The Tragedy of the Commons Imagine that we all share a common resource, but no one is really in charge. How do we maintain order without an authority? This is a fantastically fuzzy situation for students to dig into.
Exploring Characters’ Virtues and Vices What separates a life well-lived from a poorly lived life? Aristotle believed it was moderation: too much of good thing can become just as much of a problem as too little. Looking at traits as excessive, moderate, or lacking is a unique take on character analysis.
Taking A Zoologist Across Disciplines All I did was ask students to list and explain three "disciplines." Let's take it a bit further!
Building Confidence in Speaking Skills When preparing your students for standardized tests, those little standards labeled Speaking And Listening can easily slip by the wayside. And yet, is there any skill more important in landing a job, surviving social engagements, or being a successful leader than confident oral language skills? Teach your students to analyze great speeches to become better public speakers themselves.
Writing Mother’s Day Similes Mother's Day is coming up, and it's the perfect chance to practice figurative language. Help your students create thoughtful cards, packed with rich similes and metaphors that relate directly to their mothers.
Exploring Palindromes in ELA and Math Palindromes are one of those fun ideas that some gifted kids just latch onto. We'll check out palindromic words, phrases, and even numbers in this article.
Analyzing Suffixes Inductively The year opens with a vocabulary skill analyzing "Suffixes: -ful, -less, -ly." I adjusted this lesson to examine how these suffixes change the part of speech of words, rather than the meaning.
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.
A Wrinkle In Time – Novel Study Ideas Madeleine L'Engle’s 1962 science-fiction classic, A Wrinkle in Time makes for a fantastic classroom novel study.
A Depth and Complexity ELA Worksheet with Problems Here’s a Depth and Complexity worksheet I used to use with my students: I look at it now and shudder. I was making so many mistakes here. Let’s just zoom out and imagine that I asked the same questions at a book club with fellow adults. Me: What is this story’s main theme? Him: Oh, […]
