I asked my students to read a poem. Then they had to: Paraphrase each line of the poem. Write your version next to the original line So, I’m not going to get into the pointlessness of this task. I had a room of the most brilliant 6th graders in town and this is what we […]
Content Area: Language Arts
Upgrading “Put The Events In Order”
I often see this question on language arts and social studies worksheets: “Put these events in order.” Yes, it’s low-level, but the real problem is that it’s a one-off. Let’s make a sequence of questions about the order of events.
Updating Old Questions: A Character’s Bedroom
An under-developed task in which students designed a character’s room.
Going Beyond “Name That Genre!”
What can we do once students correctly identify a story’s genre?
Updating Old Questions: Identify Figurative Language
What do we do after a student can identify the type of figurative language?
Updating Old Questions: Context Clues
Most context clue worksheets have incredibly low expectations.
Picture Books and Stories for Introducing Depth and Complexity
Three picture books that I’ve used (or would use) to introduce Depth and Complexity to students of any age.
A Playlist That Shows A Character’s Change
Here’s how I’d take one task from my choice board and focus on making it great!
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 Do We Make On-Level Writers Into Advanced Writers?
I knew how to help my below-level writers become on-level. But how the heck do you make the next step?