Students need a break from the same-ole-same-ole. That’s why I wanted to create a comic activity to spice things up! My students were reading “Those Who Don’t,” one of the shortest vignettes in House on Mango Street. Instead of a discussion, I wanted them to think deeply about the theme in the vignette and create a comic representation of what was happening–my goal was to get them to think critically and create their own visual! Continue reading
Today my sixth graders were continuing with their notes for the Wolves Research Project. Many of them were finished and looking to move towards their project-making, but before that, my co-teacher and I wanted them to write. To make things easier for them to understand, I created a new Google Document to help them stay organized and get a better grasp on the writing part of the project. Continue reading
As my Book Club students grasped text-to-self connections, it was time to move to text-to-world. To help them understand this, I created a PowerPoint/Google Presentation and walked through it with them. Continue reading
Making connections while reading is hard! That’s why I created this resource to help not only my struggling readers in Book Club, but for for any struggling reader or young reader (fifth grade through eighth grade). This simple, yet deeper-thinking worksheet helps students create text-to-self connections while reading. Continue reading
Making text-to-self connections can be pretty simple when you’re working with a story, explanatory text, or short passage. Poetry, on the other hand, can be a challenge. That’s why I wanted to specifically work on this with my Book Club students. Continue reading
I introduced my students to their research project, ‘Adopt a Pet,’ where they would choose an animal to research, collect two legitimate websites, take notes (in their own words) and write a short letter to their parents/guardians, convincing them to buy that animal as a pet! Continue reading
My sixth graders are going to begin a short research activity to prepare them for a larger research project on wolves the following two weeks. For this short research activity, I wanted them to research about an animal that they would want to have as a pet…but before doing that, I knew I needed them to understand how to research and how to find credible sources. Continue reading
Who doesn’t like the book Holes, by Louis Sachar? This is one of my favorite books from my elementary/middle school years. And because it’s such a good book, I wanted my Book Club kids to connect to a descriptive passage in it. Continue reading
A powerful skill for students to be able to master, especially by eighth grade, is the ability to reflect and synthesize information. As students finished out their units on perseverance (Hunger Games for my section) my co-teachers and I wanted to create a final reflection to see how they connected their novels, people they researched, and collaborative discussions. Continue reading
