As students head back to school, ELA teachers everywhere are considering how they are going to begin the school year, so I wanted to walk you through one of my favorite lesson plans entitled, “Why do we read?” As an educator, there are few things as exciting and rewarding as introducing a young person to […]
Wondering how to sequence grammar instruction? You'll want this list that scaffolds grammar lessons so that one skill builds upon the next.
Creative lesson plans are important in secondary ELA because they challenge students to go beyond the obvious and think outside the box. Creative lessons plans are also highly engaging for struggling and gifted students. This list of activities encourages creative thinking and growth mindset all
Filler Activities for ELA (blog post) What can you do with five extra minutes in secondary ELA? Here are a few ideas to engage students until the bell.
Teaching rhetorical analysis is one of my absolute favorite units to complete with my students. I love teaching my students about rhetorical strategies and devices, analyzing what makes an effective and persuasive argument, and reading critical speeches with my students. Here is a quick list of some of my favorite speeches for rhetorical analysis.
Creative lesson plans are important in secondary ELA because they challenge students to go beyond the obvious and think outside the box. Creative lessons plans are also highly engaging for struggling and gifted students. This list of activities encourages creative thinking and growth mindset all
How to facilitate successful Socratic Seminars in the secondary ELA
Presentation and strategy are everything when you’re introducing a novel to your class, especially if you have a few (or more) resistant readers in the mix. That is why it is important to introduce a novel in an exciting and engaging way!
Want to help students move beyond plot-based and one-word themes? Get four creative ideas for teaching effective theme statements in this post.
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
Standards based reading responses do not have to be boring! The Best Ever Reading Responses for Secondary ELA cover many of the major Reading Literature and Reading Informational Text standards, but they're also tons of fun! You're students are going to LOVE these 5 engaging reading response projects! Projects include: The Paper Airplane Book Report: The most engaging book report EVER, students add protagonist passengers on one side and antagonist characters on the other. Students also analyze character development, the development of theme, and the impact of setting. Instead of presenting their book reports, students fly them! On the due date, students fly airplanes to a classmate. Classmates read each other's airplanes and share them with the class. Nothing But Numbers: Students share numerical facts from their novels and display them in a creative way. Students analyze the number's significance using text based evidence to support their analysis. We Are Different, but We Are the Same: Students make text to text, text to self, and text to world and history connections and display them in a creative way. Students support their ideas using text based evidence. Strange But True: Students share eight strange but true facts about their novels. Students share text based evidence to prove that although each fact is strange, it's actually true in their novel! Literary Fact or Fiction: Students choose to share an unbelievable fact from their novels OR create a fiction that seems to be true on the outside of this lift-the-flap activity and display. On the inside, students write the truth: is the tidbit really fact or is it fiction created by the student? Display these fun reading responses and ask classmates to read as many fact or fictions and make their guesses. This engaging responses is a great way to introduce students to lots of great YA titles!
10 ideas for planning engaging novel units: creative, engaging lesson ideas for your next whole-class novel unit
For this interactive lesson, students will use the board in order to interact with each other. It also provides a means for assessment during a class period. Students can collaborate and use the board to brainstorm new ideas, share information, or reflect upon the lesson/ activity/ project from th
Book reports and summaries are a thing of the past. Engage your middle and high school students with five book report alternatives that will leave them asking for more and, most importantly, building vital reading and analysis skills along the way. 1. Assign one pagers at the end of a novel. One pagers are engaging, allow for creativity, and lead to higher level thinking and analysis. Assigning a one pager is easy and works for any novel. Follow these simple guidelines: • Make it standards base
Make literary point of view and perspective relevant and engaging for your secondary ELA students with What's the Tea? A Lesson on Point of View and Perspective. Four worksheets help your students to explore and reflect on the differences between literary point of view and perspective. Students start by analyzing the differences between literary point of view (first and third person) and perspective (the viewpoint or opinion of an individual). Next, students apply their learning to an analysis of two different literary excerpts. Students identify how first and third person point of view enhance a story. Then, they look at the differing points of view (perspective) between two characters. After examining point of view and perspective, students reflect on their learning. Grading is easy with a full answer key and provided rubric. This 100% editable activity can easily be printed or shared through Google Classroom. Includes: Four page editable worksheet and reflection page Rubric Answer key Are your students struggling to understand the development of mood in literature? Check out my "It's a Whole Mood" worksheet to help your students master standard RL3. Do your students need help identifying theme and analyzing its development? Check out my"I'm Shook: Powerful Themes in Literature" worksheets to engage your students in mastering standard RL 2.
Fun poetry activities for the Secondary ELA classroom that get kids writing poetry and learning about the tools poets use to create poems.
Have you been wanting to try stations in your Secondary ELA classroom but aren't sure where to start? Read through this quick post where we share 8 station ideas and how to use them with your ELA students.
With the end of the school year approaching, it is time to start thinking about what types of end-of-the-year activities you want to do in your secondary ELA classroom. Whether you teach middle school ELA or high school English, these end of the year activities are the perfect way to mix in fun and academically-related content to end the school year on the right note.
5 engaging ELA projects and mini-units for the end of the year. End of year activities for secondary ELA: slideshow project, interview challenge, resume writing, photo journal, and independent reading.
Put a unique spin on introducing novels to your secondary ELA classroom with this book speed dating activity.
The beginning of the school year is an important time to assess the writing skill levels of new students in our English classes. One way to do this is to assign a diagnostic essay in order to "diagnose" each student's writing level. This creative approach to essay writing helps students t
Are you noticing some gaps in your curriculum? Are you looking for some new, creative ideas for how to fill these holes in your ELA curriculum? This post gives you 10 creative ideas for how to fill holes in your secondary ELA curriculum.
Filler Activities for ELA (blog post) What can you do with five extra minutes in secondary ELA? Here are a few ideas to engage students until the bell.
Do you take time to focus on teaching speaking and listening skills? A lot of lessons and activities often focus on literature, reading, spelling, and writing. Sometimes the speaking and listening skills get lumped into lessons, or we realize we’ve really been lax on the speaking skills the first time we have students give a presentation. However, students need to have dedicated opportunities to practice speaking and listening. Read on for activities you can incorporate into your classroom.
Looking for new poetry for your middle school and high school students? These 30 poems, recommended and tested by secondary ELA teachers in their own classrooms, are sure to engage and inspire your students during National Poetry Month or any time of year.
Teach your students all about proper artificial intelligence (AI) use and academic integrity with this multi-day unit! Have you struggled with students using AI in the classroom to generate entire essays and other portions of their classwork? Have your students struggled to understand why using AI to complete their assignments might not be entirely academically ethical? Are you at your wit’s end, feeling like you are fighting a never-ending battle against AI use, academic dishonesty, and blatant plagiarism? If so, this print and digital unit is for you! Like you, I am a classroom teacher also, and ever since the release of ChatGPT, I’ve seen an exponential rise in student AI use in my English classroom. Not only is it frustrating, but it is also infuriating because some students don’t see the harm in using AI. That is why I created this three-day unit! This unit walks students through the five tenets of academic integrity and what artificial intelligence is. It focuses on how AI use in the classroom either aligns with or goes against academic integrity standards. It also teaches students the proper ways to use AI in the classroom (hint: it is with meticulous citations and clearly stating that AI was used in the assignment). Plus, there is a Google® version of everything so you can customize this unit to fit your needs! Here's what you'll get with this artificial intelligence lesson: A three-day unit plan All resources on an editable, Google platform A teacher guide with suggested tips and help for combating student AI use in the classroom A 47-slide editable presentation in PowerPoint and Google Slides® A student-teacher AI use contract (that also requires parent/guardian permission) Sketchnotes for students to use during instruction Ethical brainstorming organizer Citing AI-generated text worksheet Academic integrity or dishonesty worksheet (same as task card set 2) Task card set 1 (general AI and academic integrity info) Task card set 2 (same as worksheet above, you choose format) Task card recording sheets Suggested answer keys You will love taking charge and feeling more in control in your classroom because you took the time to lay the groundwork for ethical and unethical AI use in your classroom. After completing this unit, students will have a clear understanding of what AI is and what they can and cannot use AI for in your class. You will have covered all of your bases by teaching students how to properly cite AI-generated text in MLA format and having students research and look up how to do so in APA and Chicago style. Plus, everything is editable, so you can tailor it to your class, school, and district needs! Prep is quick and easy... Just print the student pages, add in your information to the last three slides of the presentation (these are classroom-specific slides that match the formatting of the presentation), and go! This unit is the perfect start to any research-based or writing assignment in any subject! You may also like… → Punctuation Teaching Unit → Academic Vocabulary Program → Essay Writing Unit Helpful Advice: * Follow my store by clicking HERE so you don’t miss out on sales and new resources * Please provide feedback on this resource. Doing so will help you earn TPT credits that you can apply toward future purchases! It’s like FREE TPT cash! © The Daring English Teacher, Inc. All rights reserved. License good for single-classroom use only. The digital content is available as a force copy Google link inside the PDF.
What do heavy backpacks, stuffed binders, and busy students all have in common? Information overload. Each school day, teens and tweens are being given worksheets, packets, readings, textbooks, and more… for six or more classes. Though not a cure-all, flip books are a great alternative to give students information or guide them through a sequence. Chatting with us today is Danielle Knight, a flip book guru and fellow English teacher! 1. Why use flip books at all? Danielle: Flip books in the ELA classroom brings more excitement and adds flavor to daily lessons rather than using the normal everyday worksheet. The flipbook format works really well with diverse learners and learners with special needs. My personal experiences the flipbook format is consistent, user-friendly, highly organized, and easy to maintain. Sara: Another positive about flipbooks is that they can replace not just worksheets, but big overwhelming packets. When the information is visually interesting AND all within reach, the content doesn’t have a chance to be “out of sight, out of mind”; students are more likely to flip through the information and USE the content! 2. What are the benefits of a flip book for students in an English class? Danielle: Teachers can be consistent with them throughout the school year. They are great review tools as well. I love during a midterm or final exam review seeing my students at their desk with several flip books out. Students don't have to search through a thousand sheets of paper. The flip books are organized, stapled neatly, and completed. Students can go through their flip books to find answers for their review. This promotes a student centered review, which puts the teacher in the role of facilitator rather than the “answer-giver.” Sara: As Danielle said, I love seeing a flip book become a keepsake that gets referenced throughout the year. I’ve also noticed that more students actually keep my flip books for the next school year; I love when students see the value of what we’re doing in class and don’t just throw papers away! 3. What topics work well in a flip book format? Danielle: Over time I've realized that the flip book format works really well when it comes to a novel study because there's always the same concepts I want to cover in the novel: for example, an author study, thematic response, literary devices, vocabulary, comprehension questions, the plot diagram, etc. I also like to cover something with characters. The flip book format also works really well when promoting and teaching a particular formula. In science, there's flip books that have to do with different topics. An example is the solar system. There is a separate tab for each planet. With the water cycle, there's a different tab for each part of the water cycle. Sara: I like using flip books to “house” vocab-heavy content, like rhetoric and propaganda, and I second Danielle’s thought about using it for processes. I had a lot of success with my narrative writing flip book, which guides students through the brainstorming, writing, and editing process to make their own short stories. 4. Don't they take forever to assemble? Danielle: At first of course when you start using them, it can look overwhelming. Watching a video or reading a tutorial on a blog or watching a video on how to assemble it really helps. I like to create one before my students do and put it up on the whiteboard to show them what it looks like when it's finished. I've learned to staple them ahead of time before I pass them out. This will also ensure all the pages are in the right order and also you don't have to “deal” with the stapling which can be time-consuming and sometimes difficult because of the thickness of the flip book. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/HOW-TO-ASSEMBLE-A-FLIP-BOOK-STRATEGIES-TIPS-AND-DEMONSTRATION-2827780 Sara: Students get faster at it every time, especially if you stick to the same templates and show them the finished product under a document camera (so they know what to strive for). Obviously some flip books take more time than others, but if you have enough supplies in the room (like scissors), there’s no reason why it needs to take more than 20 minutes. Sometimes I assign it as homework, and other times it’s important for me to do it with them in class. 5. How would I assess the flip book? Danielle: I approach the flip book as a project assessment. I do a daily flip book check and they'll get credit on the different parts of the flip book that has been assigned. In the end of the unit like before the test I will allow my students to use their completed flip book for like 10 minutes during a test for them to go back and find answers they may have missed on the test. This also promotes responsibility. Students will take pride in it and they are rewarded. Sara: Assessment really varies by the flip book. Sometimes the book is more of a reference tool or formative assessment; other times, it is truly a project or summative grade that you can grade with a rubric or award points for completion. For example, if it’s a vocabulary flip book that you’re using over a longer period of time, it might just be a formative assessment that you grade as a checkpoint before a vocabulary test. 6. Do I have to use them in an interactive notebook or other journal? Danielle: You don't. The flip books I create or normally 8.5 x 11. Therefore, they won't fit inside of a composition book. You can, however, reduce the size when you print to 80%. Then it will fit. If this what you are planning, then I recommend stapling the back page to a composition book page. I prefer to have my students keep them in a pocket folder. I think that’s really the best way. Sara: I also don’t use an INB, so I coach students about where to store theirs and tell them when they’ll need to make sure they have it in class. (For example: “Make sure you bring the grey analysis booklet every day this week, since we will be working on literary analysis quotes!”) 7. Do they still appeal to teens and older grades? Danielle: The flip book is very versatile. The appeal ranges from Of Mice and Men - where the “look” of the resource is mature - to a flip book for Charlotte's Web, which will appeal to an upper elementary student based on the content, activities, and artwork. Sara: Definitely. I’ve never seen a student turn up their nose at a flip book - it’s too tempting for them to start digging through the flaps. I know AP Language classes of seniors who use my rhetoric flip book. 8. I have a 1:1 classroom; can flip books be paperless? Danielle: Absolutely, flip books can be paperless. There is an easy way to format a digital flipbook in Google slides. Many of them are available already formatted for you. Sara: Don’t forget that a flip book can be both: digital at first, and then printed for display, a portfolio, or just their binders. Or, maybe the flip book is the only paper-based tool in a unit that is otherwise digital. I know a teacher who did this with my Types of Essays Unit. 9. What's your favorite flip book resource that I can use as a starting point? Danielle: I really love the short stories flip book for the beginning of the school year. Each tab is a different featured short story. I created it to ensure students will have different activities to engage in that would appeal to multiple intelligences and different learning styles. I think starting with a short story flip book will be faster to complete. For example, for grade 9 ELA, The Monkey's Paw, is short, highly engaging, and is a great read for the fall months due to its gothic theme. Really spooky and the audio companion can be found for free on YouTube. Sara: Also, Danielle has a free test prep flip book, and my Response to Literature flip book is free when you sign up for my newsletter! 10. What if I want to make my own flip book? Sara: I’m a fan of Danielle’s template, which can be found here. (She also has a template for mini flip books.) Do you have more ideas or suggestions? Tell us in the comments!
Wanting to implement reader's notebooks in middle and high school? Here are some things to consider before getting started.
I finally nailed teaching symbolism! Using candy was both engaging and efficient - a major win that students remembered all year long!
It's time to go back to school! With the back-to-school season upon us, it is time to start planning back-to-school activities for the first week of school.
The beginning of the school year is a time to reintroduce students to routine, classroom procedures, and the habits of homework and studying…. but I don’t need to tell you that! For us as English teachers, the beginning of the school year means reviewing and reteaching skills that our students will
With the end of the school year around the corner, it’s time to start planning out the final few weeks. Here is a look at some teaching resources that will
One of the best ways to help students succeed both in and out of a school setting is by teaching this email etiquette unit. By teaching students how to write an email, they will know how to write an email to a teacher, boss, or superior. Email etiquette is an essential skill that students need to know, and after teaching this email etiquette unit, you’ll receive much more pleasant emails. You and your students will love these email etiquette activities in this unit! ⭐️ 2023 Update: Now includes DIGITAL version also! This digital and print email etiquette unit includes an instructional presentation and various email etiquette activities to help your students learn the art of proper email communication. This multi-day lesson includes an editable and animated PowerPoint presentation, asuggested teaching guide, student reference guides and notes, and classroom activities that can be completed individually or collaboratively. After teaching this unit, your students will have proper email etiquette. This email etiquette unit is an ideal lesson to start out the new school year! This email etiquette lesson includes: 38-slide PowerPoint and Google Slides™ presentation to help you directly teach this concept to your students. The presentation is engaging and interactive. a PDF document with 15 usable classroom pages. A Google Doc link with digital and editable slides Email etiquette writing guide Practice email corrections After completing this lesson, your students will better understand email etiquette, learn how to write a professional email, andimprove their college and career readiness. What fellow teachers are saying: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Extremely satisfied Perfect resource to introduce proper email etiquette. Used it during the second week of school and was a good way to have students collaborate on a low stakes activity. Will continue to use each year. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Extremely satisfied This was so helpful when planning a lesson on "how to write an email." So many students didn't understand what a proper email looked like so this resource was so helpful in providing set guidelines, examples, and even a little "discussion". I didn't have to change a thing in order to use this with my students. Thanks for making this available to us! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Extremely satisfied I love this. I used it for the first time last year to show students how to write to their teachers. It was the first time I had students writing well constructed emails and for the most part, they did a great job sticking to proper email format for the year! I saw such an improvement with how kids talked to me digitally. It’s already in my plans for next year. This lesson was designed for upper-level high school students. However, the content is accessible and appropriate for middle and high school students.The PDF document is a secured document that cannot be edited. You may also like… → Punctuation Teaching Unit → Academic Vocabulary Program → Essay Writing Unit ___________________________________ Helpful Advice: * Follow my store by clicking HERE so you don’t miss out on sales and new resources * Please provide feedback on this resource. Doing so will help you earn TPT credits that you can apply toward future purchases! It’s like FREE TPT cash! © The Daring English Teacher, Inc. All rights reserved. License good for single-classroom use only.
Learn why one-pagers are one of my go-to activities for breaking down complex topics and texts. Understand what they are, why you and your students will love them, and how to implement them in your ELA classroom. I even have the advice to help you tackle the biggest obstacle you’ll encounter with this activity.
Pixar short films are a great way to target essential literary elements and techniques from characterization to theme to conflict to symbolism. These Pixar short films inspire class discussion and analysis, and students can then in turn write essays based upon these films. They are an excellent to
Romeo and Juliet is one of those classic pieces of literature I think everyone has read. Even students who haven’t read the Shakespeare play have probably
Movement in the classroom is beneficial for many reasons. First and foremost, getting up to move in the classroom might help anxious students relieve stress.
Are you noticing some gaps in your curriculum? Are you looking for some new, creative ideas for how to fill these holes in your ELA curriculum? This post gives you 10 creative ideas for how to fill holes in your secondary ELA curriculum.
Much like students who spend more hours on the hook of an essay than they do the bulk of an essay, I often found myself with a case of English teacher writing block when it came to planning my first day of school activities. Though I have ten years (x two semesters each) of ... Read More about First Day of School Activities for High School and Middle School English
Get organized with a daily and weekly ELA plan so that you feel confident and prepared. Planning the structure of a class period varies by unit. Start here!
Use this assignment with any middle/secondary ELA or Career Education class. This booklet provides students with scaffolded opportunities to: - Practice introspection - Identify songs that are meaningful to them - Describe each song and its significance - Compose a polite and professional email Perfect for the first day of class while you are getting to know your new students.
In this podcast/post, I'm sharing some of my own favorite classroom activities you can use with any Shakespeare plays and the results of my Shakespearean treasure hunt around the web. If you're looking for some fun resources to engage students with Shakespeare, click through to learn more!
