Read a list of Irish singer-songwriter Hozier's favorite books and poetry, including work by George Orwell and James Joyce.
When I taught 8th grade, I had my students complete a summer assignment that required them to read a novel and write a three page paper analyzing the theme of the novel they read. Many students' papers read like this..."The theme of (insert book title here) is good versus evil." OR "The theme of this novel is love." OR "The theme is about friendship." OR "You shouldn't judge a book by its cover." My students did not know how to deeply analyze a piece of writing let alone write a strong thematic statement that avoided cliches, commands, and absolutes. After the first year of reading terrible essays, I decided to engage my students in literary analysis in a more visual, accessible, digestible way...with short films/cartoons, slam poetry, and music videos! By the time my students were done with these activities, they were writing theme statements like pros and writing a literary analysis piece for a short story was a breeze! Scaffolding at its finest! This Google Slides resource includes: Examples of strong theme statements Examples of poorly written theme statements A description of the difference between a topic and a theme A step-by-step how-to guide for writing a theme statement An easy to use formula students can use to write a theme statement Slides to prompt students to check their work and pair/share 16 theme statement writing practice activities! Topics of the short films, slam poems, and music videos included range from friendship, authenticity, forgiveness, risk-taking, technology dependency, education, and loyalty. A few of the slam poems linked in this resource tackle heavy topics such as the #metoo movement. Feel free to omit the videos/slides you feel your students are not ready to discuss! Teaching Tip: I love to use index cards for each practice! Index cards force my students to be concise rather than write a novel about the theme of each video. They also help facilitate the revision process if you ask students to revise their statements after viewing their peers' work or after discussing the video. If your students don't have index cards, sticky notes work too! I like to ask my students for one package of sticky notes and one package of index cards at the beginning of the year. This usually gets me through the whole year! I typically have my students complete one theme writing practice per week, but you can choose to complete them all at once. These practices are perfect for preparing your students for writing a literary analysis piece! Do I have to use Google Classroom with this resource? For these practices, I typically just project the slideshow for students as a whole class activity or use Nearpod to help students see the videos a bit better up close. You do not need to use Google Classroom with this resource. However, if you are a Google Classroom lover like me, it would be so easy to post this resource for students to use all year long as a review! You can also copy the last slide of the resource and paste it after each video so students can type their theme statements right in the slideshow, making the activities paperless! If you choose to do this, make sure to click on the Make a Copy for Each Student option when posting the assignment on Google Classroom. Before Purchasing: Licensing Please remember this is a single use license. If you plan to share with a grade level, please purchase the multiple use license at check out. This is a small add-on that allows me to continue making great resources. If you are an administrator purchasing this product for school use, please purchase the school license. This product may not be shared via email, shared drive, hard copy, or school website. Thank you for supporting this Oklahoma teacher mom! All proceeds from my Teachers Pay Teachers profits go to paying for my four-year-old son's martial arts lessons, my baby girl's birth medical expenses, and paying down debt from years of buying my own school/classroom supplies. Please continue supporting my work by following me on TpT and Facebook (Page Name: Adventures with Mrs. Anderson: Oklahoma Curriculum Designer)!
Fleabag Quotes: "Fleabag," the critically acclaimed TV series created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, is renowned for its sharp wit, dark humor, and emotionally charged storytelling
Chilean born Alejandro Jodorowsky can be called many things: Mystic, sage, tarot master, director, screenwriter, actor, mime, graphic novel scribe, healer, philosopher, novelist, playwright, spiritual guru. All that and more could fit on his resume... if he was a man...
April is National Poetry Month. If you love poetry or want to explore it further, here are eleven poetry podcasts to help you on your way.
Looking for a good translation of "Les Mis"? There are several dozen translations of Victor Hugo's classic novel "Les Miserables." Here's a simple guide to use when finding the best translation to read.
