The MAGIC of Reader’s Theater Part II: Making REALLY Tough Texts Readable
Some time ago, I posted a basic how-to (and why-to!) guide to Reader’s Theater. Few strategies have had a bigger positive impact on building engagement and community in my ELA classroom. However, it’s important to remember that engagement and community are the first steps toward what we’re really after: comprehension. As ELA/Social Studies teachers, we…
I love it; students love it: The Sacred Spaces Model Project
In a nutshell, what it is: students work in small groups to create a model of a garden dedicated to the beliefs and values of a specific world religion/philosophy. Why we do it: Students benefit from a broader understanding of world views, hone their research skills, and get to collaborate. Plus, it’s super fun to…
Home*Research*Home Again: Cultural Diffusion Lesson Plan
This week in Social Studies, we’re evaluating the positive and negative effects of cultural diffusion. I like to get students moving, researching, and talking. Step 1: Engage via a “mystery object” class starter. Students are instructed to write down what they think the object is when they think they know it. I tell them to…
Kendrick Lamar, Winnie the Pooh, or Voltaire?
Here’s a sneaky way to get students to analyze snippets of primary text: Who said it: Kendrick Lamar, Winnie the Pooh, or Voltaire? This activity instantly engages minds and activates conversation. And, it’s trickier than it seems: Kendrick Lamar and Voltaire actually agree quite a bit about the state of the world and the rights…
Engage: Agree/Disagree Walkaround
Here’s a quick activity to get students interacting with each other and talking about big ideas. How to set it up: Here’s a link to an Agree/Disagree Walkaround I shall use this coming week to launch a study of government: Government: What is it? Why do we need it? You can use it as is…
Step-by-Step: Building Paths for Individualized Learning
I begin each year with the best of intentions. I make my little pacing guide. I map out the year: what I will “cover” each quarter. Every student will master x in quarter 1, y in quarter 2, and so forth. Easy-peasy, right? Ummm…no. This is just not how learning works. There is nothing wrong…
Classroom Management: The Sticky Solution
So much about teaching comes down to personality. Or, rather: it begins with personality. As I have written about here, we teach from the inside out. I believe this is also true about classroom management. Just like lesson plans and creating a supportive classroom culture, one should sample others’ ideas, but then select and adapt…
The Case for Pre-Assessments
Surely I’m not the only one. Right? Right? In all of my enthusiasm to get things moving, I launch right into a lesson or an entire unit of study and assume my students know the basics going in. Noun! Surely you know what a noun is! That’s first grade stuff, right? And, you’ve been identifying…
Reader’s Theater: Why, What, and How
It’s magic. It instantly engages students. They are fully immersed in the text. They are acting it out; they are living it. They become the characters as they portray them. It makes learning social. It leads to the kind of discussion and outloud thinking that supports comprehension in the moment and builds good reading-and-thinking habits…
Learning Happens Day 1: Non-Fluff Icebreakers
Icebreakers! To some, they’re a necessary evil. To others, they are the best thing ever. I love facilitating them in my classes, but I hate having them forced upon me. Hello, first staff meeting of the year! I don’t like putting myself in a socially vulnerable position in a place where I don’t know people…
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Inspire! Middle Grades ELA and Social Studies 