This school year, the English department created many new course offerings for juniors and seniors, providing students the opportunity to select classes that are interesting to them. PHS students now have thirteen ELA options for their English credits once they have completed Composition I and II. One of these options is a True Crime class taught by Ms. Lively. This is only a semester class, yet Ms. Lively has come up with activities for her students to learn and also have fun while doing so. 

One of the activities she came up with was to have a Public Enemies Dinner Party. All the students randomly chose what their role would be: Law enforcement, Politician, Criminal, and Social Reformer. Once they had these roles, they got to choose from a handful of people that were in each role. They had to research their person and answer questions as this person. The students also had the option to bring in food/snacks for the class. When we sat down to eat, the students in each group go to ask questions while everyone was in character. 

This is only one of many fun activities the teachers have made for these new classes. Ms. Lively also teaches American Surrealism. This class is all about the gothic side of literature. They read books like “The House of the Seven Gables” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” They also did an escape room activity where they answer questions from their readings. The first group to finish this got a piece of candy and a high five. 

Mrs. Lively’s favorite literature is gothic literature which explores the intense emotion and terror of writing. Two of her favorite authors are Anne Rice and William Faulkner. She said she chose to create the True Crime class because she knew it was a course that would be popular among students.

Ms. Lively, a seventeen-year veteran teacher at PHS, makes a thirty-minute drive to and from Farmington, where she lives, every day. Ms. Lively said, “ I’ve been teaching state-tested classes since day one. I’m glad for the new classes I get to teach.” She picked American Surrealism because she loves gothic literature and gothic authors Anna Rice and William Faulkner, and picked True Crime because it’s popular among students. Mr. Anderson who co-teaches with Ms. Lively said, “Ms. Lively is one of a kind teacher who puts her students before anyone else, and is willing to do whatever she has to for her students.”