Experience Poems and Pictures (2019) – Four Versions!
Poems and Pictures to inspire writing and create more art. EXPERIENCE POEMS AND PICTURES combines original poetry, pictures of artwork by diverse teens and adults from the United States and Sri Lanka, with prompts for viewing and writing about artwork and exploring poetry to create new art. The poems, written…
Versing Life Together
Join us for writing poems and responding to the poetry of others. The month of April is POETRY MONTH. We will be borrowing prompts from ETHICAL ELA (a website hosted by Sarah J. Donovan), here. Respond to the prompts, post yours in the COMMENT section. Day One: PROMPT BY SARAH…
African American Read-In
Reading Together Anywhere My book was recommended for the The National African American Read-In Sponsored by the Black Caucus of NCTE and NCTE In February 2020, you may hold an African AmericanRead-In event any day of the month February 1-Friday, February 28, 2020 Schools, churches, libraries, bookstores, community and professional organizations,…
Pulling Ideas Together
Writing Better Essays One useful strategy for getting started is to permit students draft in first person and then revise to third person. When they realize that they are invited to present their own ideas, reflections, observations, the students tend to relax a bit and write more honestly about the…
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…
Colors Call Out to Us
Colors call out to us in nature and in advertisements. Help students understand the symbolism of colors as it relates to their feelings, as well as why different colors may entice them to behave certain ways, believe certain things, and buy certain products and services. What they learn in these…
Ted Talks for Middle School Speech
Amy Cody suggests these TED Talks for use in Middle School and says, "I used these for a speech unit to point out various techniques used in a speech- but my 8 graders really got into all of these." Consider them for speech classes and also as springboards for writing…
Hispanic Heritage Month – Day FIVE – Challenge to Write
Day Five - Day of the Dead (Dias de Los Muertos) Hispanic Heritage month, September 15 -- October 15 is a time of year to pause and reflect on the rich history, heritage, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino (LatinX) Americans to the United States. The goal this week is to…
Hispanic Heritage Month – Day FOUR – Challenge to Write
Day Four: A Spine Poem (Un Poema de Columna Vertebra) Hispanic Heritage month, September 15 -- October 15 is a time of year to pause and reflect on the rich history, heritage, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino (LatinX) Americans to the United States. The goal this week is to…
Hispanic Heritage Month – Day THREE – Challenge to Write
Day Three – Inspired by an Artist (Inspirado por us Artista) Hispanic Heritage month, September 15 -- October 15 is a time of year to pause and reflect on the rich history, heritage, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino (LatinX) Americans to the United States. The goal this week is…