Jan 02
Do you want your students to dig deeper into the stories they read, hear, or view? One way to do this is with high-interest topics. The Chinese New Year is an attention-grabbing topic with several legends your students are sure to love. Historians believe the Chinese New Year started during the Shang Dynasty under Emperor …
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Dec 12
Check out Two Degrees novel activities to get some ideas for your book unit study. These teaching resources are sure to be a hit with your middle school students. In his fantastic novel, Alan Gratz tells three stories dealing with disasters that could happen due to climate change. Sierra Nevada, California Thirteen-year-old Akira Kristiansen goes horseback …
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Dec 05
Most students will be able to say that the setting of a story is where and when the story takes place; however, writing a setting is a whole new story (pun intended). This lesson includes five activities that help students write descriptive settings for their narratives. The handout for this blog post is now available …
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Nov 28
Verbs are the engines of sentences. They show what is happening, what has happened, or what will happen. Helping students understand action, linking, and helping verbs (and their tenses) gives them the tools to write with clarity and power. This post is packed with engaging activities, videos, games, books, posters, and free resources you can …
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Nov 14
Check out The Christmas Pig novel activities to get some ideas for your book unit study. These teaching resources are sure to be a hit with your upper elementary students this holiday season. Jack awakens to the sounds of voices. The Things in his room have come alive. The Christmas Pig tells Jack that because …
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Nov 07
Let’s be honest, keeping students focused in December is like trying to wrap a present with one hand while holding a cup of hot cocoa in the other. That’s why I love using animated Christmas shorts. They’re short, engaging, and packed with opportunities to sneak in some solid learning while students think they’re just enjoying …
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Oct 24
Conjunctions may be tiny words, but they do some heavy lifting in sentences. Without them, our writing would sound choppy and robotic: I like pizza. I like pasta. I like tacos. (Yawn.) Throw in a conjunction and suddenly things flow: I like pizza, pasta, and tacos. Much better! If you’re looking for ideas to make …
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