it is a collections of "lively learning guides by experts and educators."

For The Odyssey, I found information on the characters, quotes, themes, assignments/activities, setting, analysis, music/video/photos, as well as a summary and even more. They are even sections on certain types of quotes (ex. lies and deceit quotes). When I kept looking, I found a section of the challenges, pitfalls, and opportunities of teaching The Odyssey and with a guide to the Homer writing style in The Odyssey. Wow!

Here are the Popular Learning Guides listed on the site:

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
2. The Scarlet Letter
3. The Crucible
4. To Kill a Mockingbird
5. The Great Gatsby

6. Beowulf
7. Catcher in the Rye
8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
9. Love the Way You Lie
10. American Revolution

Here are the New Learning Guides listed on the site:

1. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
2. Titus Andronicus
3. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
4. Sound and Sense
5. The Wanderer

6. Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister
7. To Brooklyn Bridge
8. To the Virgins
9. Teaching The Aeneid
10. Teaching The Tell-Tale Heart
11. Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones

There are areas in Shmoop devoted to Literature, Poetry, Shakespeare, Best Sellers, US History, Civics, Economics, Biography, Music, Pre-Algebra, as well as exam prep and College 101. I was impressed by the high levels of information and background building materials to support critical thinking and analysis skills.

image from the shmoop site