Burton's Class

In the Circle of Viewpoints, you’ll want students to think about something that has happened in the section of their book club book that they will be discussing today. They will then explain how three different characters all look at the same event or situation. For instance, in the book Charlotte’s Web, students could look at how Charlotte, Wilbur, and Fern all think about the moment when Charlotte’s first web is seen. Each character will have very different ideas and reactions to what is happ

These sheets can be used for any kind of essay. Literary essay would skip the rebuttal page. When used together, these 7 resources will take your students step-by-step through the process of constructing a five-paragraph essay.

I always call this the 5 Ws and the "oddball" (because the H in how seems to have lost his W) to help them remember the questions to ask in order to write a great nonfiction summary sentence. By adding details, they can use this work to create a nonfiction summary paragraph. This works best with shorter texts or sections of a longer text.

I have revamped the old-fashioned book club jobs into tasks using Visible Thinking Routines. I think this has made book clubs more accessible to all of my students as well as added interest and clarity.

I made these to help my students remember the steps as well as help the PARENTS understand what we are doing in the classroom. I laminated them for student use and created a smaller version to fit in their math notebooks. Uses US Traditional for BOTH.

I use this sheet to help my students plan out the conclusions of their essays. Can be used for argument or literary essays.

I teach counterclaim and rebuttal as an addition to a paragraph or as part of the conclusion. I ask them to think of their claim and to think about what a grouchy and nosey neighbor may say in response.

For a Step Inside, the student really thinks closely about a particular character. They will explain what the character is seeing, thinking, caring about, and wondering about. I usually have my students do this in first person through the eyes of their character. This student can lead a discussion by explaining their thinking and then asking group members if they have different or additional ideas to the ones this student created. This template  can be printed and handed to the students or poste

This is a simple organizer for students to see their entire essay at a glance. This can be used with any kind of essay. The blue bullets will be the main idea of each paragraph with the supporting bullets beneath. I have created two versions of the Boxes and Bullets Essay Structure: one can be printed and handed to the students and one can be posted online for students to create digitally.

Once my students have decided what their thesis will be, they use this organizer to think of how they are going to structure the body paragraphs and sort the research they have done into categories.

Help your students learn complicated vocabulary by teaching Greek and Latin Roots! Features:  28 ready-to-print student sheetsSample pageMaster root list with 2 examples for eachStudents can access many more words using an online dictionaryBlank sheet to add additional rootsAll student sheets are alphabetically organized for easy referenceRight-aligned for hole-punchingEditable in Google SlidesFormatted to print on 8.5"x11" paperCan be adjusted for many levels

After our essays are planned out, I have my students compile their work into complete paragraphs here. I print this as a packet and can then use it for conferencing, revising and editing. Depending on my goal, I sometimes have them type up a "final copy", and sometimes I use this packet as their final draft.

After students have written their body paragraphs I teach them to add a quote from their research to strengthen their argument. The example listed on the second page comes from the Scholastic News article, "The Race to Save Rhinos" by Rebecca Zissou. - March 4, 2024 issue.

I used this with Scholastic News articles as my 5th grade students are preparing to write their own nonfiction feature articles. I want them to be able to envision their own finished products looking just as fantastic.

This graphic organizer was created to be used to assist students in putting events in chronological order. This could be used for fictional stories as well as nonfiction where steps or processes occur in a particular order. I have created two versions of the “Putting Events in Chronological Order” Organizer: one can be printed in color and one is designed for black and white printers. Both can be posted online for students to create digitally.

Read - Think - Wonder is a take on See - Think - Wonder that I use when my students are reading something that I want them to look at more closely. For this activity, the students will write a quick summary about something that they read that felt really important. Then , using that same section, the will write what it makes them think about. In the last column they will write anything they are wondering about. I allow students to write questions when that makes it easier for them to get their t

For Color - Symbol - Image students need to think of a big idea that was conveyed in the section of the text the club is currently reading. This activity can also be a stepping stone to teach theme.  Once they have thought of their big idea, students think about ways to represent that idea.The students will select a color that they feel represents the idea. They will then explain their thinking below. Next, they will select an image that represents the idea and describe their thinking below. Las

This a take on the difference between inch, foot, yard, mile questions. For book clubs, I wanted rich questions, but obviously not ones that would need to access multiple sources for. Because of this, I came up with “fat and skinny” questions. Since then, I have had increasingly immature classes and have removed the idea of “fat” and “skinny” to focus on “Big” vs. “Little” questions. Big Questions usually begin with a wonder. “I wonder why the boy didn’t just run away?” or “I wonder if the scien

With this diagram, students will consider how a theme or idea is developed in two different texts. I have students write the theme or idea in the “roof”, in the columns that are the “walls” of the house, I have them explain how the theme or idea is developed in each text. In the basement, I have them focus on what they have in common.  This graphic organizer can be printed or posted online for students to complete digitally.

This organizer will help students with basic cause and effect relationships. Even though this is a Cause and Effect graphic organizer, I find that my students usually have more success thinking of the effect first and then explain what caused it to happen. Therefore, I created this with effect on the left and cause on the right. If you’d like, you can flip them to better suit your needs. I have created two versions of the Cause and Effect Organizer: one can be printed and handed to the students