January 31, 2021

What I'm Reading & Teaching in February

2021 is off to a good start for reading and teaching! I'm on track with my reading goals, students finished an essay, and started literature circles.

2021 is off to a good start for reading and teaching. I didn't read all of the books on my January TBR list, but I did read 10 books keeping me on track with my goal of reading 2 books a week (and a total of 104 by the end of the year.

In my ELA classes, we wrapped on the nonfiction section of our "Facing Fear" unit with a crossover between an informational essay and a research essay. This was the second major writing piece my students have worked through this year and I used parts of the structure of the first one, a text dependent analysis essay, since that one was so successful. We kicked off literature circles last week.

Reading in February
In January, I read 5 physical books and one e-book, and listened to 4 audiobooks. I wanted to be more intentional about reading more nonfiction and adult titles, but the second adult nonfiction title I intended to read was a little too dry and serious for my current reading mood and really created a reader's block for me, so I think I'll let those intentions go this month. Here's what I'm hoping to read in no particular order:
9. Luck of The Titanic by Stacey Lee (young adult, available 5/4)

Teaching in February
The month of February is dedicated to the literature circles we kicked off this week. We started the anchor text for our literature circles, Freak The Mighty, the week before that. I'm playing an audio version of the book for students at the start of class to give myself a little breather between classes and the novel serves as a common text I can use for examples so that all students can understand (plus it's a great story that fits with our theme).

On day one of literature circles we used Freak The Mighty to practice selecting discussion passages and developing discussion questions, the two tasks students must complete to prepare for literature circle discussions (discussion are every other day and we alternate bringing a passage and bringing questions). Students also joined a Google Classroom specific to their book title (I find it easier to organize things that way) and reviewed their reading calendar for literature circles.

Moving forward this unit has a four day structure that repeats. On day one, I introduce or a review a skill from earlier in the year and students complete a short writing assignment focused on that skill. At the end of class they read and select a passage for the next day's discussion. My skill introduction or review is done using a NearPod that usually includes a short video explaining the skill in focus, a matching activity, and a short quiz.

On day two, I hold live discussions with each group. Group members share the passage they picked out and other group members respond to it. When students are not working with me, they are reading and answering questions in an online discussion group (a Google Doc shared with students in other classes who are reading the same title). As students share their passages, I use the "Save The Last Word For Me" strategy, letting all other group members share their thoughts before the student who selected the passage shares theirs. The questions in the online discussion groups are a mix of generic novel questions and text specific ones that I pulled from guides or created myself.

On day three, we play a quick review game focused on the skill from day one and complete a creative assignment focused on that skill. At the end of class they read and develop two questions for the next day's discussion. I rely on premade content on Quizziz and Kahoot! for the review games and edit them as needed. The creative assignments have all come from this list of ideas so far.

On day four, I hold live discussions with each group. Group members share the questions they developed. When students are not working with me, they are reading and responding to their peers' answers from day two in their online discussion group.

The four day rotation has been pared down from my original expectations of what we'd be able to work through in a day, just changed again thanks to two half day snow days, and will likely shift again as I continue to see what works virtually and what will work when some students are hybrid next week. This week I'm planning on trying out Jamboard to close out each class with a quick reflection on what students read that day. It's a fine balance of using resources I've previously used and tools that the students are already familiar, and finding new ways to engage students. I haven't decided yet how I'll wrap up our literature circles: an essay, a project, or both.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

2021 is off to a good start for reading and teaching! I'm on track with my reading goals, students finished an essay, and started literature circles.


Teaching Conflict to Middle & High School Students

Use these ideas for teaching conflict to middle and high school students with any short story, novel, or drama.

Without conflict there really is no plot, no substance to a story. That plot "mountain" becomes a flat, straight line. When examining the conflict in a text with students, I go beyond just identifying the type of conflict and describing the forces opposing each other to push students to see the impact of the conflict on all of the other events. I detailed the many ways I introduce and reinforce conflict in this previous blog post and you can find even more ideas below.



January 24, 2021

Teaching Plot & Setting to Middle & High School Students

Use these ideas for teaching plot and setting to middle and high school students with any short story, novel, or drama.

It is easy to teach students literary vocabulary and assess them on the meaning of those terms, but for students to truly understand literary elements, students need to practice using that vocabulary in ways that deepen their understanding of how stories work. Students need multiple opportunities to read and write about the vocabulary related to plot and setting. I detailed the many ways I introduce and reinforce plot and setting in this previous blog post and you can find even more ideas below.

Build Up From The “SWBST” Strategy To A Plot Diagram
The “Somebody Wanted But So Then” strategy is one way to summarize a text by identifying and describing key story elements. You can find an example of a "SWBST" chart in this blog post. Once students are comfortable summarizing a story this way, introduce them to the more sophisticated parts of the plot diagram: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Use can find a free plot diagram graphic organizer here. You can have some groups use a "SWBST" chart and other groups use a plot diagram, and then compare how each breaks down the story.

Analyze Through Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers are the perfect tool to dive deeper into a story's meeting. With a variety of graphic organizers for setting, each student can choose the best way to showcase their understanding of a story. Plus, graphic organizers naturally provide scaffolding. Often, I use graphic organizers as a form of prewriting for larger literary analysis. 

Use these ideas for teaching plot and setting to middle and high school students with any short story, novel, or drama.

Make It Visual With Color Coding
In this blog post from Teaching in Room 6, one of the strategies she uses to help students differentiate the parts of plot is to have students highlight each part of a short story with different colors. You can find several short (one page) stories here that would be perfect for that. Similarly, you could have students use different color sticky notes to mark the different parts of plot in children's books. 

Reinforce Skills With An Escape Room
One way to introduce, teach, or review plot and setting with students is through an engaging, hands-on escape room activity. This resource works best in the middle school or lower-level high school English classroom, and it is an ideal way to review various elements of fiction -including plot and setting. In this escape room, students work their way through a series of elements of fiction tasks, including plot and setting. Once they emerge from the escape room activity, they are ready for any short story or fiction teaching unit.

Use these ideas for teaching plot and setting to middle and high school students with any short story, novel, or drama.

Examine The Overall Impact Of Changing One Plot Element
This lesson from Flocabulary includes a great introductory video with accompanying notes, a handout with a short story to diagram, and other suggestions for practice. The best part of the lesson and the higher level thinking activity is when students are asked to change one plot element in a story and then examine how that change would impact the rest of the plot. You could have students decide which element they would change or pick at random from a hat. Once one element has changed, they would have to rewrite the rest of the story as needed. This might work best with fairy tales or other well known stories so that students can share and appreciate each others' rewrites.

You can find all of my resources for teaching plot and setting here.

Use these ideas for teaching plot and setting to middle and high school students with any short story, novel, or drama.


January 16, 2021

Teaching Characterization to Middle & High School Students

Use these ideas for teaching characterization to middle and high school students with any short story, novel, or drama.

Characterization is the way we come to know the characters of a short story, novel, or drama. While sometimes revealed directly, most of what we learn about characters is revealed through their actions, dialogue, thoughts and feelings, appearance, and their effect on other characters. I detailed the many ways I introduce and reinforce characterization in this previous blog post and you can find even more ideas below.

Examining Action & Getting Into Character
This lesson from Read Write Think first has students identify a character's traits based on their actions. The lesson includes samples as well as a student handout and an extensive list of character traits (adjectives). Part two of the lesson has students imagine that they are one of the characters and generate a list of character traits they would use to describe themselves and three of their co-characters. Students then read over each other's lists and try to guess which character would describe themselves and others that way.

Analysis Through Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers are the perfect tool for literary analysis. With a few well-placed questions, the teacher can advance thinking for a student who has a firm grasp on the story. With a bit of scaffolding or alternatives to writing (pictures, color symbolism), students who struggle with comprehension can soar. Characterization graphic organizers allow for all students to find success.
*Recommended by Lauralee, Language Arts Classroom

Use these ideas for teaching characterization to middle and high school students with any short story, novel, or drama.


Practicing With An Animated Short Film
The Adventures of Hopscotch: Hopscotch Begins animated short film and characterization activities provide a comprehensive set of engaging, rigorous resources for literacy instruction. The materials don’t just tell Hopscotch’s story through an animated short film. They use that story to explicitly teach literacy skills. Students eager to learn about Hopscotch’s adventures will receive an instructional lesson about characterization as they view the video, which means they can replay it if they need to see or hear it again. Meanwhile, the story’s design will give students many opportunities to practice characterization. The accompanying activities provide the resources to offer them those chances. They are also supplied in an editable template so that they can be applied to a separate, written core text. Students will be able to engage with them independently or with the teacher and in any instructional model, including in-person or virtual formats. Therefore, the Hopscotch video and characterization activities not only provide a comprehensive set of materials to teach character throughout the year but also will make Hopscotch a welcome member of your class.
*Recommended by Lauren, LIT Lessons

Create Opportunities For Collaboration
This blog post from Teach Between The Lines has not one or two, but three great ideas to get students thinking, discussing, and working together. Idea number one is The Great Motivation Debate, which allows student to collaborate in small groups to become detective and attorney in. First, students play detective to find the true motivation of a character and find evidence to support this assessment. Then, they play attorney as they use that evidence to craft mini-arguments to debate in the ‘courtroom.’ Idea number two asks students to look at a character through the perspectives of other people in the scene/moment with them and consider how the characterization might be interpreted by other characters. Idea number three is a discussion centered around character displacement: taking a character out of their “world” or “text” and place them in another. Students discuss how a character would interact with others outside their own story, which requires a deep understanding of the character.

Spark Students' Imagination With A Visual
Rather than using a text to have students explore characterization, this activity begins with a pair of shoes. You can use images of shoes found online or collect them from home or from colleagues to create a selection of shoes to represent people of all ages and walks of life. Students will pick a pair to analyze and create the character that the shoe belongs to. The Secondary English Coffee Shop has a list of questions to accompany this activity and get students creative juices flowing. You could do a similar activity with bags, lunches, lockers, etc.

You can find all of my resources for teaching characterization and character types here.

Use these ideas for teaching characterization to middle and high school students with any short story, novel, or drama.



January 1, 2021

What I'm Reading & Teaching in January

In my classroom in January, students will write an informational essay and participate in literature circles themed around "facing fear."

Happy new year! 2020 was a wild year and I'm interested to see how this one will turn out. More than ever this past year, books were my escape. I didn't meet my reading goal last year, but I've set my goal again at 104 books, which is 2 books a week or about 8.5 books a month. I don't usually set teaching goals, but I put a few measures in place before winter break began to make sure I'm starting off the year by offering even more support to students who are struggling.

Wednesdays are our asynchronous days, and I've set up parent meetings to check in with the parents of students who are still struggling with virtual learning or whose performance has declined. I host office hours two days a week (it's a mandatory part of my teaching schedule) and I sent out Google Calendar invites to those students who are still struggling with virtual learning or whose performance has declined to encourage them to attend my office hours.

Reading in January

Much of my reading is in the form of audiobooks and those I select based on what is available through the Libby app, but I also have stacks of physical TBR piles I'd love to work through. Since my audiobooks are primarily fiction middle grades and young adult titles, these physical books include adult and nonfiction titles to help balance things out a bit. Here's some books I'm hoping to read this month.

1. Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean (young adult, available May 2021)
2. Hurricane Summer by Asha Bromfield (young adult, available May 2021)
3. A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell (nonfiction)
4. How to Think Like Shakespeare by Scott Newstok (nonfiction)
5. White Rage by Carol Anderson (nonfiction)
6. The Challenging Riddle Book for Kids by Danielle Hall (nonfiction)
7. Writers on Earth by Elizabeth Kolbert and Write the World (nonfiction)
8. Tight by Torrey Maldonado (middle grades)
9. To Night Owl From Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan & Meg Wolitzer (middle grades)

Teaching in January

I use the Collections curriculum for sixth grade and we'll be finishing up the "Facing Fear" collection (themed unit) when we return from winter break. We worked through some of the fiction and poetry pieces from the collection as well as a nonfiction piece and a video text before the break. The nonfiction piece and video introduce students to the science of fears and phobias and we'll continue that focus with a few more nonfiction pieces the first week back from break. You can read more about how I make the most of the Collections curriculum here.

By week two of January, we'll be ready to synthesize all of those nonfiction readings on fears and phobias in an essay. My students are constantly writing text dependent analysis responses of various lengths, but I try to balance that throughout the year with at least one essay of each of the three types of writing: informational, argument, and narrative. This essay will satisfy the informational type, but also allow students to practice research skills. Students will include information from their readings about fears and phobias and do some additional research about a phobia of choice.

Having my students pull information primarily from texts they've already read produces better quality writing. Students are already familiar with the information and are better able to put it into their own words. This is especially helpful for my special education students. I also provide a list of websites for students to use as a starting point for their research to ensure that my students are able to find quality information about their phobia of choice. Having students write from sources and limiting their research also makes the writing process less drawn out. We can go from selecting a topic to formatting a bibliography in about two weeks.

By the final week of January, we'll be ready to kick off our literature circles connected to the "Facing Fear" collection. Students have a choice of reading one of six novels:

1. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
2. Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee
3. Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes
4. The Only Road by Alexandra Diaz
5. A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
6. Under A Painted Sky by Stacey Lee

The literature circles will span four weeks with each week focused on a different literary skill: character, conflict, point of view, and plot. Students will engage in skill based writing and activities each week and participate in discussions with their literature circle group twice a week. I'll draw many of the activities from this list of ideas that have worked successfully in the past.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

In my classroom in January, students will write an informational essay and participate in literature circles themed around "facing fear."