Whimsy and Rigor

Expose students to the power of poetry using Kobe Bryant's letter to basketball as a model. After leading students on an analysis of Bryant's moving poem and maybe even listening to a YouTube video of his recitation of the poem, have students consider what they are passionate about. Use the poetry frame in this download to help students craft their own poem to their passion. When they are finished, students can type their poem and hang them in hallway, add to their digital portfolio, or share a

Want to help your students write a real novel in 30 days in the spirit of National Novel Writing Month? Well this is what you need! After teaching this whirlwind unit for 10 years, I have learned all the tips and tricks you need to be successful! From those pesky first words to the final edits, this resource has everything you need. You will have access to 43 pages of teacher directions and student handouts (ready to print!). Before each topic (creating a character, designing a plot, writing the

Give students 21 unique ways to show what they are thinking about while they are reading ANY novel. From what a character would leave on a voicemail to what questions they want to ask the author, this download will get students thinking creatively and critically about what they are reading. The assignment is currently formatted so students choose from a list of 4-6 activities per week over a 4 week period, but could easily be modified to fit your pacing. This EDITABLE Google Doc will let you cha

Podcasts are becoming more and more popular and it's time to harness that energy and help students find their voice and broadcast it to an authentic audience! This download includes everything you need to get your students interested in, knowledgeable about, and ready to record their own podcast. You will get: 12 pages of handouts and directions, with embedded links to tutorials. A detailed scoring guide to help assess student work. A listening and feedback guide for the audience. An incredible

Need an engaging way for your students to dig into critical reading, argumentative writing, AND public speaking? This fairy tale on trial unit is exactly what you need. Students form two teams-Prosecution and Defense. The Prosecution is charging Goldilocks with a host of crimes, including trespassing and criminal damage to property. The Defense must go over the evidence and create a reasonable defense for Goldi. The project culminates in a trial, where the teacher acts as judge and colleagues an

Walk With Me-Creative Writing-Multiple Perspectives-Point of View-Analysis Get students to think analytically, make inferences, and practice creative writing by having them metaphorically walk in the footsteps of a real or fictional character. This completely EDITABLE download can be sued for ANY text-a newspaper article, a novel, a short story, or an independent reading book. After reading an assignment for class, students carefully and thoughtfully choose a boot print to represent their chose

Get your students thinking critically and deeply about any topic by asking them to generate a list of 50 objects relevant to your subject. You can begin by having them brainstorm independently and then with a small group and then as a whole class. Yay for collaboration! To deepen their understanding of the topic even more, this handout asks them to narrow their list to 5 objects and then to 1 single object that best represents the concept/historical event/character, etc. I would love to hear

Remember that incredible fortune telling game we'd play with paper when we were kids? You know, the one where you pick a color, pick a number, pick another number, and then lift the flap to reveal who you marry, where you will live, and how many kids you would have? Well, now you can bring that memory to life in the classroom with this reading check-in activity!Instead of predicting if kids will live near the beach or the mountains, the students will complete an activity to demonstrate deeper

Ready to impress your students as you bring pop music into the classroom? Well, maybe not impress, but at least engage them! This Google Slides has 4 examples of similes and metaphors in popular music, featuring Hamilton (prepare for a sing-a-long), Pink, Shawn Mendes, and Foreigner (kids always know this oldie but goodie!). Each slide has a link to a video that plays the music AND shows the lyrics so students can read along as they listen. After each video plays, you can lead the student

Get to know your students by having them design a mask! This is an incredibly unusual time, so this back to school activity fits perfectly to capture the moment. Using this blank template, students can either digitally or on paper, design a mask that represents their interests. Images, drawings, photos, and text all come together to tell the story of each student. More detailed instructions can be found on my blog whimsyandrigor.wordpress.com Tag me @whimsyandrigor so I can see all of their cre

Need an easy and ongoing way for students to reflect on their work? This is what you are looking for! This slide deck has space for students to reflect on both their process and their product. Plus, an area where they can give advice to future students who are starting the assignment. This download gets students thinking critically and reflectively about their work habits and their work, which leads to improved student learning and more effective teaching. Win win! Want more ideas like this?

It's a Food Truck Festival...and a Delicious Literary Analysis! Obviously food trucks hold delicious morsels. And now, literary food trucks hold magical powers to inspire your students to dive deeply into a novel or short story in a new and inspiring way. This resource includes a lesson plan on how to roll out the unit, planning pages to guide the literary analysis essay, an example literary analysis essay, and student examples of completed literary food trucks. For the original inspiratio

Ready to unleash your students’ imaginations and turn them into mystery masterminds? With this download, students will analyze short stories from the mystery genre using an easy-to-use graphic organizer and then create their very own puzzling short stories! Designed to guide students step-by-step as they create their own mystery. Sections include: Characters: Detective(s), witnness(es), and suspect(s) Setting Problem Clues & Red Herrings Solution This activity is perfect for sparking creat

The novel Refugee by Alan Gratz is a phenomenal read but it also requires a good bit of background knowledge for the reader to get the full impact. This double-sided bookmark has key terms written out for readers to research so they can build a strong foundation before jumping into the journeys of each of the three characters. This is a great tool for a jigsaw activity where small groups become experts and report out their findings to the class. There is also space to make predictions and tr

Comprehension questions are B-O-R-I-N-G but using emojis to check your students' reading comprehension is F-U-N! With this download, you get two handouts-one with 36 emojis and one with 113 emojis and space for students to explain which emoji(s) best summarizes the events from their independent reading. To change up your daily or weekly check ins with students, incorporate these emojis and watch engagement soar. I would love to hear any feedback from you or your students!

This activity gets kids thinking creatively and critically about a character and the main conflict from ANY NOVEL! Students will use the handout in this download to decorate the outside of a simple party bag to show important developments and characteristics of a key character from the reading. They will also analyze the story's conflict, using the handout, and choose objects to represent important scenes from the book. Students will take their critical thinking one step further and use an a

This virtual flashcard deck helps students associate images with their vocabulary words, further enhancing comprehension. Once purchased, you may edit and share the slide deck with students so they can create their own set of virtual flashcards. This download consists of: 80 slides (and growing!) 40 slides with room for an image, 40 slides with room for an image, vocabulary word, and definitionComplete animations to create virtual flashcards in "Present Mode"Instructions on what to put on each

These stations will engage students on your first day back from Winter Break. Focus their attention on the goals they have for the new year and help set a positive and productive tone for the rest of the year. In this download, you will get 4 station signs that cover Personal Resolutions, Academic Resolutions, a One Word project, and a Paint Chip Metaphor activity. NOTE: You will have to visit the hardware store and gather as many paint chip samples as possible for this super awesome metaphor

Use this super effective sign to hang up in the classroom or display in your digital classroom so students know exactly what noise level is expected. I have students do this quick activity to introduce the idea: Have students place 2 fingers on their neck and turn to a neighbor and say something (favorite dessert, best movie, etc.) Ask them what they felt. (Vibrations!) Have them turn back to their neighbor and whisper something (least favorite dessert, worst movie, etc). Ask them what they fel

Need an easy and efficient way to communicate daily engagement with students AND parents? This editable engagement log is the perfect solution. At the end of each day or each class period, the student reflects on their level of engagement, the teacher reflects on the observed level of engagement, and the two meet to briefly discuss and make a plan of action for the next day. Simply "Share" the Google Sheet with guardians so everyone is in the loop and can help support that student!