The above image is a great bell ringer opener for a poetry unit to let students analyze. Here are a few poems to include in the unit that are used to compare and contrast off of the novella taught before the unit. By teaching a poetry unit after a novel that relates or can beContinue reading “Poe’s “Eldorado” opens up poetry week following teaching the “The Pearl”, a novella by John Steinbeck”
Category Archives: small groups teaching tip
Quotes to Introduce the text, “Sense and Sensibility” by Jane Austen
Ferrars and Elinor: “Love with delight discourses in my mind Upon my lady’s admirable gifts… Beyond the range of human intellect.” -Dante, “ll Convito, Trattato Terzo 1. 1 Colonel Brandon and Marianne: “I love to talk with some old lover’s ghost, Who died before the god of love was born.” – John Donne, “Love’s Deity”Continue reading “Quotes to Introduce the text, “Sense and Sensibility” by Jane Austen”
Small Group Guides-You don’t have to “shoot in the dark”- Teach yourself how to facilitate a classroom full of small groups going at the same time.
What? More than one small group at one time! Try having 4-5 small groups at one time. What? How do I do that? Step one is planning the way you want students to run their own group tasks and goals you want met at the end of each class as well as unit. It soundsContinue reading “Small Group Guides-You don’t have to “shoot in the dark”- Teach yourself how to facilitate a classroom full of small groups going at the same time.”
Wednesday Tech Tip-for the ELA classroom-online novels at your fingertips
When teaching ELA in today’s common core classroom, classics are a must. Students need them regardless for their future adventures in ACT and SAT testing, but also because just like learning in Social Studies, we learn from the past. Reading Charles Dickens or Jane Austen makes students appreciate today’s technology and learn from the waysContinue reading “Wednesday Tech Tip-for the ELA classroom-online novels at your fingertips”
Teaching “Night” by Wiesel
Night by Elie Wiesel is an excellent short text for a first-hand account of concentration camps during World . 2 Here are a few give-aways to get the unit started in your classroom. Essential Questions: How can we justify and understand tragedies like the Holocaust? What about autobiographies, true stories of people’s lives? How doesContinue reading “Teaching “Night” by Wiesel”
Literature Spotlight- Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Bells” for upper Elementary all the way to high school years
“The Bells”. Let’s take a walk down Bell Lane! Listen to the following and tell me how you feel after each. happy bells distressed bells scary bells danger bells Any others you can think of… Next…. Tactile/kinesthetic activity while listening, choral reading, of the poem, “The Bells”. A little secret device of fun the students love toContinue reading “Literature Spotlight- Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Bells” for upper Elementary all the way to high school years”
Close Reading Techniques
Close reading isn’t magic. In fact, it is probably in the textbook you have in your adoption. Try pulling it out to see an example. The problem most of the time with the textbook examples is simply the questioning techniques and levels. They are rarely high enough on the DOK levels. So where do IContinue reading “Close Reading Techniques”
A facilitated classroom is an engaged classroom.
In a facilitated classroom where students discuss as much as if not more than direct instruction, then students are engaged. If you are monitoring well, aiding where confusion lies, and using teachable moments at every turn, then any small discipline can be handled on the side, quickly. Understandably, there is always that one student. PlanningContinue reading “A facilitated classroom is an engaged classroom.”
Using the movie, “Pagemaster” as a year-long project
Showing this movie alone motivates students to read classic fiction. Try showing it to older students or showing a clip of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde scene before reading the book or the Moby Dick scene before the book. The Moby Dick scene is great to use before reading a non-fiction text of variousContinue reading “Using the movie, “Pagemaster” as a year-long project”
Friday Teaching with Quotes- Introducing a text with quotes from Robert Frost’s works
“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” SO many stories need this reminder. Try adding this quote somewhere in the middle of teaching a text where the character needs to learn that lesson. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,AndContinue reading “Friday Teaching with Quotes- Introducing a text with quotes from Robert Frost’s works”
ELA On The Move 