The Learning Lab

This outline helps students focus on a thesis, evidence, and elaboration by taking them through the step-by-step process of constructing an argumentative essay. When completed, students will be able to take their steps and put them together to form a cohesive essay. I have used this successfully with my lower level students in 6th and 7th grade Language Arts. This would work well for 4th and 5th graders who are just learning the writing process or struggling to connect their ideas.

This student-friendly rubric is easy to use and encourages all students in the group to contribute and focus. This has been successfully used in my classroom for several years. Modeling the objective use of the rubric first is important. This is editable just in case you have something specific you want to add.

Examples of Non-Examples of Argumentative Essays using the topic of Wild and Exotic Animals for high engagement. There are 10 essays of various writing levels here for your students to critique and edit to practice their writing skills. Use these texts to project for the whole class to work through together, discussing positives and negatives, work in small groups and edit chosen pieces, or model these examples for practice in peer editing. There are many ways to use these ten essay examples.

You will receive the three items listed below in one MS Word file that can be changed as you like. There are six general vocabulary words that are related to Mysteries such as alibi, suspect, etc. and there are 14 words from the play or novel The Phantom Tollbooth. This is not an exhaustive list, but it is a great starting point to introduce mysteries and this novel. 1. A study guide of 20 vocabulary words and definitions, sized to fit two study guides to a page so you can save money on printin

Examples of Non-Examples of Expository Essays using the topics of Hurricanes and Tornadoes for high engagement. Use these texts to project for the whole class to work through together, discussing positives and negatives, work in small groups and edit chosen pieces, or model these examples for practice in peer editing. There are many ways to use these eight essay examples.

From the novel THE CAY, here are 20 vocabulary words arranged in the game called "I Have, Who Has". You may print these out, cut them out first, then laminate them for durability and repeated usage. You may also enlarge the box area to be printed. My current 6th and 7th grade Reading classes enjoy this game and compete to try to beat their best time. This can be used as a CLOSURE activity since it takes 5 minutes or less to pass out and play. I store each set of "I Have, Who Has" in a zip-lock b

You will receive resources that you can edit to fit your teaching style and classroom needs. There are opportunities here for whole group, small group and independent work. I have used all of these resources with my students for several years with documented success. All of the resources have been created in a Word Document for easy editing. I wrote these according to the Florida State Writing Standards but they easily translate to other state standards, including common core standards. Note: Th

For use with Common Core lesson themes of Folktalkes, Myths, Legends, Fairytales, etc. Here are 20 vocabulary words arranged in the game called "I Have, Who Has". You may print these out, cut them out first, then laminate them for durability and repeated usage. You may also enlarge the box area to be printed. My current 6th and 7th grade classes enjoy this game and compete to try to beat their best time. This can be used as a CLOSURE activity since it takes 5 minutes or less to pass out and play

This vocabulary challenge is used with the novel PEAK. Students find the vocabulary word, write the sentence and find a definition. I put the page numbers to make it a bit easier for students to find the words but you can remove them.

More than 20 activities to help students interact and get to know one another! These will not cost you anything in order to make them happen. Just use a few things you already have around the classroom! Easy, fun, and most importantly, engaging for tough-to-entertain teens and pre-teens!

From Lesson 1 Course 2 (green book) of Rev It Up Vocabulary (Steck-Vaughn), here are 10 vocabulary words arranged in the game called "I Have, Who Has". You may print these out, cut them out first, then laminate them for durability and repeated usage. You may also enlarge the box area to be printed. My current 6th and 7th grade Reading classes enjoy this game and compete to try to beat their best time. This can be used as a CLOSURE activity since it takes 5 minutes or less to pass out and play. I

This is a list of 7 tips to help encourage reading at home, especially middle schoolers. This list can be adapted to any level though. You can send these tips home to parents, include them in a parent night packet, or send home for a school newsletter. These are actionable for anyone.

This activity can be used to teach, review or remediation for Informative Writing. This can be independent, in centers, pairs or teacher-led. My students enjoyed this activity and it really made the stop and think about each piece of the essay. I will continue using this with my students.

From Lesson 2 Course 2 (green book) of Rev It Up Vocabulary (Steck-Vaughn), here are 10 vocabulary words arranged in the game called "I Have, Who Has". You may print these out, cut them out first, then laminate them for durability and repeated usage. You may also enlarge the box area to be printed. My current 6th and 7th grade Reading classes enjoy this game and compete to try to beat their best time. This can be used as a CLOSURE activity since it takes 5 minutes or less to pass out and play. I

Included here is an outline with expectations and requirements for students to give a Book Talk in class! Also, you will receive the rubric used to grade the Book Talks to make this an easy way for your students to practice reading, writing and speaking skills through one assigned activity! This has been used successfully with students in 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade at my school and the elementary school nearby. This is editable to make it fit your needs.

For use with lesson themes of Immigration, Heritage, Culture, Traditions, Tolerance and more! Here are 22 vocabulary words arranged in the game called "I Have, Who Has". You may print these out, cut them out first, then laminate them for durability and repeated usage. You may also enlarge the box area to be printed. My current 6th and 7th grade classes enjoy this game and compete to try to beat their best time. This can be used as a CLOSURE activity since it takes 5 minutes or less to pass out a

This rubric is easy to use and understand. Modeling the rubric first helps the students understand what is expected and clears up any confusing areas. These have been successfully used in my classroom for years. Students learn to give and receive constructive feedback to improve writing. These lead to wonderful discussions as student debate good vs poor writing. Peer editing is the major reason my students continue to significantly increase their writing skills.

You can use these questions for ANY novel, from 4th grade through 10th grade. These are thoughtful questions that give students choices, connect to their novels, and use a variety of Language Arts skills to show understanding. My students enjoy these choices and tend to give more than asked for in their responses. This is a favorite activity every year! Just print and pass out! You can also edit this to meet your needs or copy/paste it right into Canvas or other plaform.

Here are 15 ideas for students to choose from when demonstrating knowledge about their novels. These are fun, creative, interesting ideas and there is something for everyone! I included a bonus idea for small groups as well! Just print and pass out! Easy!

This is a 27 word vocabulary game that students can use to practice definitions and pronunciation for words related to the novel A Wrinkle in Time. We are currently using this in our STEM program in the ELA STEM Novel Lab. The students always LOVE this game! It can also be used by an individual student to make a a chain that connects the words in the correct order. As the students become more familiar with the words, they are able to finish the game in 2 minutes.