Hey there, fellow English teacher! I want to share what my secondary English curriculum for the first six weeks of school looks like.
Are you looking for a stress-free first week of ELA activities for high school classroom? Look no further! Keep reading for ideas, tips, and lesson plans for the first week (and beyond)! #backtoschoolactivities #elateacher #highschoolela
These choice boards were created to get students thinking at a higher level. These choice boards are perfect for centers, homework, novel studies, book clubs, and literature circles. Students choose 3 activities to complete making a tic-tac-toe, and then cut out the corresponding cards to glue into their reading notebook or just turn in. I like to copy the choice boards onto colored yardstick and laminate them for use in centers. :) Included: 2 choice boards (different levels) and 8 pages of response templates as well as rubrics. I also included editable versions of the choice board for the middle square. :) Here are my available choice boards: Growing Bundle of Choice Boards Non-Fiction Choice Board - Version 1 Non-Fiction Choice Board - Version 2 Depth and Complexity Choice Board Thinking About Non-Fiction Close Reading Choice Board Fiction Choice Board Fonts and Clipart: Creative Clips Hue Too KG Fonts Hello Fonts Cheers, The Curious Apple
This past school year was a great one. With every school year that passes, I like to take a moment and reflect on activities that were successful in the
I giggled to myself as I created the title to this blog post! If you are new to my blog, I'll have you know that this is the THIRD time I've written an "ELA in
Short short stories are the perfect medium for high school English. Here are 9 reasons you should use them.
Add some depth and complexity to your social studies lessons with this critical thinking choice board. Students must create complete three activities, completing a tic-tac-toe and passing through the center. If you print these at 90%, students can cut them out and glue them into their notebooks. I print the choice boards out on colored yardstick and laminate them for use at centers. I then run off a handful of each of the choices for students to choose from. For more choice boards, visit my store at: Choice Boards for Critical Thinking Blessings, The Curious Apple
Looking for games to play with a classroom? This list of English games in the classroom is exactly what you need to engage students!
Dr. King’s legacy is especially powerful in the ELA classroom: his words, his rhetoric, and the passion with which he speaks them is not only worthy of study in its own right, but the overlaps into our content area make the analysis of the layers of his work that much more rich and impactful. Here
Are you looking for some fun ELA activities to make planning engaging ELA lesson plans a little easier? This list has you covered!
10 inexpensive rewards to use in your middle school class.
This past school year was a great one. With every school year that passes, I like to take a moment and reflect on activities that were successful in the
This week has been GREAT so far! Every student has started their Interactive Notebooks and are doing well at saying caught up. For my own do...
Check out these exciting TED Talks about poetry and choose your favorites to share with your high school students.
These non-fiction reading response choice boards are perfect for Interactive Notebooks, Daily Five, and meet the demands of the CCSS for Informational Text. The prompts encourage students to THINK versus fill out a worksheet or bubble in the answers on a scantron.:) My choice boards are listed indi...
If your students are requesting some lighter literature, check out some of the funny short stories for high schoolers I've rounded up.
In an earlier blog post, I wrote about the benefits of assigning a collaborative writing assignment in the high school English and middle school ELA
Hexagonal thinking is a rich new way to inspire discussion. This quick post will tell you everything you need to know (and provide you with ready-to-print resources) to successfully add Hexagonal Thinking discussions into your ELA classroom.
Short stories are great ways to tackle big issues in easy-to-digest lessons.! Here are my tips for teaching social justice with short stories.
With the CCSS emphasizing non-fiction text, this choice board is a perfect way to engage students. This choice board focuses on student thinking, and works well with collaborative groups. Students choose 3 activities to complete making a tic-tac-toe, and then cut out the corresponding cards to glue into their reading notebook. Here are my available choice boards: Growing Bundle of Choice Boards Non-Fiction Choice Board - Version 1 Non-Fiction Choice Board - Version 2 Depth and Complexity Choice Board Thinking About Non-Fiction Close Reading Choice Board Fiction Choice Board Fonts and Clipart: Creative Clips Hue Too KG Fonts Hello Fonts Cheers, The Curious Apple
Teaching with short films for ELA is a great way to strengthen reading skills and increase students’ literary analysis.
Check out these exciting TED Talks about poetry and choose your favorites to share with your high school students.
11 of the best short stories to teach in middle school. Stories with good moral lessons and plans to help you teach them!
Engage your ELA MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS with these ELA Bell Ringer Questions. Get them thinking and either writing or discussing. A total of 40 slides about MOTIVATION, SUCCESS AND AMBITION with a response sheet in 3 different formats, from short to longer answers. ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ✅ HOW TO USE? Each bell ringer slide has at least one open question which requires either a written reponse or pair/group discussion. If you use them for writing, a response sheet is provided in 3 formats: short, middle or long response. If you use them for discussion, simply project the slide and let them talk in pairs or small groups. Make sure to start from the Tracking Sheet to get organized. Jot down which questions are being used each day. ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ✅ WHO ARE THESE CARDS FOR? ✖ middle and high school students ✖ ESL/ELL/ELA students ✖ IELTS/TOEFL preparation ✖ speech therapy ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ✅ WHAT IS INCLUDED? ⚠️When downloaded, you will find 2 folders named US and UK spelling. → Choose the spelling you prefer and simply delete the other folder. ⚠️What is inside your folder of choice? BELL RINGERS with RESPONSE SHEETS ✖ Total pages: 83 - 40 colored+40 black&white+3 response sheets ✖ A PDF file sized 11x8.5 inches ✖ 40 different bell ringers (slides) ✖ One bell ringer per page ✖ Colored and black&white version for each slide ✖ Ideal for projectors or whiteboards ✖ Response sheets in 3 formats (short middle and longer response) TRACKING SHEETS ✖ Total pages: 2 ✖ 2 pages with all the prompts to get organized and keep track of the questions used TERMS OR USE + MORE RESOURCES ✖ Total pages: 3 ✖ Terms of use and credit to artists whose clipart and fonts were used in this product ✖ Links to all the other Bell Ringer Questions in my store ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ✅ IMPORTANT INFORMATION ❌ UK and US versions for all cards and formats are included. ❌ Black&white version of all cards and formats also included. ❌ No Prep needed. ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ✅ SAMPLE QUESTIONS (All questions are Open Questions and most cards have more than one question) ► ❝ Are you usually very motivated to do things or do you need motivation? Why do you think so? ❞ ► ❝ What’s the ultimate goal in life? How can people achieve that? ❞ ► ❝ “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” (Ford) What does this quote mean? Do you agree or not? Why? ❞ ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ✅ PLEASE, CHECK THE FULL PREVIEW!!! Make sure to ❰check the preview❱ of this resource as it outlines in detail everything that is included in this packet. ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ✅ FOR OTHER TOPICS, FIND BELOW ALL MY BELL RINGERS QUESTIONS LIKE THIS ONE Set ♳ - Beauty | Childhood | Entertainment | Family | Health | Love and Romance | Music | Shopping | Travel Set ♴ - Animals | Architecture | Christmas holidays | Dreaming | Ethics and Lies | Fashion | Future | Jobs | Natural Disasters | Sports Set ♵ - Art and Creativity | Books and Reading | Business | Computers and AI | Crime and Justice | Environment | Food and Eating | Movies | Science and Tech | Transportation Set ♶ - Accidents | Bullying | China | Education | Global Warming | Media | Motivation |Phobias and Fears | Success&Failure | Video Games Set ♷ - Age | Cooking and Eating | Dating | Emotions&Feelings | Heroes&Superheroes | Mental Health | Nature | Social Issues | Superstition | Would you ever...? Set ♸ - Ambition | Culture | Gender Roles | Happiness | Internet | Money | New Year's | Space Exploration | Time | Would you rather...? ❌❌❌ SAVE BIG ❌❌❌ SAVE BIG ❌❌❌ SAVE BIG ❌❌❌ ★ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | BUNDLE #1 | Middle and High School ★ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | BUNDLE #2 | Middle and High School ★ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | BUNDLE #3 | Middle and High School ★ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | BUNDLE #4 | Middle and High School ★ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | BUNDLE #5 | Middle and High School ★ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | BUNDLE #6 | Middle and High School ☆ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | SUPER BUNDLE #1 | Middle and High School ☆ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | SUPER BUNDLE #2 | Middle and High School ☆ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | SUPER BUNDLE #3 | Middle and High School ⛔⛔⛔ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | MEGA BUNDLE | For Teens ⛔⛔⛔ ✅ LINKS TO MY MOST POPULAR BELL RINGERS ⚫ Bell Ringers Riddles Brain Teasers for High School English ⚫ Bell Ringers Funny Riddles for High School English ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ✅ FEEDBACK - DOs AND DON'Ts What happens if you come back and leave feedback? ➀ You earn TPT credits for further purchases! ➁ You give me invaluable information about the ways this product can be used and, especially, how it can be improved! ➂ You make me extremely happy (wink, wink)! ✌✌✌ ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ COPYRIGHT © 2020 Lana's Classroom This product is intended for personal use in one classroom only. For use in multiple classrooms, please purchase additional licenses.
Using Pixar films in the English Language Arts classroom is an engaging way to review literary terms. Read this post to learn how you can use this!
Strugglig to engage your reluctant readers? Check out these contemporary short stories for high school ELA.
Happy Friday!!Here in South Jersey, were are eagerly awaiting snowageddon!! Blizzard + coastal flooding + four kids under the age of 7 stuck inside all weekend = CRAZINESS!!Anyway, before we lose power to the snowpocalypse, I wanted
Make students laugh while teaching satire, irony, and other literary devices.
The 3 2 1 strategy for the classroom is an easy fit for any classroom because it is quick, easy and can require very little prep...
Are your students disinterested and tired of the traditional ways of learning characterization? Have you been searching for a really fun, student-centered, interactive way to eliminate their boredom? Well, look no further! I present to you a wonderful student-collaboration activity that will get your students involved and excited for a character analysis for any novel, […]
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
Try these final project ideas for English class if you are looking to freshen up some of your end-of-unit evaluations.
5 creative first day of school activities for high school English so you can ditch the syllabus and start getting to know your students!
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!
Engage your ELA MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS with these ELA Bell Ringer Questions. Get them thinking and either writing or discussing. A total of 40 slides about AMBITION, SUCCESS, AND MOTIVATION with a response sheet in 3 different formats, from short to longer answers. ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ✅ HOW TO USE? Each bell ringer slide has at least one open question which requires either a written reponse or pair/group discussion. If you use them for writing, a response sheet is provided in 3 formats: short, middle or long response. If you use them for discussion, simply project the slide and let them talk in pairs or small groups. Make sure to start from the Tracking Sheet to get organized. Jot down which questions are being used each day. ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ✅ WHO ARE THESE CARDS FOR? ✖ middle and high school students ✖ ESL/ELL/ELA students ✖ IELTS/TOEFL preparation ✖ speech therapy ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ✅ WHAT IS INCLUDED? ⚠️When downloaded, you will find 2 folders named US and UK spelling. → Choose the spelling you prefer and simply delete the other folder. ⚠️What is inside your folder of choice? BELL RINGERS with RESPONSE SHEETS ✖ Total pages: 83 - 40 colored+40 black&white+3 response sheets ✖ A PDF file sized 11x8.5 inches ✖ 40 different bell ringers (slides) ✖ One bell ringer per page ✖ Colored and black&white version for each slide ✖ Ideal for projectors or whiteboards ✖ Response sheets in 3 formats (short middle and longer response) TRACKING SHEETS ✖ Total pages: 2 ✖ 2 pages with all the prompts to get organized and keep track of the questions used TERMS OR USE + MORE RESOURCES ✖ Total pages: 3 ✖ Terms of use and credit to artists whose clipart and fonts were used in this product ✖ Links to all the other Bell Ringer Questions in my store ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ✅ IMPORTANT INFORMATION ❌ UK and US versions for all cards and formats are included. ❌ Black&white version of all cards and formats also included. ❌ No Prep needed. ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ✅ SAMPLE QUESTIONS (All questions are Open Questions and most cards have more than one question) ► ❝ What are the positive aspects of being ambitious? ❞ ► ❝ What happens after one has fulfilled all of their ambitions and goals? ❞ ► ❝ If you could take a pill which would result in increased motivation to achieve your goals, would you want to take the pill? Why or why not? ❞ ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ✅ PLEASE, CHECK THE FULL PREVIEW!!! Make sure to ❰check the preview❱ of this resource as it outlines in detail everything that is included in this packet. ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ✅ FOR OTHER TOPICS, FIND BELOW ALL MY BELL RINGERS QUESTIONS LIKE THIS ONE Set ♳ - Beauty | Childhood | Entertainment | Family | Health | Love and Romance | Music | Shopping | Travel Set ♴ - Animals | Architecture | Christmas holidays | Dreaming | Ethics and Lies | Fashion | Future | Jobs | Natural Disasters | Sports Set ♵ - Art and Creativity | Books and Reading | Business | Computers and AI | Crime and Justice | Environment | Food and Eating | Movies | Science and Tech | Transportation Set ♶ - Accidents | Bullying | China | Education | Global Warming | Media | Motivation |Phobias and Fears | Success&Failure | Video Games Set ♷ - Age | Cooking and Eating | Dating | Emotions&Feelings | Heroes&Superheroes | Mental Health | Nature | Social Issues | Superstition | Would you ever...? Set ♸ - Ambition | Culture | Gender Roles | Happiness | Internet | Money | New Year's | Space Exploration | Time | Would you rather...? ❌❌❌ SAVE BIG ❌❌❌ SAVE BIG ❌❌❌ SAVE BIG ❌❌❌ ★ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | BUNDLE #1 | Middle and High School ★ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | BUNDLE #2 | Middle and High School ★ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | BUNDLE #3 | Middle and High School ★ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | BUNDLE #4 | Middle and High School ★ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | BUNDLE #5 | Middle and High School ★ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | BUNDLE #6 | Middle and High School ☆ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | SUPER BUNDLE #1 | Middle and High School ☆ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | SUPER BUNDLE #2 | Middle and High School ☆ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | SUPER BUNDLE #3 | Middle and High School ⛔⛔⛔ ELA Bell Ringers Questions | MEGA BUNDLE | For Teens ⛔⛔⛔ ✅ LINKS TO MY MOST POPULAR BELL RINGERS ⚫ Bell Ringers Riddles Brain Teasers for High School English ⚫ Bell Ringers Funny Riddles for High School English ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ✅ FEEDBACK - DOs AND DON'Ts What happens if you come back and leave feedback? ➀ You earn TPT credits for further purchases! ➁ You give me invaluable information about the ways this product can be used and, especially, how it can be improved! ➂ You make me extremely happy (wink, wink)! ✌✌✌ ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ COPYRIGHT © 2020 Lana's Classroom This product is intended for personal use in one classroom only. For use in multiple classrooms, please purchase additional licenses.
Analyzing poetry is a skill all our students need to develop. While students are required to investigate poems often, poetry analysis is still something that many students struggle with. That's why I'm a big fan of practice! I love to give students lots of opportunities to closely read and analyze poetry. (And I've put together a FREE one-pager that students can use with any poem!) POETRY ANALYSIS TIPS When putting together a poetry analysis lesson, here are some tips I follow: ✔ TIP 1: Select a poem that is long enough for students to adequately investigate, but not too long to make the process overwhelming. ✔ TIP 2: Provide students with background information about the author of the poem. This helps to build context and connections to the poem. ✔ TIP 3: Choose a poem with at least one form of figurative language for students to identify and describe. ✔ TIP 4: Have students read the poem multiple times. You might read the poem out loud first. Then, students might read the poem in a small group or with a partner. Finally, students can read the poem independently. ✔ TIP 5: Give students tasks that become more complex with each reading. POETRY ANALYSIS TASKS Then, when I'm actually teaching an analysis lesson, here are 4 analysis tasks that work with ANY poem (Don't worry, you can download the entire lesson for FREE here.): Task 1: Reflect After students read a poem, have them reflect on what the poem made them think about and how the poem made them feel. When students share what the poem make them think about they'll be able to pull main ideas from the text. Then, when they share how they felt, they'll need to think more deeply about the poem. Task 2: Visualize When students have completed a second reading of the poem, have them select a line or lines from the poem that helped them create a mental image in their minds. Students should write the lines down. Then, have students doodle an actual illustration to portray the words in the poem. Task 3: Figurative Language Share the definition for a type of figurative language found in the poem with students. Then, have students read the poem a third time. As they read, encourage them to be on the lookout for an example of the figurate language. Once students find an example have them write it down before explaining its meaning. Task 4: Theme Once students read the poem for a final time, have them respond to a short answer question that requires them to identify the theme of the poem. As students write their analyses, encourage them to include direct quotes from the poem. These analysis tasks build in difficulty and encourage students to naturally dive deeply into the text. If you're looking for poems for students to analyze, check out my favorite poems to teach here: ⭐ 5 Favorite Poems for Middle School ⭐ Funny Poems for Kids ⭐ Poems that Teach Growth Mindset ⭐ 20 Poems and 80 Analysis Tasks Download the FREE Doodle One-Pager HERE. Thanks for stopping by! Mary Beth P.S. Check out these 5 fun ways to teach poetry!
Use these 10 tips, resources, and strategies to engage even the most reluctant readers in your middle school ELA classroom.
In this post by Bespoke ELA, discover five ways to infuse humor into English Language Arts curriculum for middle school and high school students.
Looking for scaffolded ELA bell ringers for middle school grades?! Have your students in their seats and working on an assignment as soon as the bell rings! These bell ringers provide and engaging, fun, and meaningful way to get students on task and prepared for the day's learning. This is volume 1 of my Month of Bell Ringers! This is a great resource for Writing, ELA, and even ESL teachers to use for bell ringers! There is a mixture of grammar and writing. There are 25 different prompts or questions. These bell ringers are engaging and change every day, so the students can find excitement in what they will be working on each day! ⭐️These bell ringers are also EDITABLE (except for the clipart), so you can adjust them to fit tour students' needs!⭐️ My Resource Includes: 5 Main Idea Monday prompts 5 Tweak it Tuesday prompts with answers 5 Write it out Wednesday prompts 5 Think about it Thursday prompts 5 Feel Good Friday prompts Teacher Slides (editable) Scaffolded Teacher Slides (editable) -The scaffolded slides provide sentence stems and supports to help ESL and lower-level students! Student Slides (you can assign these in Google Classroom™ or Microsoft TEAMS™! Printable student forms (Monday-Friday boxes for them to respond to the bell ringers) ✅You will get these bell ringers by downloading the PDF and clicking the proper links. You will need to give permission for them to be added to your Google Classroom account. ✅I have provided a link that explains how to assign them in Google Classroom™ and in Microsoft TEAMS™. How it works: Main Idea Monday On Mondays, students will read a paragraph. They are mostly informational but may include fictional excerpts as well. Students are asked what the main idea of the paragraph is, and they are then asked to provide text evidence to support the main idea of the paragraph. Tweak It Tuesday On Tuesdays, students are given an excerpt or paragraph. They have grammatical errors that students must correct. After they have made their corrections, there is a slide that contains the answers. I show my students the answers after they have had plenty of time to answer. In the Scaffolded Teacher Slides, students are only asked to add end punctuation! Write it out Wednesday Each Wednesday, students are given a writing prompt. It may be narrative, informational, or argumentative. Students must respond to the prompt and write as much as they can in this amount of time. I typically have the students to aim for a complete paragraph. There are sentence frames in the Scaffolded Teacher Slides! Think About It Thursday On Thursdays, students are given a prompt to stimulate thinking. This may be a decision that they would have to make, a preference, or anything along those lines. Students must respond to the prompt by writing down their thoughts. There are sentence frames in the Scaffolded Teacher Slides! Feel Good Friday Every Friday, students will respond to a "feel good" prompt. This may involve thing that have happened this week, something that the student it good at, or even acts of kindness. There are sentence frames in the Scaffolded Teacher Slides! Be sure to leave feedback on resources, so you can earn points towards your next TpT purchase! Want to get in touch? My Website Join my Email List for a FREE Download Instagram Facebook Pinterest Follow my TpT store to get updates and notifications on new resources! If you have any questions or need assistance, please feel free to contact me! My email address is: [email protected]. Copyright ©Hello Tennessee Teacher 2018. All rights reserved by the author Permission to copy for single classroom use only
What my daily ELA class period schedule looks like in middle school ELA and how it works alongside my scope and sequences.