Going Beyond “Challenge Words” In Spelling Many students blow past grade-level spelling and vocabulary at a young age. Unfortunately, a common technique to "challenge" them is to find harder and more obscure words for their spelling list. Instead, let's take advantage of the built-in complexity of common words with multiple-meanings.
Patterns In Writing I: Introduction Take a break from teaching the details of writing and examine narrative writing from a larger perspective. How can structure increase creativity in writing? Take your gifted writers on a journey through common patterns in narrative writing.
Don’t Just Paraphrase A Poem! What if, instead, we re-wrote the poem in the style of a different poet?
Going Beyond “Identify a Story’s Problem” My students were stuck telling me a story's problem and solution. Let's get thinking!
Universal Themes and… Punctuation!? Here's how can we move a punctuation lesson beyond mere memorization and towards actually interesting thinking.
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).
Poe’s The Raven The Raven is a great starting point for students' to learn about Poe. Not only does the poem clearly demonstrate "tone," but it is a figurative language tour de force. Plus, there are some amazing readings available online!
