I've read about them, talked with teachers who love doing them (older kids though), but I haven't taken the leap to TRY them. I've been reading The Book Whisperer, and I love so much of what she has to say. I love the joy she gets from reading. I was certainly the Reluctant Reader as a kid. I was a good reader, great vocabulary, but I never FINISHED books. Encyclopedia Brown was my best friend. I could read half of the book and return in on "library day" feeling satisfied that I had read most of it with no urge to finish. How SAD is that! I truly did not enjoy reading until college. Summers were spent at the used book store buying all of the Flowers in the Attic series and devouring them. Not literature, for sure, but I enjoyed the escape and the freedom to read what I wanted for a change! Since beginning the Book Whisperer, I grew to appreciate the talks that I often have with my kids when they read a book or are trying to find a book. What was missing was the dialogue they could have with each other. Back to that voice in the back of my head that wanted to try Lit Circles with my kids. I have an amazing group of readers this year. We are focusing school-wide to broaden our genre reading which has really lent itself to the talks I've had with my kids. I knew before we tried Lit Circles, I had to choose a read-aloud that was more than funny or entertaining. I went with The Miraculous Journey of Edward Toulane. Wow..... What a great read! I sat at my desk reading aloud with tears coming down my face, my voice quivering, and a silent classroom hanging on every word. We had wonderful class talks about Edward. Great book to see a character change. I highly recommend and will read this book much earlier in the year next year! After these book talks, I am ready to cut them loose to talk with each other. I don't know how this will go. I'm making it up as I go along. We'll learn this together, but I have to try it out before I can improve it! Promise to keep you posted on our progress...hopefully! I teetered back and forth on how I wanted them to document their roles and decided on personal logbooks. That way, they have their own keepsake of their journey. I'm putting my attempt on TPT as a Freebie. I'd love for you to try it out and give me your feedback! I'd love it if you would Pretty Please follow my TPT store in return. I'd love to share future updates to the packet with you, and let you know when I make other items that might work for you! Here is the simple way I decided to put these together without the kids pulling out their scissors. Step One: Made 12 sets that were collated on the copier Step Two: Stapled the upper edge for each booklet Step Three: Trimmed the outer sides Step Four: Cut the two booklets along the center line Step Five: Done! Bonus: Added a few extra pages for the Summarizer in case they need more than one page. I put that page in the back of the booklet....just in case. And..........Finally!!! None of these on the floor! Yeah! Click on the image below to grab your OWN copy! Let me know if you LOVE it!

You can find many of the world's best independent bookshops in London. From travel bookshops to queer bookshops, these are London's must-visit bookshops.

If you love the idea of book clubs, literature circles are another great way to engage your secondary students in discussion. This post has everything you need to know about creating engaging roles for high school and middle school students. This post also includes distance learning tips for hosting literature circles virtually.

Literature Circles in the elementary classroom. How to do literature circles with 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students.

Each region of the United States has its own literary flavor. Authors writing regional literature capture that flavor by exploring the landscapes,

These ELA podcast pairings will help you design engaging text sets for you middle school and high school English classroom!

Literature Circles are an ideal practice that I love to implement in my classroom to enhance students love of reading. If you are looking for a

Find short stories difficult to teach? Here are five of my favourites that your students will love to analyze. A free lesson plan will be available, too!

Whether you're teaching in a classroom or a busy homeschool mom, it can be challenging to figure out where to start. Whether you have a question about how to support learners with behavior needs, where to find the best games to practice math facts, or just need some great book recommendations, I've got you covered.

I have to admit - I was never a fan of poetry. In the words of my students, I just didn't "get it." That all changed my junior year of high school. I had what in most of my classmates' minds was the toughest teacher in the school. She certainly wasn't "warm and fuzzy," but she pushed us and challenged us. I fell in love with poetry in her class because she was able to open my mind to it. Sign of a great teacher. When I told my students that we will complete a unit on poetry this year, there were groans aplenty. That just wouldn't do for me - so I worked to create a poetry unit that they would be excited about. We started out reading a lot of funny poems (Shel Silverstein was a favorite), but we also read a lot of classic poems by Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and Langston Hughes. The Langston Hughes poems worked SO well since we were studying the Harlem Renaissance in social studies. Cross-curriculum instruction at its best! I taught them the parts of a poem and rhyme schemes, and we had poetry readings - snaps and all! Lots of fun was had by all, but I just wanted them to go a little deeper. Since I only fell in love with poetry once I was able to fully understand it, I had to teach my students to do the same. Cue annotation. I think as teachers of elementary students, we are often a little apprehensive to introduce concepts like "annotation" because they are still young and you just never know how students will perceive a difficult concepts. They ALWAYS manage to surprise me! To teach annotation, I introduced the poem, The Wind Began to Rock the Grass by Emily Dickinson. The students read the poem to themselves, and then I read it out loud to them. Of course, when I asked them what they thought the poem was about - many were unsure. I told them that we are going to annotate the poem, gave them the definition, and then we dived right in. I read the poem stanza by stanza again, but this time we defined words, asked questions, and made comments on the left hand side. On the right side of each stanza, we wrote a one sentence summary. As we defined words, we talked through the words and used context clues. It's amazing how intuitive fifth graders are. They can always figure out the meaning of a word (even though they don't always believe in themselves). We worked through the first three stanzas together, and then I let them complete the last two on their own. As you may guess, they excitement began to build as the poem drew to a close. The light bulbs went off, the choirs began to sing, the end of the tunnel was in sight...you get the idea. Students were SO EXCITED about the fact that they now understood the poem so clearly! This certainly ended up being one of those "it worked!" lessons. Here is another example with the poem, A Bird Came Down by Emily Dickinson. The next day, I asked students to work in partners and gave them a new poem to annotate. I was very impressed with their work, and they were able to see the purpose of annotation and understand why it helps them become better readers and writers. I learned a good lesson too: start annotation at the beginning of the year! :) I use a PowerPoint Lesson and Interactive Notes to teach this entire unit. The lesson teaches students how to annotate slide by slide! Happy Teaching!

This list of 20 Short Short Stories for AP Lit accompanies ideas for how to use Flash Fiction in AP Literature and High School English...

This quick pirate unit study will be tops on your student's list of favorites for the school year. It's full of literature and project-based learning ideas.

Have you ever heard a word that sounds like the sound it describes? That’s called onomatopoeia. It’s a literary device that is used to describe a sound by imitating it with a word. For example, the word “buzz” imitates the sound of a bee. Onomatopoeia is used in literature, poetry, and even in everyday language. ... Read more

If you are looking to make learning Language Arts a bit simpler in your homeschool, then you, my friend, are going to want to read my newest review! From Common Sense Press comes Learning Language

With these Transcendentalism projects, you'll be able to bring texts like Emerson's Self-reliance and Thoreau's Walden to life!

Of all the book-loving book characters there are to love in literature, Hermione Granger has got to be one of my absolute favorites. She’s the lady who ran to the library when all seemed lost (and plenty of other times too) and for whom there wasn’t…

At Frayed Passport, we love to marry travel and literature. In the spirit of the macabre, here are our favorite spooky destinations!

Whether you're teaching in a classroom or a busy homeschool mom, it can be challenging to figure out where to start. Whether you have a question about how to support learners with behavior needs, where to find the best games to practice math facts, or just need some great book recommendations, I've got you covered.

Ignite a love for learning using stories, teaching subjects in a gentle way. Embrace learning with a literature-based homeschool curriculum!

Don't let your literature anthology dictate the short stories you read with your middle school and high school students. There are so many wonderful short stories out there, many of which can be used to teach a variety of literary elements and paired with other texts. Read on for 13 of my favorites, which literary terms and skills they lend themselves to teaching, plus suggested text pairings and activities.

For most of us as English teachers, reading was a love-at-first-sight kind of experience, and while some of our students have that same natural love for reading, others simply have cold feet. Thankfully, it only takes a little creativity and the right reading activity for a love of reading to bloom. To foster this love

Liven up your next Socratic Seminar with these fun games and strategies to get students talking about ANY text!

In recent years, read-aloud has been pushed aside in favor of more direct instruction of reading strategies. But reading aloud to your class is vital, not only for good classroom management, but for instilling a lifelong love of reading.

Three fun and engaging Lord of the Flies introduction activity ideas that will hook students from day one!

Spending time reading books is an important part of our homeschool, as I want my children to have a love for learning and literature. This blog post shares the ways I encourage my kids to spend time reading and foster a love of books and literature through our home environment, available book choices, and more.

Important Note: This product is also included in the full Creative Comprehension Kit for The Sour Grape! If you already own the kit, then you already own this directed drawing! Spark creativity and foster a love of reading by celebrating your students’ favorite picture books characters! With this resource, you will provide your students with the opportunity to draw the Sour Grape, and pair the drawing with a fun writing prompt! What’s Included: Detailed Step-By-Step Activity Plan (With Tips for Directed Drawing Success) Step-By-Step PDF Slides (For Projecting) Individual Student Handout (For Centers) Differentiated Writing Prompts: "The Sour Grape," "Feelin' Grapeful," "The Sour Grape Learns a Lesson," & "The Sour Grape's Change" To save big on comprehension resources that support The Sour Grape, check out Creative Comprehension: The Sour Grape!

I love using picture books as inspiration for children’s art projects. Over the past 13 years I have curated a a massive list of project ideas and lesson plans. Here is my growing list of picture books and coordinating art projects for kids: A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni Abe Lincoln’s Dream by Lane Smith

The stunning textured Storybook ring has a natural and contemporary look. It's simple and unique appearance makes it the perfect wedding band. Inspired by Alison’s love of literature, the Storybook collection reflects the tactile quality of leather bound books from her childhood. The textured gold band makes a beautiful wedding band. The band has been delicately textured and finished with a gorgeous flowing edge. The overall effect is elegant and timeless. MaterialMade from solid 9ct yellow or white gold. Hallmarked at the Edinburgh Assay Office.  SizeThe band measures approximately 5-6mm wide.

Whether you're teaching in a classroom or a busy homeschool mom, it can be challenging to figure out where to start. Whether you have a question about how to support learners with behavior needs, where to find the best games to practice math facts, or just need some great book recommendations, I've got you covered.

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.

Cultivating a postive classroom community is such an important part of teaching, and I've learned that little things go a long way. The Best Part of Me writing activity is a great community builder!

"I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once."

5 Fail-Proof Ways to help you teach students how to identify the main idea & the supporting details of a passage, short story...

You can easily incorporate children's literature into the elementary music classroom and I especially love using children's books for movement exploration.

This homeschool geography curriculum for grades K-3 from Beautiful Feet Books is a super fun way to boost learning through literature.

So, are you itching for winter break to get here or what?!? I am drowning here, people! Between report cards, conferences (for my students and my own kids!), shopping, baking, parties, wrapping... DROWNING!Don't get me

Summer is finally here, and it’s time to celebrate with FUN, hands-on SUMMER activities your little learners will go bonkers for! Take the learning outside or get messy inside and...