October Celebrations
More than HALLOWEEN Learning about and celebrating the cultures of others is a wonderful reason to write. And, October is a great time to start. For many, October is a time for Harvest Festivals, an ancient celebration revived in many church and community groups as an alternative to Halloween; or…
Hispanic Heritage Month – Day TWO – Challenge to Write
Day Two: Honor a Leader (Honrar a un Líder) 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 expand…
Hispanic Heritage Month – Day ONE – Challenge to Write
Day ONE – A Salute to Hispanic Stories (Un Saluda a las Historias Latinas) 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…
Hispanic Heritage Month
Hispanic Heritage Month What an exciting time to feature the contributions of LatinX Writers, Speakers and Movie Makers! Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with culturally relevant texts, video, and speeches that give students opportunity to expand and explore their emerging ELA skills. Read about Historically Significant Events then invite students to share what they've…
Remember 9/11 While Teaching ELA
Reading and Viewing, Writing and Talking About 9/11 Here's link to resources to use as you stay on track teaching ELA skills while honoring those men and women who stepped in to assist those in need and the civilian and military leaders who work so hard to maintain domestic and…
Students Starters Enhance Teaching
Student Starters in Virtual Setting Now is a good time to plan on releasing more responsibility for learning to your students. The first quarter/semester is when you model reading and writing strategies, making, connections, incorporating a wide variety of examples in your own instruction, and also informing the students that…
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…