Antsy April

As a kid, remember being in classrooms in April? It was almost May, and school was almost out. My mind was on summer break and having fun. Yet, as a student then later as a teacher, testing loomed overhead like a black storm cloud. As birds chirped outside school windows, my mind floated to warm days where I sat anywhere but in the classroom. 

Finding interesting projects that engage learners can be difficult. It's the time of year to take students outdoors for activities. Try Sidewalk Characters if reading novels:

1. To make these, have students (individually or in groups) choose one favorite character from a novel.
2. Make a list of the novels being used on a sheet of paper (you can Xerox this ahead of time).
3. Give each individual or group a number.
4. . Find ten quotes from the novel that define the character's physical features and traits.
5. Go outdoors where plenty of sidewalk space exists.
6. Have one student lay on the sidewalk while others trace a body outline. Bring full aprons to put on students if desired.
7. Fill in the body outline with physical features. ie. How do you think the character looks based on evidence from the novel?
8. Write quotes from the book inside and outside of the traced body outlines. 
9. When finished, place your given number above the body. 
10. Hand individuals or groups a sheet of paper with numbers listed.
11. Find the right title for as many novels as possible on the numbers sheet.

For more fun and engaging, interactive, outdoor ideas, see:
Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers

March Madness

With the spring winds come March Madness! Students and teachers are getting ready for standardized testing, but it's Spring Break that is on the minds of many. How can you keep students engaged in learning when their minds are elsewhere? Active learning strategies!

Want an activity to keep kids focused? Try comic book writing. Although this lesson plan was often left for the last project of the year, it works well at any time. The PowerPoint comes with full reproducible handouts, guide, technology links, examples, and so much more! It's a sure fire hit with students and teachers!  Comic Book Writing gives students opportunities to showcase talents, and it gives teachers time to focus on paperwork or one-on-one tutorials. 

How about having students write narrative movies of their lives? Have you ever wondered who might star in the leading role if a movie was made of your life? Who would design fashions? Create music? Run the lights? What's the plot line? Give kids the handouts of The Movie of...Narrative Writing Using the Five Elements of Story and let them plan the movies of their lives. 

Another great way to keep students active and learning is with word puzzles. Try themed puzzles, such as St. Patrick's Day Word Puzzles that include thematic vocabulary for a crossword, word search, and more...

March Madness brings renewal and thoughts of spring, so get students engaged in learning with varieties of active learning lesson plans!

Happy Spring!

    Getting Ready for Assessment

Are you ready to get in gear for assessment time? How can you help ease the stress of standardized testing? These tips will help you and your students uncover unique ways to foster learning while having fun:

Try new motivating activities with How to Engage and Entertain Students .  Insert some active-learning, ready-to-go motivators into your lesson plans.

 Have some fun! Let students create their own comic books with Comic Book Writing! Easy-to-follow and use lesson with handouts, etc... All you need to produce great comics! Excellent for any subject...

Get relaxed with song writing and Let's All Sing the Blues: Writing SCAT . This inter-active presentation incorporates writing with music and gets students up and moving! They won't even know they are learning...  

Insert some Martin Luther King, Jr. activities into your lesson plans to help students learn key words and phrases from the civil rights leader at M.L, King Jr. Word Puzzles

Learning comes in all shapes and forms, but it should be done in relaxed, positive atmospheres to produce the best results. Let students kick off their shoes, find comfortable spots on rugs, and enjoy the discoveries of learning!

Winter Fun

It's the time of year to spice up lesson plans! Teachers and students are ready for winter break, and fostering learning through engaging activities lightens the mood. Try collaborative groups that focus on peer learning rather than individual worksheets completed as homework. Also, try some of the engaging, meaningful activities listed below:

Winter Holiday Writing Prompts--fun stationary with themed writing prompts to get all writers writing!
Winter Writing Prompts with Coloring Sheets--time for some relaxing coloring and writing!
Winter Holiday Coloring Sheets--let your students color and display these or use as holiday placements
Top Ten Kid Movies using symbols to figure out titles--fun word play!


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving is for giving...

There are many ways to incorporate giving lessons within your classroom. Highlight students who help others or give back to their communities, try a Good Deed a Day Award, or express your thanks to students for their good behaviors and hard work. Make it a point to praise on person per day, and, soon, it will become habit. Whether lending an ear or extending a hand, Thanksgiving is for giving. 

Free Thanksgiving Give-Aways:
Thanksgiving Writing Prompts
Becoming a Successful Teacher
Winter Writing Prompts with Coloring-Sheets
What I Like About You

Click for Other FREE Teaching Products!

Halloween Fun!

It's time for creative writing to take center stage!  Get into the spirit of the season with some fun Halloween writing prompts and scary group writings.  Give the below activities a try to get students involved in the season: 

Eerie Writing Prompts
Lets Write a Scary Store A Group Writing Assignment
Halloween Coloring Sheets

Leave the paperwork in the classroom!

As an English teacher, I often get asked about all those essays to grade--how do I make time?  Peer workshopping!  As I introduce skills through twenty-minute mini-lessons, students locate the items within their essays.  Then, using a peer workshopping sheet that lists the skills we have worked on (see below), student do read arounds of their essays and rotate them to look for errors and positive points.  By the time I read the essays with the students during one-on-one conferences, the essays are pretty good.  Grading essays with students allows them to see what I'm looking for, to go over rules for missed skills, and helps them to understand what an "A" essay looks like. 

Give it a try, and see if your paperwork load decreases....

Running Peer Workshopping Classroom PowerPoint link:
 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teaching-Writing-Running-a-Peer-Workshopping-Classroom

0330 Narrative Peer Workshopping

Peer Reviewer(s): __________________________________

Title of Paper: ___________________________________

Author: ________________________________________

Remember—revisions are the author’s choice!

As the reviewer, I have:

□   Listened to the author read the piece aloud

□   Highlighted all end punctuation marks

o   Double check for question marks and exclamation points.

□   Highlighted the words needing capitalization

o   Beginning of each sentence

o   Proper names, places, brand names, etc…

□   Highlighted all the transition words

□   Highlighted any misspelled words—use a dictionary or spell check if needed

□   Checked for proper formatting: Double Spaced, Times New Roman, Twelve Font

□   Checked for narrative guidelines

o   Uses I

o   Uses chronological/sequential/time order

o   True story

o   Moral point/life lesson is _____________________________________________

□   Attached feedback sheet to rough draft (given to author)

One item I liked: ________________________________________________________________

One item I wish the author would add: ______________________________________________