Multiple Perspectives Gone Mad!! Yes, I actually gave my students this question: "How could two experts’ 👓 perspectives regarding information from this reading selection differ from one another?" yikes.
Details Should Lead To A Big Idea Here are two questions I’d ask students about a story What are three important 🌼 details about the main character? What is the story’s 🏛️ moral? Now, details naturally lead to big ideas. But in this case, I switched topics from “main character” to “big idea, ” which broke the natural movement. If I ask […]
Coats of Arms, Seals, and Other Heraldry Symbolic seals, crests, and coats of arms are a common concept across cultures. From the simplicity of Japanese mon to the regality of English coats of arms all the way to America’s Great Seal, humans around the world create graphical representations of themselves.
All About Character Archetypes Another example of "structure that increases creativity" is character archetypes. An archetype, according to Wikipedia, is "an original model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated." Let's use an inductive lesson to teach our students about these literary tools.
An Image for Divergent Thinking Practice I think this is an interesting way to practice our students' divergent thinking skills. What else could this trash can's icon represent?
Halloween: Characters Dressed As Characters What if characters from film or literature dress up like other characters based on some parallel such as: conflict, trait, accomplishment, etc.
Beyond “Describe How This Changed Over Time” I want to go beyond just listing how a character changed. Let's get students thinking about that change!
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.
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?
The Resiliency Tournament I got to work with several groups of students (of many ages) and I tried out this task: building a tournament to decide who was the most resilient historical figure or fictional character? Kids came up with some amazing ideas.
