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

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…

Sensitivity to Holidays

Writing About the Holidays The holiday season, for many, extends from November through February.  Families will be celebrating Diwali, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and the New Year at various times during these months. Writing about holidays is a wonderful way to share cultures in words, pictures, and music.  Yes, holidays also…

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…
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