Register for the 2024 Pelican Book Club!
Visit the Pelican Book Club page inside membership to sign up for this year’s Zoom webinar link! The official reading schedule has also been posted.
What should the Pelican Book Club read in 2024?
Please take a moment to answer this 5-question survey about the future of Pelican Book Club!
New Teacher Guide: The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco
Looking for the perfect picture book to kick off your school year? Whether you are teaching lap-sitters or reacquainting high school students with the principles of literary analysis, Patricia Polacco’s The Bee Tree is a wonderful reminder that the treasures of a book are worth the persistence it takes to find them! And now you can download Missy’s new teacher guide on Polacco’s classic as an aid for your discussion:
Psst! Would you consider purchasing this book through one of our affiliate programs to help support our work? CenterForLit earns on your qualifying purchases from Amazon and Bookshop.org. Read our full disclosure statement here.
Pelican Film Club: The Princess Bride
Now that we’ve read William Goldman’s classic novel, come join us as we discuss his equally classic 1987 screenplay adaptation, directed by Rob Reiner. Pelican Film Club will be reconvening on Thursday July 6th at 4:00pm Pacific!
September Office Hours Conversation
All too often, the amazing hopes and dreams we had at the beginning of the school year crumble to pieces when they brush up against the reality of daily life. On Thursday September 29, Adam and Missy will be in the forum talking about how to find freedom in the midst of overwhelm by focusing on the basics.
**Going forward, all Office Hours discussions will take place inside the Pelican Forum. At 12:00pm Pacific Time, Adam and Missy will open a thread with a question, and offer some of their own meditations on the subject at hand. They will then check in regularly over the following 24 hours to answer questions and respond to Pelican contributions.
Office Hours Rescheduled for July 21st!
This month, we’re sharing tips and tricks for enjoying good books together as a family. What are the benefits of reading together? How do you find titles everyone will enjoy? And how do you keep everyone engaged? Join the conversation Thursday July 7th at 12:00pm Pacific!
New Teacher Guide: "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Where can true contentment and happiness be found? Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy are intent on finding the answer as they come of age in 19th century New England. A new teacher guide is now available inside membership for Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel.
Replay – Office Hours: Tools for Idol-Builders
How can we tell when a perfectly good activity has turned into an identity project, causing us to place our hope and worth in something besides our Creator? And what’s to be done if we’re already far down that road? In this discussion, we’ll be sharing hope and tools for those desperate to enjoy the good things of this life as gifts instead of opportunities for self-justification and condemnation.
Office Hours Replay – Dealing with Troubling Content
How do we handle potentially troubling or offensive content in the books we read? What makes content dangerous, and how do we know where to draw the line? Our students are sure to rub up against ideas that make us uncomfortable at some point in their reading. How can we be sure we and they are equipped to handle it when they do?
Take a peek at the 2022 Office Hours schedule!
The 2022 Office Hours schedule is here! Office Hours is a live, monthly webinar meetup where Pelicans gather to discuss practical tips and relevant issues for the literature classroom. We’re excited for our 2022 lineup, which includes conversations about grading and writing, as well as matters of faith and educational philosophy.
Visit the Office Hours webpage to sign up for discussions you’d like to attend!
Discuss Terrence Malick! 🍿
Film Club is wrapping up the year with a discussion of Terrence Malick’s retelling of the Pocahontas story! In Malick’s contemplative style, this film provides a surprisingly poignant meditation on love and marriage.
Upcoming Office Hours!
On Thursday November 18th at 12:00pm Pacific / 3:00pm Eastern, we’ll be casting vision for leading a poetry discussion in the same way Teaching the Classics presents Socratic discussion for narrative fiction!
October Office Hours
This month in Office Hours we’re offering tips for creative writing! Join us on October 21st at 12:00pm Pacific / 3:00pm Eastern as we talk about the writing life, what it takes, and how to encourage students interested in pursuing it.
Pelican Forum Under Construction...
Hello, everyone! Our membership software updated over the weekend and broke the code that was holding our forum to the website. This means you may have trouble logging into the forum. We’re on the case and will have it back online ASAP!
Come discuss Shakespeare with us!
The Pelican Book Club will begin discussing Shakespeare’s famous depiction of the battle of the sexes on Monday August 30th. Come join us for a rollicking good time!
New Teacher Guide! Dante's Divine Comedy
In our most expansive teacher guide to date, Missy Andrews leads an exemplary Socratic discussion of the great Christian and Italian epic – Dante’s Divine Comedy. Covering all three books (Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso), she suggests divine love as the lens by which to guide students into this important work. Whether you are preparing to teach this title, or simply want to explore it for yourself, you will find this Teacher’s Guide an enthralling read!
Replay - Pelican Film Club: The Great Dictator
Listen to our discussion of Charlie Chaplin’s classic film, The Great Dictator!