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This smart comic by Grant Snider, which is available in his shop as a poster, breaks down the archetypal conflicts in literature… although he did leave out man vs. computerized wolf god.

Can you tell we are tackling Beowulf next week? I am amazed at the number of quality resources available for free! This list includes research pages, writing assignments, history lessons, and literature guides. Updated 08/12/22 Beowulf Resources Beowulf: Still a Hero An Introduction to Beowulf The Beauty of Anglo-Saxon Poetry: A Prelude to Beowulf [...]

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!)

The Odyssey is a staple in many classrooms. Check out these activities to promote cognitive thinking, visualization, analysis, and synthesis!

The Odyssey is a staple in many classrooms. Check out these activities to promote cognitive thinking, visualization, analysis, and synthesis!

Whether via classroom discussions, analysis of written text, higher-order questioning, or other strategies, learn and share ways to help students go deeper with their thinking.

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POEMS? That 5-letter word will send shivers down the spines of middle school students. Add in the suggestion of "poetry analysis," and the moans and groans can be heard throughout the hallways! If all this sounds familiar, I have a few teacher tips to help you boost engagement with poems that middle schoolers actually enjoy!

A district-wide unit that affirms the experiences of ELLs while teaching content and developing their language skills. ELLs voices were highlighted through this multi-grade, multi-school unit.

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

The Odyssey is a staple in many classrooms. Check out these activities to promote cognitive thinking, visualization, analysis, and synthesis!

Expand your vocabulary with our comprehensive list of words! From adjectives to verbs, learn definitions, usage, and examples to enhance your English language skills.

This is a great freebie: 7 free study guides, about 40 pages each, on the Shakespeare plays of MacBeth, Romeo & Juliet, The Tempest, MidSummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Othello,&…

This visual note-taking worksheet is designed to be used in conjunction with the popular Crash Course Literature Season 1 Episode 5 Was Gatsby great? ‘The great Gatsby’ part 2 video on YouTube. The video covers how F. Scott Fitzgerald creates a compelling novel with characters that are unlikeable, varying viewpoints on whether Gatsby is great, commonalities with Romeo and Juliet, Gatsby’s motivations for acquiring wealth, the idea of restoring a ‘perfect’ past, and the horror of living a carefree life. The printable worksheet/s encourage active listening and spur students to think deeply about how to read, understand and interpret the play. The episode runs for approximately 9 minutes, so the mini-lesson could run for between 20-40 minutes depending on the class. What’s included: 1. Visual note-taking worksheet (black and white) 2. Teacher notes (not an answer key as answers will vary) 3. Hyperlink to the video (at the top of the teacher notes) How to use: 1. Introduce the concept of visual note-taking (if your class is unfamiliar). Google (or visit the TPT store of) Math Giraffe for more information about the benefits of doodle notes. 2. Explain that you will be watching a short video about reading literature and that students are to use the worksheet to take notes. Explain that they are encouraged to write, highlight, draw, shade, and scribble while listening/watching. 3. After the video has played, use it as a starting point for discussion about the importance of reading literature and discuss what students have created/written as part of their notes. Please note that some worksheets have more than one version to account for spelling differences between the USA and UK/Australia. Ensure you print the applicable worksheet. Teacher notes are written with American spelling. If you enjoyed this product, other products you may find useful include: 1. Our CrashCourseLiterature products including whole season bundles, themed bundles, and mini-bundles 2. Our CrashCourseStudy Skills products You can also buy the worksheets as stand-alone episodes. And don’t forget to check out our worksheets for the CrashCourse Study Skills videos. Please leave a review and feedback on our products. Remember that you get TPT credits to do so! If you have any questions or problems, please contact us through the store Q&A.To keep in touch, follow our storeMindRoar for updates on future products.You can also connect with us via email at [email protected], facebook@MindRoarTeachingResources, pinterest, or visit our website. © MindRoar Teaching Resources. This resource is for use in your classroom only. Duplication for other teachers, an entire school, an entire school district, entire school system, or for commercial purposes is strictly forbidden. If you are a school or district interested in purchasing several licences, please contact me for a quote. Full terms and conditions of use included in resource download.

Interactive Reading Literature Notebooks ~ Literary Elements for Common Core Grades 4-8 After learning about interactive notebooks last summer, I resolved to use this technique for every concept I taught to my 6th, 7th, and 8th grade literature students. Now that I’ve used this in my classroom for a year, I have compiled all […]

It's been a while since I did my last scene-by-scene retelling of an entire Shakespeare play. What with the Michael Fassbender film making ripples in the popular consciousness, I thought it might be a good time to tackle.... MACBETH!!! <&a

Personification is a figure of speech where human qualities are given to lifeless objects or ideas. These may be emotions, desires, sensations, gestures, or

Links to source precede. Link to “Literary Periods and History Timeline” Link to “American Literature through Time” studyguide.org Link to Story Board That–American Li…

--Extra Freebie Alert-- Have you ever wished that you had a short story that specifically taught metaphors, idioms, hyperbole, personification, etc.? Try out a printable mini booklet for free from my new figurative language series. Each booklet has many instances of a specific figurative language skill occurring many times within a short story. Each booklet also comes with a worksheet to determine if students understand each skill. Try it out for free. Click Here To Access It Choice BoardsI love choice boards so much. Not only are they fun, but they also appeal to different learning styles. I created this choice board to use with my students. The great thing about it is that choice boards can be used with any book. How to use them: After assigning a chapter for students to read, ask them to select an activity to complete from the list. Since there are multiple activities to choose from, students can use the same choice board over and over again. Use this free reading resource in your classroom. Click Here To Access This Free Literature Choice Board

Looking for fun activities to explore the art of poetry and use it to support language learning? Try these simple and fun activities!

Short stories and poetry are great, but it's usually a novel that fosters a true love for reading in the English classroom.This #2ndaryELA Twitter chat was all about teaching novels. Middle school and high school English Language Arts teachers discussed the novels they use at different grade levels. Teachers also shared their methods of reading: whole class or literature circles, in-class or independently as homework. Read through the chat for ideas to implement in your own classroom.

The Socratic style of discourse lends itself quite well to establishing critical thinkers due to the fact that Socrates believed that enabling students to think for themselves was more important than filling their heads with knowledge. With so much talk about the Common Core standards and truly increasing our student's argumentative powers and critical thinking skills, I decided to launch a Socratic Seminar style of instruction in my sixth grade classroom this week. Our Seminar The Text My approach began by engaging in a guided reading of a novel titled I Can't Believe I Have To Do This by Jan Alford. Throughout the course of the week we read the novel and discussed story events and critical vocabulary associated with the readings. The Questions Students were given a Socratic Seminar "Prep Sheet" at the beginning of the week. The sheet asked the students to do the following: #1. Summarize the assigned reading #2. Identify 3 compelling quotes or statements from the reading #3. Develop one Knowledge based question #4. Develop one Application style question #5. Develop one Synthesis style question Download at: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Socratic-Seminar-Packet The Set Up I then arranged my room in a double horseshoe configuration and assigned five students to be the inner circle. The inner circle students were slated to be the ones discussing and interacting. The outer circle of students were slated to observe and reflect and provide a 'backchannel'. The Discourse Relinquishing control was the MOST DIFFICULT thing!! Once the seminar began I truly had to force myself not to jump in and facilitate. Initially, it was truly awkward. Students nervously giggled and looked down at their papers. No one seemed willing to emerge as a leader. Once they realized that no one was coming to their rescue, the dialogue began and WOW. DID YOU KNOW?? A website called blockposters.com can take any .jpg or .gif image and turn it into a larger printable poster with overlapping edges for assembly?? Backchannel To occupy my outer circle, I distributed 5 ipads (1 for every 3 students) and allowed them to connect on todaysmeet.com. There they posted thoughts, questions, comments and even prompts to assist the inner circle. This back channel scrolled on the Smartboard throughout the seminar. (Admittedly, I didn't love the lack of grammar conventions demonstrated in the statements below.) Reflection/Assessment Without a doubt, we will do this again. Once the awkwardness ended, the dialog went FAR beyond what I've ever experienced with this novel. Students shared events that related DEEPLY to the characters, the character's choices and experiences. They also extrapolated character traits and applied them to new situations. As an assessment tool, each student completed an Exit Slip paragraph where they exercised their argumentative writing skills by completing a one paragraph reflection on the grade they deserved as a result of their participation in the seminar. Socratic discourse....making the kiddos use THEIR Smarticles!! All of my materials are available at: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Socratic-Seminar-Packet

The theme of a book is the universal idea or message readers get from the story. Explore some of the most common book themes and find popular examples.