There are a few considerations you should make while looking for good childrens books. You must first confirm that the books are suitable for your childs age.
Are you looking for ELA extension activities? Here are 25 ideas for classroom activities for teaching literature.
I've written about Teaching Channel before, and I'll be writing from time to time about a particular great idea I've found there. If you haven't already joined, remember that it's FREE, and signing up takes less than a minute! One of the many great Tch video clips shows middle school teacher Meagan Berkowitz teaching a poetry lesson using the SIFT Method - Symbol, Imagery, Figurative Language, and Tone or Theme. It's less than 5 minutes long, and well worth watching to see her interaction with her students, and the focus they have on the poems they are reading while using bookmark cue cards. Close analytic reading is an important feature of the Common Core; here's a tool for you to try out to see if it fits your needs! Besides the bookmark, you are given the lesson plan, a copy of the two poems used, and a transcript of the lesson. If you're a language arts teacher, you're all set to try this lesson yourself, or to adapt it to your grade level! And don't forget to "pin" the lesson by clicking "Save this in my Lesson Planner." (A note: there is a typo on the SIFT bookmark that you'll want to change before printing - "attitude and author" should be "attitude an author." I changed it in the image above. Since it's an open Word document, it's no problem!)
Do you hate to teach poetry? Do you want your students to learn and enjoy poetry? Try these simple ways to learn how to teach poetry...
By The Daring English Teacher When teaching a novel, I love to mix things up and throw in a fun, creative, or collaborative activity that engages students as they analyze and interpret the novel’s theme, characters, symbols, or conflict. This allows me to enhance my students’ understanding of the novel, and it gives them a break from the day-to-day routine of reading and reviewing that often accompanies novel studies. Providing students with fun and engaging, yet still rigorous, activities enhances their understanding and fosters a love of reading. Here are three fun activities that you can easily incorporate into any novel study. This is one of my favorite, go-to collaborative activities. Collaborative posters are a great way to review key concepts, analyze symbols and motifs, and brainstorm for essays, and they require little planning. Before class starts, write one character, symbol, setting, motif, or element from the novel in pencil in the corner of each paper. When class begins, have students form groups of 2-4 students, and provide each group with one of the pieces of paper. Then, instruct your students to record the item, information, and quotes from the book on the poster. For this assignment, you can focus on the author’s use of symbols within the novel. You will select a variety of symbols in the novel and assign the symbols to different groups. It is okay if multiple groups are assigned the same symbol. Instruct each group to title their poster with the symbol, write as many details about the symbol as they can think about (this includes what it stands for), and record up to two different quotes illustrating how the author uses the symbol in the novel. I recently did this activity with my Romeo and Juliet unit, and it was a hit. The students were prepared for their essays, and they developed a deeper understanding for the play. Once students are done with the posters, display them throughout the classroom and have the students complete a gallery walk recording the information. This activity is great because it requires students to analyze their assigned topic, while at the same time reinforcing the importance of collaborative work. Even better, this activity gets students up and moving! As an alternative to making posters, this assignment also works very well with post-it notes. Simply provide your student groups with multiple post-it notes, and have the groups write information on the post-its. Then, have students post the notes on the board for the gallery walk. This option is especially beneficial when you want to have a gallery walk, but do not have the time for making posters in the classroom. You can also read about collaborative brainstorming ideas in this blog post. A fun and creative character analysis project you can complete in your classroom is a mock job fair in your classroom. To prepare for this activity, students either select or are assigned a character from the novel. They assume the role of this character and create a resume for this character listing strengths, accomplishments, and skills. To prepare for this activity, I usually teach students about resume writing, provide them with a list of power verbs, and give them a resume template. After students create their resumes, I host a mock job fair in my classroom for one day. During the mock job fair students are assigned to one of two groups, and the groups rotate between interviewer and interviewee. The students assigned to the interview role are given a set of interview questions to ask their candidate. As the candidate responds, the interviewer records the responses. After the interview is over, the students switch roles. This is one of my favorite activities for my Of Mice and Men unit because the students get to explore the characters on a deeper level. Once the activity is over, students write a brief argument piece about whether they would hire that character for the job. After I read an essential chapter with my students, I like to take a day or two to reflect on the reading, analyze what happened, and make sure that my students understand the importance of what they just read, and a creative comic strip assignment is ideal for this. One of the best times to assign this activity is right after a major conflict or at the peak of the story so that students can really analyze the novel's conflict. I like doing this activity with my students when we read Fahrenheit 451 because it helps them understand the conflict more. When assigning a comic strip assignment, make sure students focus on more than just drawing pictures by requiring them to include quotes from the novel as their dialogue. In addition to quotes, students should also write narration, cite their quotes in MLA format, and dedicate an entire box to the novel’s conflict. You can download this FREE, EXCLUSIVE resource to use in your classroom with your next novel study! For more fun, yet rigorous, activities that you can use with any novel study, check out my Novel Unit. This resource is 99 pages and is filled so many activities that you can use them throughout the year for multiple novel studies. From introductory activities to use before reading, to differentiated writing prompts with built-in scaffolding to use as you read, to post-reading cumulative assignments, and everything in between, this novel unit is my go-to resource when I'm in a pinch and need an activity. Click HERE to check out this resource. Here are some additional resources to help you teach the novel! The SuperHERO Teacher - Workbook for Any Novel Unit Study Grades 7-12 Addie Williams - Novel Study Package - Use with ANY NOVEL Presto Plans - Assignments for Any Novel or Short Story Secondary Sara - Chapter Study Guides: Student-Made Activity for ANY Novel
Use different sentence frames to increase text connections. Help students
Teaching realistic fiction genre study? Start by explaining the elements. Then read short stories. Finally, ask kids to write their own!
Some of you may know that I have the mother of all multi-level classes this year: 6th-12th grade, 1st-7th year Spanish. I asked parents and students for grace during the first few weeks as I figured out how to meet everyone’s needs, and they did. We are now finishing up week four, and I have a…
A multiple choice quiz after reading is a quick and easy way to check student comprehension, but it doesn't allow you to assess deeper understanding and it certainly isn't fun or creative. If you are looking for more meaningful and engaging activities to use with students during literature circles or a novel unit, here's twelve ideas that are favorites in my classroom and the Common Core standards they align with.
This blog post explores innovative and engaging lesson plans for any novel unit... ranging from task cards to book instagram pages to a novel podcast project. Student choice is key here, and students can find something they would like to complete in order to convey their reading, comprehension, and
Very complete worksheet. How To Write an Essay guided notes: paragraphs, information, grammar, style, adverbs, usage, background, catch the interest, spelling, organization, thesis, verbs, v
Are you required to teach a list of vocabulary words each week? This list of vocabulary activities will help teach students to read!
January is rolling along and my kids (both my school and actual kids) are finally readjusted to our routine after winter break. While in real life, I find January-March the three most difficult months to
Full of fresh ideas, diverse pairings, and helpful resources, engage high school students with these fun activities for teaching Beowulf!
Our Poem Types Poster is a great educational resource that will help you create relevant and engaging English Literature classrooms.
Literature Circles Anchor Chart- Teach your students the fundamentals of successfully participating in a literature circle with this anchor chart!
We’re well into week three of our Tomie dePaola author study and knee deep in Strega Nona’s world! My class has fallen in love with the characters in these books. Their folkloric quality, Big Anthony’s bumbling, Bambolona’s brusqueness and Strega Nona’s endearing ways have captured their hearts and their attention. We began this part of […]
Graphic organizers are an essential tool for differentiating and supporting all students in your classroom. This pack includes 100 graphic organizers that can be used with any fiction books or reading passages. If you are looking for a paper and digital version, click here! This resource is packed full of a wide variety graphic organizers to practice skills and strategies needed while reading fiction! These organizers have been thoughtfully aligned to the ELA Common Core for Grades 1-6. Take a peek at some of the fiction graphic organizers in the preview! WHAT'S INCLUDED: *100 Reading Fiction Graphic Organizers Total* Topics (More detail included in Table of Contents in the product preview): • Story Maps • Plot Diagrams • Setting • Character Traits • Analyzing Characters • Character Relationships • Conflict/ Problem & Solution • Sequencing • Theme • Cause & Effect • Compare & Contrast • Summarizing • Using Text Evidence • Using Illustrations • Dialogue • Using Reading Strategies • Vocabulary • Using Context Clues • Point of View • Book Response • Ending Extension • Protagonist vs Antagonist • Round vs Flat Characters • Retelling • Character Perspective • Types of Conflict • Reading Strategies (Recently Added) • Making Predictions (Recently Added) • Visualizing (Recently Added) • Asking Questions (Recently Added) British/Australian spelling also available upon request by e-mail to [email protected]. Just e-mail me with your order number and I will send them along! This product is also discounted as part of these bundles: Fiction Digital and Paper Graphic Organizers Bundle Reading Comprehension Strategies, Nonfiction & Fiction Graphic Organizers Bundle Digital and Paper Reading Comprehension Strategies, Nonfiction & Fiction Graphic Organizers Bundle More Graphic Organizers: Nonfiction Graphic Organizers More Fiction Reading Resources: Fiction Reading Crafts Fiction Word Wall Fiction Posters & Anchor Charts ⓒ Raise the Bar Reading
Check out this awesome set of engaging, 1st Grade Math and Literacy Worksheets. Practice Math, Grammar, Writing, and so much more in a fun way.
A lesson plan! A lesson plan! My kingdom for a lesson plan!
People often find the distinction between metaphors and similes a difficult concept to master. Teaching these subjects using fun activities makes the challenging topic easier to learn. These activities do not take much preparation, but get your whole class or group involved. Be sure to provide your students with lots ...
Reading Response activities will likely form a major part of your reading programme, whether you are running guided reading groups, a daily 5 system,
Do you struggle with finding interesting ways to teach ESL listening skills? Maybe you have an activity or two already but you want to be able to mix it up and keep things interesting. By the end of…
20 weeks later and "A Stick Figure Macbeth" has finally come to an end. In case you're just joining me, here's what happened during the past 20 weeks:
The Georgia Department of Education English Language Arts division has its very own Twitter account and has been hosting a weekly series this academic school year of “Twitter takeovers”…
This is a short, illustrated timeline of the history of the English language.You can use it for discussions, games, or as a classroom poster.Source: https://bilingualiesae.wordpress.com/2012/10/20/timeline-of-the-english-language/ - ESL worksheets
Hi everyone, My little learners have been working SO hard on their reading these past few months and I am VERY excited to show what what they have been up to!
Reading can be a hard sell for students. Introducing middle school literature circles can be the game changer your classroom needs to foster reading.
I have to admit - I was never a fan of poetry. In the words of my students, I just didn't "get it." That all changed my junior year of high school. I had what in most of my classmates' minds was the toughest teacher in the school. She certainly wasn't "warm and fuzzy," but she pushed us and challenged us. I fell in love with poetry in her class because she was able to open my mind to it. Sign of a great teacher. When I told my students that we will complete a unit on poetry this year, there were groans aplenty. That just wouldn't do for me - so I worked to create a poetry unit that they would be excited about. We started out reading a lot of funny poems (Shel Silverstein was a favorite), but we also read a lot of classic poems by Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and Langston Hughes. The Langston Hughes poems worked SO well since we were studying the Harlem Renaissance in social studies. Cross-curriculum instruction at its best! I taught them the parts of a poem and rhyme schemes, and we had poetry readings - snaps and all! Lots of fun was had by all, but I just wanted them to go a little deeper. Since I only fell in love with poetry once I was able to fully understand it, I had to teach my students to do the same. Cue annotation. I think as teachers of elementary students, we are often a little apprehensive to introduce concepts like "annotation" because they are still young and you just never know how students will perceive a difficult concepts. They ALWAYS manage to surprise me! To teach annotation, I introduced the poem, The Wind Began to Rock the Grass by Emily Dickinson. The students read the poem to themselves, and then I read it out loud to them. Of course, when I asked them what they thought the poem was about - many were unsure. I told them that we are going to annotate the poem, gave them the definition, and then we dived right in. I read the poem stanza by stanza again, but this time we defined words, asked questions, and made comments on the left hand side. On the right side of each stanza, we wrote a one sentence summary. As we defined words, we talked through the words and used context clues. It's amazing how intuitive fifth graders are. They can always figure out the meaning of a word (even though they don't always believe in themselves). We worked through the first three stanzas together, and then I let them complete the last two on their own. As you may guess, they excitement began to build as the poem drew to a close. The light bulbs went off, the choirs began to sing, the end of the tunnel was in sight...you get the idea. Students were SO EXCITED about the fact that they now understood the poem so clearly! This certainly ended up being one of those "it worked!" lessons. Here is another example with the poem, A Bird Came Down by Emily Dickinson. The next day, I asked students to work in partners and gave them a new poem to annotate. I was very impressed with their work, and they were able to see the purpose of annotation and understand why it helps them become better readers and writers. I learned a good lesson too: start annotation at the beginning of the year! :) I use a PowerPoint Lesson and Interactive Notes to teach this entire unit. The lesson teaches students how to annotate slide by slide! Happy Teaching!
Hello Friends. This seems like the common theme among bloggers these days.... neglecting their poor little blog. School has started in full swing and sports and homework have taken over our house...mainly my living room. Every spare moment that I've had has been dedicated to finishing my 2nd grade Houghton Mifflin: Theme 2 unit on TPT. I've had such a great response to Theme 1 that I decided to make the next theme. When I first started taking on this HUGE project (Theme 1 took 200+ hours!!!) I told myself that I would decide to create the next themes by judging how well the sales go for the current theme. I mean, I do love creating resources but it has to be worth my time, too. Well, I've gotten really great responses from it and people even asking for theme 2!!! Wow! I was seriously humbled to think that my resource would be used in so many different classrooms. I mean, YOU think your resources are good, but will others? Ok, more on this resource later. Today I am linky up with Doodle Bugs for her Five For Friday Party. Okaaay.... I KNOW that I'm a little A LOT late, but better late than never, right? :) I'm gonna zip right through #1-4 so that I can spend some time on #5. You'll see. :) 1. Kids went swimming A LOT this week! It was nice to stay cool! 2. Went to the beach on Monday for Labor Day. SO fun!! 3. Short work week since Monday was a holiday! I job share so I only worked Tues and Wed. :) 4. My sweet mother in law took my little girl overnight so that I could get some TPTing done and finish my crazy long unit (260+pages!!!). Which brings me to #5..... Why yes. I WILL skip a line to write #5 because it deserves it. I want it to be all alone to highlight my next TPT product. (drum roll pleeeease.....) 5. JUST last night, I finished my TPT unit that I was just talking about in the beginning of this post. I am SUPER excited because this theme is PACKED with cool projects and activities that make learning FUN! Here are some snapshots of what is inside this unit: Click on the image to take you to my store There are word wall resources for every story in this theme: Vocabulary concentration card game. Story unscrambling and sequencing activity Take it to summary writing A neat class book to store student samples of compound words with templates included. I saw this at a teaching workshop over 10 yrs ago and I cannot remember from who. If you know, please let me know so that I can give credit where credit is due. A SUPER fun fishing game to teach soft/hard g sounds. A backpack activity where students decide what they would take to go camping. These are the items they can choose from. Students then write a reasoning for why they chose to take these items. SUPER ADORABLE!!!! This goes with one of our stories that talks about animal tracks. Gotta throw in some Depth and Complexity here for deeper learning. *** UPDATE: If you are interested in this Thinking Map (above pic) and MANY more with Depth and Complexity icons, please take a look at my Print and Go Thinking Maps with Depth and Complexity unit. ALL maps come with samples and are EDITABLE so that you can tailor it to the needs of your classroom. :) SO.MUCH.FUN! Seriously! I'm VERY excited to get to this theme with my students!!! I will be taking snapshots of the class when we get here in about 2 weeks or so. I am really looking forward to them trying out all the fun things I have planned for their learning. Hope you have a wonderful start to your week! Blessings,
Do your students need help understanding the differences between fiction vs nonfiction texts? These ideas & activities are perfect for making an anchor chart for your classroom as your students are learning to distinguish between fiction and nonfiction.
Cultivate lifelong reading skills.
Greek and Latin roots are the "building blocks" of English and form a powerful framework to nurture students' vocabulary development.
Try these free Boxcar Children activities for a unit study, homeschool or classroom lessons, or just for fun story extension ideas.
This post contains affiliate links and if you click through to make a purchase I will receive a small compensation at no cost to you. What an incredible novel this is! My students were intensely interested in and engaged with Refugee by Alan Gratz. It’s an incredibly moving book with so many opportunities for great […]
Learn how to easily integrate science into reading and writing with meaningful literacy-based activities to best help your students master science.
ROLL A STORY - WRITING ACTIVITY is a perfect resource to inspire your students to creative writing. It includes 10 boards and 6 graphic organizers/writing papers designed to meet Common Core Standards while making learning fun. These 10 roll-a-story boards allow more than 2000 different story combin...
