Savage Classroom

This nonfiction Friday: identifying main idea and supporting details while talking about solving a pretty big problem, superbugs! This is about a 12 minute listen. I provide some before, during, and after listening questions and some time stamps to give you a guide for when I would stop to touch base with my students. I used the Shortwave podcast, " Can a 100-Year-Old Treatment Help Save Us From Superbugs?" I could see this pairing really well with my other activity on antibiotic resistant bact

This nonfiction Friday: identifying main idea and supporting details while talking about how to be a (wonderful) human. A really engaging and uplifting story about popular submission on Reddit: Today you, tomorrow me. Great way to discuss the power of generosity and random acts of kindness. This is about a 25 minute listen. I provide some before, during, and after listening questions and some time stamps to give you a guide for when I would stop to touch base with my students. I used the Endles

Not your grandma's "did you read" multiple choice quiz! In fact, these quizzes contain specific quotes for students to look at, and I often let students use their books on my quizzes (shocking, I know). The goal here is not to (just) test memory and comprehension. I try to make my multiple choice quizzes as useful as possible; in turn, while some questions are more plot-based, many questions ask students to infer and analyze as well. Questions keep in mind CCSS and use stems similar to those stu

Standardized test prep does not need to be miserable and irrelevant for your students (and you)! The purpose of my nonfiction Friday series is to get students talking about engaging, important, and/or personal issues of the day, while mixing in a little Common Core Reading for Information and standardized test prep in the process. Did you know voting is mandatory in Australia...becuase I sure didn't! Just in time for Inauguration Day In the U.S., let's talk about a few ins and outs of our voting

To a Mouse is one of my favorite poems, and it is something I have found myself gravitating toward this year. I made a little active reading guide and mixed in some Social Emotional Learning. Hopefully, this helps you dig into some rad poetry and facilitate a helpful and important discussion about how we can cope when plans don't work out the way we expect (because of circumstances beyond our control). Heads up! This poem is AWESOME! However, it also may be a challenge at first for students to u

Icebreakers can be fun, but are often not super helpful. Going over your expectations and rules is important...but you don't want to bore your kids to tears. You want to show that your classroom will be rigorous...but you don't want to open with something scary...like standardized test prep (shiver!). Oh...and you want to show your kids you care...and that everything is going to be ok...and they can come to you with questions...and that they can be comfortable and safe in your room....or in your

Standardized test prep does not need to be miserable and irrelevant for your students (and you). The purpose of my nonfiction Friday series is to get students talking about engaging, important, and/or personal issues of the day, while mixing in a little Common Core Reading for Information and standardized test prep in the process. This particular passage would be great for back to school, before finals, or around a new semester as the focus is on setting positive habits! As this is passage is a

You want to see your kids laugh? Ask them to raise their hands if they are a procrastinator! See the hands bashfully (and sometimes unashamedly) shoot up in the air as they look around and giggle. Listen, most of us can relate to putting off tomorrow what probably could have been done today. But what is the real deal with proacrastination? Is it really that bad if we ultimately meet the deadline? Enter Tim Urban! In this super entertaining and relatable TED talk he walks us through his own life

Maybe don't start the year with a littany of all the things your kids CAN'T do in your classroom? Instead...Maybe start with all the things the CAN do! Included: Classroom Expectations Document: Five positive classroom expectations that encourage students to understand boundaries and take ownership of behavior. Feeel free to adapt this basic list of expectations to fit your needs! For example, I also include a breakdown of the novels we cover during the year and my grading policy. You can also e

Icebreakers can be cool but not super useful and going over your class expectations and/or syllabus may bore your kids to tears on the first few days. Here is an interactive way to help students work through some common issues that come up in class throughout the year...that isn't totally dull AND encourages students to think about solving problems. INCLUDED: Original "What If" Document: This document outlines 11 common scenarios that have come up in my class (and surely many others) that can l

Icebreakers can be cool but not super useful and going over your class expectations and/or syllabus may bore your kids to tears on the first few days. Here I try to meet a balance between building rapport and getting some important details about my students! 12 Questions: A short survey that asks some nice superficial ice breaker sorts of questions (what super power would you have and why?) while also getting some more substantial information about students that will help me set up my classroom

Active viewing guide to Minimalism: A Documentary About The Important Things. I use this guide to help students identify and analyze author's purpose and make connections between Fahrenheit 451 and our world (focusing on the idea of materialism/how and/or if what we buy says something about who we are). However, you could use this with a variety of novel and for a variety of purposes in your classroom! This is a before, during, and after viewing guide. Students record responses, turn and talk, a

I have been lucky enough to work several semesters now with professional teachers looking to get an ESL/Bilingual endorsement. Many express knowing they want to create more culturally responsive classrooms but not knowing exactly where to start. I will not pretend to have all the answers, but I do hope this is a tool you can use to work toward a more inclusive, diverse, and representative curriculum and classroom.

You may be at a point where you aren't totally sure what day of the week it is, but I think we can all agree that Fridays are still awesome and so is nonfiction! As an Illinois native with a kiddo obsessed with fish, we love the Shedd Aquarium. There have been these awesome videos of the Penguins touring the Shedd while it is shut down because of Covid-19. I created 6 multiple choice questions based on the article by Antonia Noori Farzan, "Penguins toured an aquarium that closed because of coron

Promote a love of reading and student choice, while still visiting some of those Common Core State Standards in a novel way (pun absolutely intended)! I use this with my freshmen reading group. It's a great way to get them off devices and into a book, because, let's face it, we could all use a break from computers right about now! Great to pair with a book talk at your library. You could also narrow down books for your students to choose. This bundle of resources offers a lot of flexibility! Wha

Don't Panic! Let's face it, we all have a lot on our plate. My hope is this nifty pack saves you some time, energy, and sanity. Along with being a traditional classroom teacher, I am also a remote adjunct professor; I have used quite a few digital discussion boards in my day! In this package I include a page that explains the purpose of a Digital Discussion Board, recommendations for writing "Initial Posts" and "Follow-Up" Posts, recommondations on style, and a rubric. If you are looking for a

Fridays are awesome. Nonfiction is awesome. Together, the combination is almost magical. Standardized test prep does not need to be miserable and irrelevant for your students (and you). The purpose of my nonfiction Friday series is to get students talking about engaging, important, and, in this case, often overlooked issues of the day, while mixing in a little Common Core Reading for Information and standardized test prep in the process. The focus here is on sustainability in an unexpected place

Fridays are awesome. Nonfiction is awesome. Together, the combination is almost magical. Standardized test prep does not need to be miserable and irrelevant for your students (and you). The purpose of my nonfiction Friday series is to get students talking about engaging, important, and, in this case, often overlooked issues of the day, while mixing in a little Common Core Reading for Information and standardized test prep in the process. This particular passage is different than a typical standa

Fridays are awesome. Nonfiction is awesome. Together, the combination is almost magical. Standardized test prep does not need to be miserable and irrelevant for your students (and you). The purpose of my nonfiction Friday series is to get students talking about engaging, important, and, in this case, an often overlooked issue of the day, while mixing in a little Common Core Reading for Information and standardized test prep in the process. Use as a bell ringer or use to guide your whole day. A s

A great way to EFFECTIVELY use a high interest video in your classroom! I use this guide to highlight a key Common Core Standard: Analyze multiple interpretations of a story and evaluate how each version interprets the source text. I find this handout not only helps students develop a better understanding of key characters, themes, and topics in The Great Gatsby, but also really helps them dig deeper into the text. I break the movie into clips. We preview what we will be looking for in the clips