Staying After Class

This is a great lesson to introduce poetry to students. You will need cups and Kool-Aid. In one pitcher, mix regular Kool-Aid. In the second pitcher, mix Kool-Aid with a lot more sugar. I fill one cup a little fuller of the regular Kool-aid and only give a tiny bit of the second. The first cup is representative of prose writing while the other represents poetry I've included my lesson plan, the graphic organizer to compare the two cups, and a poetry survey/check for understanding (a list o

This activity emphasizes the importance of reflecting on the past. It opens with an activity that has students draw a picture of themselves at the beginning of the year under the "mirror" and then draw a picture of themselves now (on top of the mirror). Students then have before-during-after reading activities that accompany the picture book by Mem Fox (Wilfrid Gordon Partridge McDonald). Items included in this file: Link to online picture book Lesson plan Writing prompts Worksheet to accompa

This packet includes a study guide that is set up as a vocab-o-gram. I used this after we reviewed for the test as an exit pass. Those students who checked that they needed help met with me to review these specific items. I then kept the study guides to show parents who inquired about their child's study habits. There are two tests - one for regular and one modified with word banks and questions chunked. The tests are matching, short answer, and multiple choice. Most of the questions c

This three-page document includes two lesson plan templates (for 40 and 80 minute periods) and a weekly overview template. The lesson plans include a place for objectives, state standards, rationale or explanation of how the lesson connects to prior or future lessons, and divides the instruction into short instructional chunks. The weekly overview allows the teacher to include an objective, a brief overview of the learning activities, and due dates.

To review characterization, I provided a powerpoint through Nearpod. The powerpoint include a mini-lesson and then a game that students can play as a class to name a character. This is similar to the Guess Who game. I am including the planning sheet to help students create characters. I also am including the directions to the guess who. I also used this as a foldable where students wrote the descriptions (using figurative language) and then lifted up a post it note to review the picture

This packet includes a handout that explains what theme is and what theme isn't. There is a powerpoint that the students take notes from and then they complete the Battleship gameboard to play in the classroom with another partner. Another activity involves using fortune cookies. The students use the fortunes they were given to analyze using discussion questions.

This activity introduces students to connotation and denotation. The students look at word choice and how words mean different things in different contexts. They look at the word skinny and the different shades of meaning. Then students look at photos of staff members demonstrating various shades of anger. They come up with suitable words. Then students are giving various words to create their own photo slideshow. (I used words like laugh, cry, talk, smile, confused, etc). This includes a

This includes a check for understanding grid that asks students to analyze different parts of the song, mini-quiz for characters and conflict, and a graphic organizer to plan a RACE response. RACE stands for Reword and Answer the prompt Cite and explain evidence This graphic organizer is scaffolded to assist students with completing it.

This template works better (in my opinion) than index cards. Students complete all of their notes for research and then cut them out to organize them. That way they don't get lost (or at least not as quick.)

This packet has a reading and writing activity to accompany Rod Serling's "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street." A predict-o-gram can be used before and after reading. Students are given a list of vocabulary words to sort into several categories (characters, conflict, plot, etc). The writing packet is to be completed after the students have read the play. It is differentiated for different writing groups. It should be done after a mini-lesson on organization and/or style. The organizati

This lesson is used to review the plot line of a narrative. It allows students to use improv to plan and perform a skit. Inside each paper bag is a list of 3 characters and 2 props. The students will have to act out those parts to write a brief narrative. Example: Monster Attacks - damsel in distress, monster, news reporter, helicopter, tall building The lesson includes the lesson plan (80-minutes), a handout of the plot line with definitions, and a list of the characters and props.

The study guide acts as check for understanding for students. The material that is on the test is listed as a knowledge ranking (I know this, I need to study this, I need to talk to the teacher about this). I keep this to show parents during conferencing. The tests (adapted includes word bank, chunked questions, etc) include a labeling portion, matching, plot line vocabulary, and application. Students are given snippets of scenarios or stories and must name the vocabulary word. An example:

This calendar template allows you to plan out a month. I've included an example of how I have used it. There are two rows. I typically use one row for my tentative plan and then the bottom row is my actual plan. I've also used this if I teach two sections and need to keep things separate.

This includes a lesson plan for teaching this lesson, the foldable template, and a list of sensory/imagery words. The lesson uses guided imagery (visualization) for students to take a trip from a sidewalk to the house at the end of the street. Along the way the "narrator" has to use his senses to experience the journey. A few activities that I've used with this: Plot: I used this to emphasize the climax of a story. I give students enough of the story and they have to add the resolution. Ima

I believe that these mini-paragraphs help students write better paragraphs. For example, a student who struggles with summarizing or using transitions can use this model to write concise four-sentence paragraphs. Therefore, this template should be a great addition to a writer's notebook. However, teachers could also expand these paragraphs into longer assignments.

As students listen to the read aloud or read independently, they will complete the Novel Bingo card to demonstrate both reading strategies and poetic skills. As students find the answers on the board, they should write down the answer that they are supplying.

This cheat sheet will allow students to write down information from the sources they use before they begin creating source cards. I'll also include the tip sheet on where to find information on various sources. Both are valuable tools for research.

This lesson introduces students to persuasive strategies. I use this lesson before I teach propaganda and argumentative writing. We compare persuasive texts to argumentative texts. I usually bring in gummy worms to share with students.

Students often struggle with finding the author, sponsor, publisher, etc on sources. This handout will help them find the necessary things for source cards. I also uploaded a cheat sheet to go along with this resource. Both are free.

At our school, we are required to administer a spelling bee word list. I decided to make it into a lesson so that students could find meaning to the lesson.