These "discussion questions" highlight so many of the problems we've been looking at.
How *Not* To Ask Questions About A Novel
These “discussion questions” highlight so many of the problems we’ve been looking at.
All AboutLanguage Arts
What do we do with advanced students who need something more in language arts? Here are bunches of articles about how to differentiate vocabulary, word studies, spelling, and reading.
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How *Not* To Ask Questions About A Novel
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Free Verse from A Particular Point of View
My go-to writing task is a free verse poem written from a particular perspective. I learned this idea from my boss, Sandi, who learned it from Joan Franklin Smutny (I think!). You can use ANYTHING as your prompt. A piece of art works well to introduce the idea, but you can move to writing once […]
How To Run A Novel Study
When you read a book with students, avoid getting bogged down with the nitty-gritty. Just pick one big idea and have fun reading! No quizzes, no memorizing, no essays. Just develop your students’ love of reading.
Writing in Pi-lish
Here’s the perfect constraint for March! Writing with the digits of Pi.
Analyzing Prefixes and Suffixes
Instead of just memorizing what a bunch of morphemes mean, we’re looking broadly, exploring patterns, finding unexpected similarities and weird differences.
Rewrite It, But Don’t Use “E”
Here’s an interesting way to move students past mundane patterns in their writing. Ask for a rewrite, but without a letter (or two).
Universal Themes and… Punctuation!?
Here’s how can we move a punctuation lesson beyond mere memorization and towards actually interesting thinking.
A Classic: “Who’s On First” and 21st Century Kids
My 21st century 12-year-olds absolutely died watching Abbot and Costello’s “Who’s On First” skit. And we got a great homophone activity out of it too.
Getting Ridiculous with Parts of Speech
Here’s how you can add some spice to an otherwise dull study of parts of speech.
How To Get A Kid To Read
No reader has ever said, “I love reading because my parents made me read challenging books” or “Once my teacher made me read at Lexile 980, I discovered how wonderful reading is!”