These ELA podcast pairings will help you design engaging text sets for you middle school and high school English classroom!
If books are a uniquely portable magic, then podcasts are the wizard in your pocket. When you find interesting podcasts for teens that they want to listen to, you will open up a whole new world of literacy for secondary students. Did you know that podcast listeners are 29% more likely to have a household ... Read More about Why You Should Be Using Podcasts in Secondary ELA
Engage your ELA students this Halloween season with these spooky podcast episodes for the classroom! FREE podcast pages and activities included!
These FREE Printables and Unit Studies for Eric Carle's Books will help you expand on what your kids are learning through these beloved books.
These English teacher supplies are must haves for quick ELA lesson plans. Pair your back to school wish list with ideas for English teachers!
Haven't tried a book tasting with your students yet? This fun reading activity is an awesome way to introduce genres in your elementary classroom or library!
Free printable alphabet books with letter recognition activities & pictures to color. An amazing resource for exploring the alphabet with your preschoolers!
Incorporate classic literature into your homeschool lessons with these FREE Unit Studies and Printables for Charlotte's Web.
Kindergarten is a most delightful ages for read alouds–kids are full of wonder and silliness, and the selection of excellent picture books is enormous. Here are 50 of the best books for kindergarten.
Color mixing is a great activity for a preschooler to explore after learning all their colors. Below I have used a much loved book "Mouse Paint" and expanded on it with a printable and a
We love connecting projects to books, and we're always inspired by the amazing group of bloggers who participate in the Virtual Book Club for Kids (you can also check the club out on Facebook) as the group comes up with some great extension activities each month. This month's author was Leo Lionni. We chose to read and do a project using a book we've really been enjoying lately, A Color of His Own. This is the sweet tale of a little chameleon who is looking for one color to stay all the time, but keeps running into that challenge that chameleons change color. In the end, he winds up finding a friend to always be with so they can at least always be the same color together. I've used this book in the past as a primary teacher. It's a great way to talk about friendship and also about what makes us each unique. My boys have been loving the simple tale and the colorful illustrations this spring. For our activity extension we decided to use cray-pas and watercolors. I love how colorful this art technique can be. I sketched several chameleon outlines onto white drawing paper using permanent marker. (I'm including a printable copy here in case you just want to print one out, or use the printable to trace onto thicker paper.) Afterwards the boys and I each colored in a chameleon using the cray-pas. Big Brother and I thought about ways to create different patterns. Little Brother focused on just coloring his in, using mostly one color. After we were done coloring, we watercolored on top of the cray-pas. The watercolor doesn't stick to the cray-pas, and fills all the white spaces around it. We all had different strategies for painting. When they were done I cut the three chameleons out and we hung them in our play room. I love how they are a set but each one unique. That's part of what can also make this project a great classroom activity, especially for the start of a school year. Or turn it into a fun family project, with each family member creating a chameleon to represent themselves. What Leo Lionni books does your family enjoy? Have you read this one yet? This post may also have been shared at some of these terrific link parties.
Inspiration, tips, and sources for creating a nature themed classroom for your middle school or high school students!
I’ve been using a Word Wall with my high school students for 9 years now, and the results have been incredible. How: I have 90-minute classes, so I’m able to give my students 8-10 minutes of free reading time each day. I put this time at the BEGINNING of the class for several reasons. 1. ... Read More about How and Why to Use Word Walls with Older Students
Suzanne Collins biography, graphic novel style! Students should enjoy reading, right!? And there's a reason why young children love picture books: images are appealing. Do I prefer reading a graphic novel version of my favorite books? Not really. But, that doesn't mean none of my students do. In fact, I would say quite a few of them would prefer it. If I want my students to enjoy reading, I need to offer plenty of choices. The same with writing. Some kids are happy to write a classic book report. But some aren't. So why not give them choices? With the recent announcement on the Hunger Games Fireside Chat of Sara Gundell's comic-style biography of Suzanne Collins (author of The Hunger Games), (see picture) this reminds me that there are so many appealing ways to entice students to read rather than the traditionally printed book. I offer loads of choices in my high school classroom because we all have different tastes. I do love reading comics and have Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, Close to Home, and Frazz books for students to read. Of course I offer the classics along side them, but I would much rather have a student read something over nothing. We need to admit that it is OK to allow these choices in our classroom. Students DO learn from reading non-academia texts! Reading the Guiness Book of World Records is still helping my students' reading skills. How? Because they are reading! It doesn't matter what they are reading. The act alone and repetition of it makes them better readers. It is the same with writing. The more they write, the better writer they become. So why do we assign the boring 5-paragraph essay over and over again so they learn to hate writing? I don't know (well I do...because we are forced to). It's crazy. I would rather assign them more relevant and personally-connected pieces because 1. they will enjoy it, and 2. the chances of them copying & pasting text from the internet is less likely. Here's a free download for you: comic strip panels to use to assign a comic bio or book report. Download all of the pages here: I created them using Pasq.com's Comic Life program. You can head to my teacher store to find additional ideas for literature- and history-based learning. Sample pages:
When we started working our way through all of the letters of the alphabet, we decided that we wanted to create something that we could hold onto and look
Want to teach rules and expectations in an engaging way? Use picture books! These 15 picture books are some of the best to start your year.
We LOVE activities to go with books! This Free Printable Mouse and Cookie Hat is a fun activity for your kids to recall and retell the story.
Teaching our little learners about fall is such a fun unit to get to explore this time of year! They'll love learning about the fall harvest, weather, leaves, and so much more! There are so many fun ways to go through this unit and watch them learn. It's even more fun as you read through
David Sax on analog ideas and products, such as Moleskine notebooks, that remain viable and popular despite advances in digital technology.
There’s something for everyone, no matter what floats your boat.
Looking for a thoughtful gift idea for the book lover in your life? They'll love a Book Sleeve - a practical, stylish present that keeps their books safe while traveling. Whether it's physical books or electronic devices like Kindles and iPads, a book sleeve provides on-the-go protection, eliminating the worry of damaging books when casually tossing them into bags.
Incorporate classic literature into your homeschool lessons with these FREE Unit Studies and Printables for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Let's say goodbye to boring book reports for good! Today, I'm sharing 7 of my favorite ways to get students to report on the books that they have read. These ideas combine creativity, rigor, and engagement so that students actually enjoy reporting out on their reading. And...there's enough variety in these activities that you'll be able to tap into a variety of learning styles all year long. 1. Doodle Book Review - Exclusive FREEBIE! Oh baby! There's nothing better than doodles to get students excited about learning. In the doodle book review, students complete planning pages before creating a doodle-themed, one-page book report. This book review is accessible and fun...and since I know your students will LOVE IT, I'm providing an exclusive FREE DOODLE BOOK REVIEW. 2. Book Report Mobile Here's a fun twist on a classic book report. It's a paper book mobile. The Clothes Hanger Book Report works with any fiction book. The highly detailed planning pages are designed so that students can work on the project in class or independently outside of school. The end result is a vivid, comprehensive book report that students love. 3. Book Talk Book talks are a wonderful way for students to demonstrate their understanding of the books they read while practicing their writing and speaking skills. The only problem is, students often don't know where to start. That's where this FREE Book Talk resource comes in. Students learn about book talks before completing a pre-write. Then, they write a final copy. After learning about how to give a book talk, they're ready to report on their present their book talks. 4. Literature Circles Looking for a fun way to get students involved in their reading? Then, you are going to love the Doodle Literature Circle roles. A literature circle is when a small group of students gather to discuss a piece of literature in depth. The discussion is guided by students’ responses to Literature Circle Role handouts. Each doodle-style handout will have students thinking critically about the text and of course, doodling to heighten their engagement and connection to their reading. The handouts are completed before the literature circle discussions. Then, during the literature circle, small groups gather and engage in critical thinking as they read, discuss and respond to texts together. 5. File Folder Book Project I love this book project because it's designed for students to complete all on their own. That means that they can create a unique file folder covered in plot details, character analysis, setting description, a personal reflection as part of an independent reading project. This project is super adaptable too. You can also use it for a class-wide novel study or even a summer reading project. And my favorite part is that the final file folders are a great addition to your classroom library. Future readers can easily reference the file folders to get a review of a book before reading the book on their own. 6. Creative Reading Response Tasks Here are 20 creative ways to get students to report out on their reading. These creative Reading Response Tasks give students an opportunity to share their thoughts and interpretations about their reading in engaging ways. The activities tap into current social media trends as well as traditional writing styles. Along with the 20 fun and educational reading response activities, you’ll also find everything you need to set up a reading response program or journal in your classroom. Let the reading (and fun!) begin! 7. Task Cards and Doodle Poster What happens when a great book, creative task cards and engaging doodle notes combine? A Doodle and Do resource, of course! I've created Doodle and Do resources for Freak the Mighty, Walk Two Moons, Wonder, and Tuck Everlasting. In each of these resources, students will respond to 12 fun task cards with 2 pages of doodle notes. The task cards require students to write, chat, swap, and draw in response to specific questions about the book. Then, students add their responses to fun doodle notes for the novels. I hope you have found some fresh ideas for book reports! Here are the links... 1. FREE - Doodle Book Review 2. Clothes Hanger Book Report 3. FREE Book Talk 4. Doodle Literature Circle Roles 5. File Folder Book Project 6. 20 Creative Reading Response Tasks 7. Task Cards and Doodle Poster - Freak the Mighty, Walk Two Moon, Wonder, and Tuck Everlasting Don't forget to grab the FREE Doodle Book Review! Thanks for stopping by, Mary Beth P.S. Click here for even more reading resources!
This list of must have picture books for your classroom library includes a wide range of titles from seasonal to teaching points. Free activities too!
No more boring book reports! Check out 26+ FUN, creative and unique book report ideas and free printable projects too!
By Hervè Tullet This is an art activity book for kids that love to move! It's designed to spark children's imaginations, ignite creativity and create playful, expressive art experiences your kids will love. Splotches and splashes? No problem! Spilled paint? Fine! Hervè Tullet will show you how to turn every eventuality
Sensory play is so important in development of young children, but it is usually messy. Quiet books are the perfect way to achieve that without the mess!
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These 15 picture book activities go great with your preschooler's favorite stories. Great hands-on activities that help to further explore the books!
Class books are a wonderful writing activity for preschool and kindergarten students! This post has tons of great class book ideas to use with your students. These class-created books cover the beginning of the year, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Valentine's Day, Easter, and more! Students will love writing and illustrating their own books to be enjoyed by the class!
Plan a taco party or taco bar lunch and read the book. Extend the fun and literacy lessons with these Dragons Love Tacos Free Printables.
My favorite part of doing preschool with my little ones is our daily Bible time together. It is so sweet to watch them learn about some amazing Bible stories and famous people in the Bible.
Growth Mindset: The Power of Yet Recently my 1st grade classroom has morphed into a K/1 combination classroom and then resulted in HUGE gaps (academically, socially, & emotionally) between my s…
