Name: Rikki Carr
School District: Northwestern School District, PA
Subjects Taught: English

How do you use Shmoop?

I am leaning pretty hard core on Shmoop this summer as I prepare for teaching my first ever AP course: Literature and Composition (super excited!). I also encourage my students to use Shmoop to enhance comprehension—especially on novel units, like The Scarlet Letter and The Jungle, which are pretty teenager-resistant, and for SAT test prep. I use Shmoop to help me prepare direct instruction for regular lessons, especially the poetry. I love how Shmoop goes line-by-line!

What's your favorite Shmoop product?

It's hard to choose, but I'd have to say the reading quizzes. If you can break it down into contemporary language and "get it," then, well, you've got it.

(P.S. If you wanna be like Rikki, reading quizzes are included in every Literature Learning Guide and Teaching Guide.)

What is the coolest experience you've had using Shmoop?

One of my students, who I thought was going to be a real challenge because of attitude, used Shmoop as a tool—not a replacement—and she just bloomed, way beyond what I could ever hope for! Her success—not only on tests but in how she was able to participate in discussions, make connections to other pieces (not only in English class but in history as well), and make connections on her SAT essay—was exactly why I teach.

What's the last book that made you laugh out loud?

The Martian by Andy Weir.

Any secret talents?

Rikki knows every word to Gloria Gainor's "I Will Survive," and we can only hope that she sings it dramatically into a hairbrush every morning.

Here's to more hairbrush singing, AP prep, and successful students. Congrats on being a Shmooperstar educator, Rikki.

Do you know a Shmooperstar educator who should be featured on Shmoop? Have them apply. Or, you know, nominate yourself.