Showing posts with label ELA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ELA. Show all posts

Fun Poetry Bulletin Board Ideas

Students will love these interactive poetry-inspired bulletin boards!

Do your students have a negative attitude about poetry? Do you wish you could change that?
One way to combat this is by showing students that poetry is cool (or whatever the latest term is for being awesome). 

My interactive bulletin board displays–which also come with presentations and a fun quiz handout–show students that the music they may listen to is similar to classic poetry. Plus, they are sure to pique your students' interest and challenge them. I offer these packs on TpT; click on the images or links below to learn more about each in my store.

Poetry Bulletin Board www.traceeorman.com

IS IT GREEN DAY OR WALT WHITMAN?
Your students will be surprised by how much lyrics from a Green Day song and lines from a Walt Whitman poem have in common. Whitman is the father of free verse and lover of retrospect and while Green Day loves a rhyme, they also go deep and reflective. Here are a few samples:
Engage students with interactive poetry bulletin boards  - www.traceeorman.com

So, how did you do? 

This pack contains 45 quote cards, 134-slide presentation, student quiz (45 questions--same as the quote cards), and teacher answer key. It also includes a brief bio of both Green Day and Walt Whitman to give your students some background information on both.



Engage students with interactive poetry bulletin boards  - www.traceeorman.com

IS IT QUEEN OR EMILY DICKINSON?
Again, the similarities are very surprising! Dickinson's lines are lyrical and Queen's are creative and sometimes a little out there. A perfect pairing. See for yourself:
Engage students with interactive poetry bulletin boards  - www.traceeorman.com

What did you think about those?

Like my other packs, this pack contains the same presentation, quiz, answer key, and 40 bulletin board cards. 


Engage students with interactive poetry bulletin boards  - www.traceeorman.com

IS IT TUPAC OR SHAKESPEARE?
Tupac made it known that he loved reading (and acting in) William Shakespeare plays. Some of his lines in his rap music are taken straight from the Bard:
Engage students with interactive poetry bulletin boards  - www.traceeorman.com


It's guaranteed to bring a new appreciation for both Shakespeare AND rap music! 

This pack includes 40 bulletin board quote cards, student quiz, teacher key, and a 122-slide presentation. Use whichever you like to suit your students. It's a fun way to introduce Shakespeare or to bring awareness any time during the school year!

What other pairings would you like to see? Drop me a suggestion in the comments and if I create it, I'll send it to you free!


FREE DISPLAY:
Poetry bulletin board ideas from www.traceeorman.com

POEM IN YOUR POCKET DISPLAY
This free download features short poems that are easy to print, cut, and have available for students to take. I provide a fun pocket display in which you can stick the poems. I like to keep this up all year long so students always have poetry available.

You can find additional ideas at poets.org for Poetry Month or any time of the year. Also, check out my poetry Pinterest boards:

POETRY/LYRICS

POETRY in SONG LYRICS

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH RESOURCES collaborative board

I hope these help your students connect more with poetry and have a great attitude about it. Thanks for reading! -Tracee

Interactive Poetry Bulletin Boards www.traceeorman.com



Encourage Creativity in Your Classroom

Encourage and incorporate creativity in your classroom - traceeorman.com

Every single day presents an opportunity to inspire creative thought in your classroom. Whether you are reading a short story, writing an argument essay, or having a formal classroom debate, you can incorporate quick creative activities in the form of bell ringers, exit slips, enrichment projects, and more.


SHORT & QUICK CREATIVE ASSESSMENTS
Use creative questions during discussions or as bell ringers or exit slips. When you are reading a novel, short story, poem, or even a nonfiction piece, you can use questions that force students to think differently about the characters, plot, setting, tone, and author's purpose. My Creative Questions for Any Novel or Story can help! All of the question prompts (there are 180 total prompts) are aligned with the Common Core State Standards and not only require students to think creatively but critically, as well. They may seem simple, but they do force students to analyze, interpret, and synthesize elements of the text.

Foster creativity in the classroom - traceeorman.com

Example questions include:

• What is the most embarrassing thing that could happen right now in the story? Why? This question requires the student to think about past events and future predictions, character traits and motivation, and even the author's purpose.

•  Does the theme of the story align more with a country or rap song? Why? Students must identify a theme of the story in order to answer this. It's much more fun and creative than just asking them what is a theme of the story. In addition, you can prompt them to identify a specific song and why they chose that song to represent the theme.

Which character's (or historical figure's or person in general) actions made you so mad you wanted to scream? Why? I love it when characters make students feel very strongly one way or another. When a student gets worked up over a character, I know they are hooked on the story.

If the plot is the Tour de France, would you (the reader) be pedaling uphill, coasting downhill, or stuck on a flat, twisty road going nowhere? Why? This question has multiple purposes: it assesses whether the student can identify the parts of a plot, it forces students to analyze the author's structure of the text and the pacing of the plot, and it tells me whether they are engaged in the story--if they answer that the plot is going nowhere when they are, in fact, reading a very suspenseful part, then I know they either aren't reading it or aren't into it.

• Which word from the story would win the "WORST WORD EVER USED IN A STORY" award? Why? If your students are like mine, you'll get a lot of "moist" responses. 😂But I like this question because they have to search for words in the text in a way that actually makes it somewhat fun--or at the very least, interesting--to search for a word in a text.

These are just a few of the 180 prompts in my pack. The categories for the questions include character analysis, theme, plot/events, setting, narration/point-of-view, tone/mood, language (vocabulary and figurative language), and miscellaneous, which includes symbolism among other areas.

Implementing the questions:
If you teach in a 1:1 school, you can share the questions digitally and students can respond back digitally. I liked to use our district's grading app (Skyward), that way their response is already in the grade book, so it eliminated the possibility that I would either forget to put them in the system or lose their responses altogether (yes, both have happened in the past...more than once).

If your students do not have digital devices, you can display the prompt on an overhead projector and have students respond in writing (either on the included handout sheets or in their own journals/notebooks). You can also print the questions and have students respond on the back. Because I include an editable version, you can manipulate the handouts to suit your needs.

Bell ringers/Exit slips: If I want students to recall what we read the previous day, I'll use the questions as a bell ringer. If I want to see if students were paying attention or actually reading during class, I'll use them as exit slips.

Discussion prompts: These can be used in literature circles or stations for small-group discussions, or in a large-group class discussion. I have instructions in the pack for using these in stations according to character, plot, theme, setting, tone/mood, and language analysis stations.

Grading: Usually, I grade them on completion. They are quick assessments to let me know if students are grasping the content. Unless a student obviously didn't read, they get full credit.


LONGER CREATIVE ASSESSMENTS & PROJECTS
You can also foster creative thinking through larger projects and assessments. I usually use these at the conclusion of a unit (after they have taken a written test over the unit) because many of the students' choices require them to be familiar with the text in its entirety.

I draw from my Creative Activities for Any Book pack for these choices.  I think it's important to give students choices so they can choose something that interests them, especially if they did not have a choice in the book or story. I find that they are more excited about the project when it's something they choose. I've also allowed students to work together with a partner or a small group (usually no more than 3) if they wish. The pack includes almost 100 different activity prompts with handouts. It's also editable, so you can pick and choose a few for options for your students.

Creative activities in the classroom - traceeorman.com

Examples of these include:

• Create a board game based on the novel, story, play, or historical time period. Students must be familiar with the characters, events, and theme in order to create an effective game. In addition, what is the goal or end result? How does a player "win"? These questions allow students to think differently about the text.

• Create eBay listings for items from the novel, story, play, or historical time period. This project has students look in-depth at the value of artifacts within the text, whether they are symbolic in meaning or imperative to the story.

• Write and record a parody from a scene from the novel, story, play, or historical time period. I love having my students do this after we've read/acted/watched The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by Shakespeare. Their parodies are always entertaining and they get to show off their movie-making skills. This project requires larger groups and it's always apparent if someone in the group is not contributing.

• Create a comic book version of the novel, story, play, or historical time period. Depending on the time allowed, you may have to limit it to a section rather than the entire text, especially if it's a longer book. This gives those artistic students an outlet that still requires them to analyze the text for the most important scenes and visualize them.

• Write a poem based on a scene from the novel, story, play, or historical time period. Usually, students will focus on an emotional aspect or theme that resonated with them as they write.

Although these are only a few choices I offer students, you can create your own list for your students with requirements. My pack includes the requirements for each and grading rubrics (all editable).

Grading: While the written test over the unit already covered some areas, I use these creative assessments to determine how well they connected with the text and grasped the overall themes. I usually give students the requirements for completion and a grading rubric for different areas I want to assess. (Such as quality of information, relation to the text, originality, planning, time management, neatness, etc.)

ADDITIONAL IDEAS
For additional ideas on incorporating and encouraging creativity in your classroom, take a listen Betsy Potash's podcast on her Now Spark Creativity blog 045: Memes, Interactive Notebooks, and YA with Tracee Orman. We discuss different ways to foster creative thinking with your students.


What are ways you encourage creativity in your classroom? Comment below to share.

How to incorporate creativity in your classroom - traceeorman.com


Using Holiday Ads in the Classroom

Using Holiday Ads in the Classroom www.traceeorman.com


During the holidays, advertisers ramp up their advertising, luring buyers to their stores. They'll use colorful, vivid words to snag new customers, which actually works in YOUR favor, English teachers! You can use their ads to teach a number of lessons.

Using Holiday Ads in the Classroom  www.traceeorman.com

1. CHANCE (or DADA) POEMS: Cut up the words and use them for an impromptu poetry writing session. I like to store the words in little plastic baggies and use them when we have time left at the end of the period. I'll have students work in groups and prompt them to create a poem based on the lesson we just practiced (or the book/story/character we are reading). Or if there is a fun event coming up (a holiday, a dance, etc.), have them create a poem related to the event. Give them a limited time to create a poem, then have each group share with the class.

Using Holiday Ads in the Classroom  www.traceeorman.com

Writing chance poems with newspaper ads  www.traceeorman.com


2. PARTS OF SPEECH REVIEW: Have students cut out the words themselves*, only with a twist--require students to find an example of each part of speech (noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection). You can make it a contest and see who can come up with the most (and the most interesting). *If the words are already cut out, they can just each take a baggie full and sort them by part of speech.

3. REVIEW IDIOMS AND CLICHÉS: Ads are perfect for containing overused idioms and clichés. Introduce and/or review the figurative phrases with your students. Have them find their own in the ads, old magazines, or in newspaper headlines.

Review Idioms and Clichés with Holiday Ads  www.traceeorman.com


4. ANALYZE THE MERIT OF MARKETING: Have students look over the ads, analyzing the marketing techniques used, including the word choices and design/aesthetics (colors, font, and placement of words and products on the page). Which phrases stood out to them? Which did they pay little attention to? Were others more effective? Why?

5. ANALYZE TARGET AUDIENCES: As students look over the ads, ask them to evaluate who might the target audience be for the ad. How did they come to that conclusion? Which words and/or phrases did they use as clues? Do the ads stereotype?

I've been using ads and newspapers in my classroom for years. If you do not have access to a newspaper or magazines, check with your media specialist to see if she/he has older copies that can be saved for you. Also, your school may be eligible for Newspapers in Education. It's a wonderful program that supplies classrooms with copies of newspapers, which are paid for by donations from local businesses.

My Magnetic Poetry Kit is also an option for activities #1 and #2 if you don't have access to newspapers or magazines.

You can keep collecting the ads through the spring: Valentine's Day ads are perfect for love-inspired poems; there's also President's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, and so on... Each holiday will offer different flavors of language to suit the occasion.

Use holiday ads in the English/Language Arts classroom  www.traceeorman.com


COMING SOON: Handouts for each of these activities, which will be included in my POETRY BUNDLE (a bundle of ALL of my poetry-related resources...past, present, and future!)

Poetry bundle: A growing bundle of all my poetry resources


Using Holiday Ads in the Classroom  www.traceeorman.com

Using Holiday Ads in the Classroom  www.traceeorman.com


Are You Ready for Back-to-School?

Back-to-school time: Parents vs. Teachers (from www.traceeorman.com)



Going back to school in the fall is always a mixed bag of emotions: excitement, anticipation, nervousness, and, yes, overwhelming stress. There is a reason teachers need breaks throughout the year: the planning, grading, and performing in the classroom for the toughest audience out there is both mentally and physically exhausting.

Welcome back to the overwhelming workload... (from www.traceeorman.com)

But part of your workload and stress can be diminished.

Instead of spending your entire prep time altering your textbook lesson to work for your students, why not try materials that have been tried and tested in the classroom already by real teachers?

I've posted many new resources in my store this summer, with a lot more to come. You can check them all out here: Tracee Orman on TpT

I've also collaborated with my friends at the Literary League, which is a group of secondary language arts teachers, to let you know we'll be having a sale starting tonight and running through August 4th. Don't miss out on it! Use the code BTS15 at checkout to get an additional 10% our already-marked 20% off stores!

Back to School Sale - The Literary League

Visit their stores here:





























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Cyber Monday and Tuesday Sale at TeachersPayTeachers

Super Secondary TeachersPayTeachers Cyber Monday Sale

TpT SUPER CYBER SAVINGS 2014! 

Up to 28% off the entire site Monday, December 1st and Tuesday, December 2nd 

Use this promotional code at check out: TPTCYBER 

My fellow teachers who will be participating:
Super secondary TpT teachers want to wish you a wonderful holiday season!


Super Secondary TeachersPayTeachers Cyber Monday Sale

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If you don't want to wait for the sale to start on Monday
I am currently having a huge BUNDLE BlackFriday14 sale on my clip art graphics and interactive reading notebook activities. This sale will only extend through today, so get them while you can!

Doodle Border Bundle for commercial use

Loopty Loo Doodly Doo graphics bundle for commercial use

Owls - It's a Hoot! Owl clip art graphics bundle for commercial use

New interactive reading notebook activity bundle:
Interactive reading notebook activities bundle - both fiction and nonfiction

Stay tuned for MORE great products I'll be uploading this weekend!

Who Needs Common Core Resources?

Who needs Common Core resources? Click to grab tons of freebies!

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If you've been wondering what happened to my blogs this summer, well...I've been a little bit busy. But the time spent was well worth it! My fellow online teacher-authors at TeachersPayTeachers put together these fabulous back-to-school eBooks chock full of tips for implementing the Common Core State Standards. Not only that, each page includes a link to a free download that is aligned to a specific standard (or standards). If you need additional materials, there's more links to priced products and each page states which standards they practice.

It can't get any easier than this for finding all the Common Core resources you'll need this school year. 

So click on the links below to start downloading some fabulous materials:

FREE Grades 6-12 English/Language Arts Common Core State Standards Resources eBook by TpT Teacher-Authors


6-12 Science Common Core Resources



6-12 Social Studies Common Core Resources


6-12 Math Common Core Resources


3-5 ELA Common Core Resources


3-5 Math Common Core Resources


K-2 Math Common Core Resources


K-2 ELA Common Core Resources


Special thanks to all the contributors to the eBooks and the clip artists, as well.  
We hope you all have a great school year!

Top Secondary Teachers to Follow on Pinterest

Top Secondary Teachers to Follow on Pinterest!

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Happy Summer, Friends! 
I don't know about you, but one of my favorite things to do in the summer is relax with a cup of coffee while listening to the Today show and pin away on Pinterest! Yep, it's definitely a time suck, but in the summer, who cares, right?

So here's a great list of my fellow secondary teachers that you should ALL follow on Pinterest!  OK, so there's really 18 secondary teachers featured, but since I'm telling YOU about them, we won't count me. :) All of these bloggers/pinners are active online and have a lot to offer secondary teachers. I hope you'll check out their pinboards & blogs. And in case you need a link to my Pinterest boards, I pin from my Mrs. Orman account and my Hunger Games Lessons account. To see the latest pins from either account just click here: Mrs. Orman's Pins and here: Hunger Games Lessons Pins.

Thanks for taking time to follow us! You can download a free activity (link at end of post) to use at the end of your school year or anytime! (I usually repeat it several times throughout the year.)


Meet The Tutor House!

The Tutor House


Bio:  Hi!  I'm Adrianne from The Tutor House.  I love tutoring and creating engaging lessons for math in reading for grades 3-8!  If you've ever thought about starting your own tutoring business, you should come on over to The Tutor House!

Follow Adrianne of The Tutor House on Pinterest. {Special thanks to Adrianne for putting together this  list for all of us!}


Meet Science Stuff! 




Bio:  Hi there!  My name is Amy Brown and I write a blog called "Science Stuff."  I am a 29-year teaching veteran of biology, chemistry and AP biology.  I love science and I love kids, so I have the best job in the world!  Hopefully, I have passed my love of nature and the environment on to many students.  My blog has tips and tricks for teaching science as well as a lot of free science teaching materials.  I hope to see you there!

Follow Amy of Science Stuff on Pinterest. {Amy is a great friend and the one who introduced me to Pinterest and showed me the ropes. Thanks, Amy!}



Meet Addie Education!


Addie Education ñ Teacher Talk


Bio:  I'm a middle / high-school teacher and I love to create ELA, Social Studies and Geography related resources.  I blog at Addie Education - Teacher Talk... come on by and see some of the fun things I do with my students.

Follow Addie Education on Pinterest.



Meet Charlene Tess!



Bio:  Hello, there. Iím Charlene Tess from Simple Steps to Sentence Sense. Grammar is my specialty. I have always loved taking sentences apart and putting them back together, and I successfully taught my students using the simple steps method for over three decades. Visit my blog to get helpful tips on grammar, usage, and writing.

Follow Charlene of Simple Steps to Sentence Sense on Pinterest.


Meet Tammy Manor!

Bio:  Hi my name is Tammy and I've been teaching high school English for 13 years now. I know that teaching can be very stressful. My school is constantly changing the book list and I've taught every grade 6-12 as well. As a result I have unit plans for a large variety of novels, plays and memoirs. Come check out my store on TpT for a variety of ELA materials. Follow my blog for teaching related posts.

Follow Tammy on Pinterest.  


Meet Teach It Write!

TeachitWritelogo photo chalkboard-apple2_zps1805ea76.png 


Bio: Welcome! I am Connie from Teach it Write. I am a retired English teacher and Iím thrilled to now write curriculum full time that I love to share on my site http://teachitwrite.blogspot.com. My book, The House of Comprehension, shows how the elements of literature form the structure of any fiction or non-fiction text. Check it out on my blog site or on www.teachitwrite.com.

Follow Connie of Teach it Write on Pinterest.


Meet Innovative Connections!

Innovative Connections

Bio:  Hey! I am Ann Marie from Innovative Connections. I enjoy blogging about various topics: Projects and lessons going on in my classroom, ideas I've learned or ideas I've thought of at the most random of moments (At 2 a.m. when I can't sleep, I can come up with some stellar ideas), teaching resources I find beneficial to fellow teachers and/or bloggers. Due to the wide range of grades I've had the pleasure of teaching, Innovative Connections caters mostly to language arts but loves to share and collaborate with teachers/bloggers of various grade levels.

Follow Ann Marie of Innovative Connections on Pinterest.


Meet 4mulaFun!

4mulaFun Blog Fan

Bio:  Hello, my name is Jennifer Smith-Sloane. I am a Middle School Math and Special Education teacher. I have a strong passion for differentiated instruction to meet the needs of each learner in and out of my classroom. I love seeing the light in a student's eyes when something finally clicks and I do everything that I can to make that happen as often as it can.  Visit my blog 4mulaFun!

Follow Jennifer of 4mulaFun on Pinterest.


Meet Miss Math Dork!

MissMathDork


Bio:  Hiya there!  I'm Jamie but you may know me as MissMathDork! I am a lover of all things mathematical!  Patterns, sequences, geometric shapes, if it's mathematical, I'll find a way to make it fun!  Want to see some of my ideas? Check out my ideas and pictures at www.missmathdork.com!  You won't be disappointed!

Follow Jaime of Miss Math Dork on Pinterest.


Meet A Space to Create!


Bio:  Meet Sabrina, author of A Space to Create.  Find teaching resources for art teachers and classroom teachers alike. My art lessons teach students the creative process enabling them to build confidence and have amazing results.  Come visit my blog A Space to Create! (K-12)

Follow Sabrina of A Space to Create on Pinterest.


Meet All Things Algebra!

All Things Algebra

Bio: Hi there!  I'm Gina from All Things Algebra.  I have taught Algebra and Pre-Algebra for seven years and have a passion for creating activites and games that engage my students.  If you are interested in finding ways to have more fun in math class, head on over and check out my blog!

Follow Gina of All Things Algebra on Pinterest.


Meet Numbers Rule My World!

Numbers Rule My World


Bio: Hi! I'm Krystina from Numbers Rule My World. I love incorporating hands-on activities and technology into the classroom for Math: grades 7-9. If you're looking for great ideas about math then you should come on over and check it out at Numbers Rule My World!

Follow Krystina of Numbers Rule My World on Pinterest.



Meet Liz's Lessons!


Liz's Lessons
Bio:  Bonjour! Hola! I'm Liz from Liz's Lessons. Languages are one of my passions, and I love teaching with technology. I create fun lessons for teaching secondary French, and Spanish. I also make formative assessments and technology activities in English, that can be used in any secondary classroom. If you are looking for some engaging activities for your classes, be sure to stop by Liz's Lessons!

Follow Liz of Liz's Lessons on Pinterest.


Meet Teaching FSL!



Bio:  This is Madame Aiello, author of Teaching FSL. Although I've taught other subjects as well, French as a Second Language has always been my passion. My focus is the higher grades, since I taught high school originally but teach grade 7 & 8 since six years ago. I share lots of resources, blog about second language teacher specific topics as well as those that apply to all teachers.

Follow Madame Aiello of Teaching FSL on Pinterest.



Meet For the Love of Teaching Math!

For the Love of Teaching Math
Bio: I'm Andrea Kerr from For the Love of Teaching Math. It is my mission to change traditional math classrooms one game and activity at a time. If you like to incorporate hands-on, group activities and games into your classroom, check out For the Love of Teaching Math!

Follow Andrea of For the Love of Teaching Math on Pinterest.


Meet 2 Peas and a Dog!


2PeasAndADog Blog


Bio:  Hi Everyone! It's Kristy from 2 Peas and a Dog. I am a Canadian middle school teacher who loves to pin and blog about things related to Grades 6 and up.

Follow Kristy of 2 Peas and a Dog on Pinterest.


Meet Teaching Math by Hart!



Bio:  Hi! I'm Kim from Teaching Math by Hart. I am forever planning and thinking of new and innovative ways to teach math to my students. Why, you ask? Believe it or not, I think learning Math should be FUN and it should be REAL! If you are looking for some ideas to engage your students in math class, come check out Teaching Math by Hart - in the middle years classroom!

Follow Kim on Pinterest.

FREE ACTIVITY WITH PRINTABLES
If you are one of the unfortunate who are still in school (believe me, I will be jealous of you come August when we go back & you're still off!), here's one of my favorite activities to share with my students. (It's a FREE download, by the way!)

Live and Learn End-of-the-Year (Or Anytime) Free Download Activity

Free Live & Learn End-of-the-Year (Or Anytime) Activity for ALL Ages


Pin It

It's very simple, but the results are memorable. 
You can read more about it on my Hunger Games Lessons blog HERE.

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