Women’s History Month – What’s New About Sexual Harassment?
Handmaid’s Tale- Characters and Current Events Literature and Life The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is a particularly effective text in a unit on WOMEN'S HISTOR, DYSTOPIA or one linked to CURRENT EVENTS. I've found the unit to be more engaging when I asked to the students to look for…
POETRY-African American History Month Project
Celebrate Cultures February is a great time to incorporate an oral language component into your lessons and invite students to memorize and recite a poem by an African American poet. This assignment lists several to get you started. To increase confidence and decrease apprehension, give the students the grading criteria…
Inspire Curiosity
Getting Them Into a Book Are you familiar with the INTO, THROUGH and BEYOND strategy for teaching text? Looking for something that can work in a single period to get students into their next book? Here’s an idea may work for you this Spring. Distribute the book. Invite students to…
Which is Which?: Sorting Stories into Meta-Plots
Another Way to Review What fun to have students review stories read during the first semester and try to sort them into categories based on meta-plots. Invite students to sort stories into seven basic plots of fiction, based on writing by Christoper Booker. Overcoming the Monster Rags to Riches The Quest…
Advertisement Analysis Assignment
Persuasion - Advertisements One way to introduce students to the power of persuasion and to show them evidence of logical fallacies is to have them analyze advertisements in print and digital media. You can have students write and post their analysis or present their findings in a speech using visual…
Non-Fiction Picture Books for ELA Classes
Picture Books and Common Core A significant component of the many state standards is the reading non-fiction informational texts across the curriculum. Here are ideas to get you started incorporating non-fiction to support and expand your lessons in English Language Arts. Use these books to help establish context for both fiction…
Books for Boys
Perhaps, because so many elementary and middle school teachers are female, the books on our standard reading lists tend to appeal more to students of that same gender. Not sure if that's the case, but admittedly teachers of young men in all grades recognize that our male students often are…
GETTING INTO A TEXT
Take a Random Walk Ask students to write on a piece of paper any ten numbers between the first and last page number of the book you are using. For example, 3,7, 27, 59, 78, 87, 115, 143, 205, 212 Then instruct them to turn to those pages, skim the paragraphs…
Collected in the Summer for Use All Year
Tips for Teaching Here are some interesting links, ideas, and video you may find useful as you plan lessons to engage your students. Some will just be fun, others intriguing, some even challenging to you and your students. I'll add to it as I find new treasures. Enjoy! Simple Way…
Non-Fiction Text Features
Non-Fiction Text Features Here's an efficient way to introduce/review the concept of text features with your students using slides, a short video, a check list and copy of their textbook from science or history. 1. Show the Text Features Slide that points out different features one may find in non-fiction…