Planning for Focused Units

Get Off to a Good Start  Consider thematic units that may be drawn from Essential Questions. Once you decide on themes or essential questions for the first unit or marking period, you could ask the students to choose the themes/questions for the subsequent ones.  Almost any piece of fiction/non-fiction can be adapted…

Ignite Writing by Patterning

“There’s nothing new under the sun!” True, but students can be inspired by the old to do something new for themselves. Sounds weird, but that’s exactly what can occur when we invite students to pattern the writing they read.  Students soon learn that close reading, analysis and imitation unleash bursts…

COLORS, ARRANGEMENT AND STORIES

Critical Thinking in Colors and Shapes Colors and arrangements can be used evoke different moods, different personalities, and different feelings.  Spend at least five minutes looking closely at this painting, Nine Colors by Ellsworth Kelly.  1.  What do you notice about the colors and arrangement of these circles on a…

Writing to Learn in Content Areas

WRITING TO LEARN Across Content Areas Now that more schools are considering ways to teach and utilize literacy tools to enhance instruction and increase learning across the content areas, many English Language Arts educators are being viewed as the repository for such strategies.  Remember, while schools are implementing the Common…

Language Arts Resources

General Overview of ELA Resources Welcome to my website. Click on any of the lines to sample explanations, assignments, and other resources to enhance teaching and improve learning.  GENERAL GRADING GUIDELINES General Grading Guidelines for Written Assignments General Grading Guidelines - SLIDES BOOK REPORTS Collage on Common Book or Story…

Prep for Semester Exam

Prepare Now to Assess  Begin now and ensure that your students will be ready to do well on the semester exams.   First, write in your own words specifically what plan to measure.  Consider these ideas.   (1) How well students recall what you’ve taught about ______________. (2) How well…
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