Choose the ones that fit for your classroom. Great for online teaching as well. It gives students a job to do as classwork that can rotate and take away monotony. Hands-on ELA at it’s best. New ideas for roles. Some great suggestions for struggling students.
Category Archives: reading techniques
How do I raise the level of my questioning while teaching online, facilitate, and get grades?
Try having a group analyze a text with this checklist for them to check off as they discuss. It allows students to be in charge of their learning and teachers to facilitate the level of their discussion without reinventing the wheel each and every time they complete a close reading analysis about a text. LiteracyContinue reading “How do I raise the level of my questioning while teaching online, facilitate, and get grades?”
Introduce a Text with a quote from other texts
Using novel quotes to introduce paired text units and/or short stories and poems. Here are a few from seventeenth-century writer John Milton. It offers thought processing and making connections with similar inner themes within texts. “For what can war but endless war still breed?” This quote is great for a text like “Lord of theContinue reading “Introduce a Text with a quote from other texts”
Literature quotes aimed toward classic literature for the classroom
If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance. -George Bernard Shaw “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Dumas is one of my favorite “secret holder” books. Some of the best classics give the reader secret information about the family skeletons and you have the whole book toContinue reading “Literature quotes aimed toward classic literature for the classroom”
How do I add classic poetry into the elementary classroom?
Common Core and Standards-Based classroom create rigorous analysis for the ELA classroom. And justly so. Readying students for rigorous careers, jobs, and problem solving in life requires rigorous instruction. A hundred years ago the language used for writing WAS more rigorous. As writers continue to write through the decades, school teachers are in constant searchContinue reading “How do I add classic poetry into the elementary classroom?”
Funny quotes to add to your lesson starters.
Who is wise? He that learns from everyone. Who is powerful? He that governs his passions. Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody. -Benjamin Franklin ************************************************************************************** Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. -Hebrews 13:2 The first quote is great for anytime a character inContinue reading “Funny quotes to add to your lesson starters.”
How many novels can be taught with the start of posting “Starry Night” by Van Gogh? Tons!
Paired units are not something new to teachers who have taught themed units all or most of their teaching career. We called them by the names current educational standards have need of, and we cater them to the level needed to be taught with upping the rigor, but they are still the same classic (orContinue reading “How many novels can be taught with the start of posting “Starry Night” by Van Gogh? Tons!”
Read a good book today…
Find your comfort book and snuggle into a blanket. Think about it…there is a book on the shelf that is hopping to be turned, dog-eared, and put on a pedestal when it is finished. My list is long but will tease with a book a week. My first High School level reread book sitting highContinue reading “Read a good book today…”
Teach a quote of the week. Here is why and how.
Why? Teaching quotes from different sources broadens their critical thinking, is often researched based when using educational gurus, increases exposure to more historical names and events, and increases vocabulary. How? Find your own or look around the net for teachers who have already created them for the year. One for each week. Some have evenContinue reading “Teach a quote of the week. Here is why and how.”
Teaching text evidence needs to raise above a DOK 1 level. Here is how.
Too often a teacher has the student write what a character said and call it evidence. Well, what evidence did that prove? Did it align with a question? Did it circle back to the actual desired outcome or was it just random information given and the student was praised for simply giving an answer evenContinue reading “Teaching text evidence needs to raise above a DOK 1 level. Here is how.”
ELA On The Move 