Showing posts with label english teacher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label english teacher. Show all posts

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


Solar Eclipse Activities for English Language Arts


Solar Eclipse Activities for ELA teachers www.traceeorman.com

Solar Eclipse Activities for English Language Arts

If you're looking for some great ready-to-go (no prep needed) English language arts activities for tomorrow's solar eclipse, you can download them here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Solar-Eclipse-2017-Activities-3339317

Solar Eclipse Activities for ELA teachers www.traceeorman.comThe activities include a lesson on idioms, with students brainstorming various idioms related to the sun, moon, and/or eclipse and researching their origins. It is aligned to the Common Core standards for language and writing.

Another activity is a great back-to-school get-to-know-you activity for learning more about your students; students will share various details about themselves and predict what they will be doing when the next total solar eclipse happens in America in 2024.

A third activity is a fun playlist your students can create to commemorate the eclipse.

One of the best things about these activities is if viewing the eclipse is a bust (it's cloudy, or raining, or the students aren't allowed to view it), students can still do all the activities! Actually, the responses may even be more comical if it is a bust. 😂

Print and Go or Share Digitally Resources www.traceeorman.comThe handouts can be printed from a PDF file or you can share them digitally with your students through a secure online classroom like Google Classroom™ or Edmodo™. These are perfect for schools that are 1:1 or have access to computers or tablets.



And because I want you to make sure you get your money's worth, I will update the activities after Monday to make them usable for ANY eclipse in the future. :)


Solar Eclipse Activities https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Solar-Eclipse-2017-Activities-3339317



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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Gifts for the Book Nerd, English Teacher, Bibliophile, Librarian, or Grammar Nazi

50+ Holiday Gift Ideas for the Book Lover Bibliophile


The problem with buying gifts for the book lover is that you never know which books they have already read and own or whether they will even like them. I'm offering suggestions because I am a verified 100% book nerd English teacher myself and my husband finds me incredibly hard to buy for. Hopefully this will help you find the perfect gift for your loved one! Click on each picture below to go to the website to purchase (most are on Amazon).


STOCKING STUFFERS
Who wouldn't love these literary-inspired stocking stuffers?
(Images courtesy of Amazon.com, unless otherwise noted)

This just seems completely appropriate for those of us who love words:
The Best Christmas Word Search Puzzle Book



Help your loved one keep their Kindle, iPad, smart phone, or other reading device's screen clean:


Scrabble Slam Cards: Taking your favorite board game to another level:



Inspire the book lover with a Magnetic Poetry Kit (Book Lover edition, of course!):



Every book nerd knows you can never have too many bookmarks. Get these cute punctuation magnetic i-clip bookmarks:


Or elegant Harry Potter Hogwarts Houses bookmarks:


Keep Calm and Read On:


Sometimes you just want one hand free while reading. These Thumb Things book holders come to the rescue! (Great for read-alouds or snacking while reading.):




As long as they don't think you are sending them a hint with this Edgar Allan Poe-inspired air freshener (perfect for their car, classroom, office, library, etc.):

Or perhaps they would like Jane Austen's better:




Every teacher should keep bandages in her drawer for those pesky paper cuts. Keep it real with Shakespeare's Insults Bandages kit:



These ultra-cute sticky notes are perfectly shaped for annotating books:

Or these "Sticky Fingers":



A teacher (or writer) can never have too many pens! These Pentel gel ink pens are my favorite for grading papers, writing notes, doodling, whatever. And they are reasonably priced:



Harry Potter candy is always a fun treat:





If your book nerd friend doesn't have a mockingjay pin yet, this would be a great stocking stuffer:

Gift cards are perfect stocking stuffers! Get cards from favorite book stores, coffee houses where your loved one likes to hang out, or teaching resources sites like TeachersPayTeachers:

Image courtesy of TeachersPayTeachers.com




GIFTS

The Complete Far Side by Gary Larson: Considering this book collection was just released November 25th, perhaps your loved one doesn't have it yet. Chances are, they will cherish this for years to come:


Book nerds will drool over this new release of the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales. These are the original stories translated into American English:




A reading journal for the book lover: seems perfect, right?



I Judge You When You Use Poor Grammar; for a great laugh, your Grammar Nazi will love this:



Any book by Grammar Girl is the perfect gift for the grammar lover. I love her website and her books are great to have on hand for easy reference:



TOTE IT

Big books are the best. "I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie" tote:


Is that special someone you are buying for a Jane Austen fan? How about a Pride and Prejudice inspired tote:


Blue Q's bags are great for carrying books:




Or cover multiple books AND make a statement with this Banned Books tote:

How about a phone case inspired by the book? (This one is for the new iPhone 6, but they make them for many different brands/models - just click on the link):

How about a recycled book purse?
Image by Etsy.com

Gone With the Wind pouch:



WRITE ALL ABOUT IT

It's a black pen, a red pen, a pencil, and a stylus--all in an elegant shell:



Vintage card catalog-inspired notecards; they are straight from the Library of Congress:



These beautiful journals are sure to please anyone on your list who loves to write:


Tree of Life journal:




In spirals:





Cute vintage-looking roll-up pencil cases:





READING IN BED SOLUTIONS

This reading light is my all-time favorite. Make sure you get the LightWedge brand (the quality is far superior than other brands, though Verilux now makes one and I love their reading lights but haven't tried their book light):




Here's a classy-looking plush book stand (other colors available):


Does your loved one need a hands-free laptop stand for their nighttime reading or working?
This stand makes it easy:

Or how about a hands-free stand they can use for reading on their Kindle, iPad, or Nook? Did I mention they can lie on their back without fear of dropping their device on their face?




WEAR IT FAVORITES

How about a beautiful infinity scarf straight from a page of her favorite book? Check out Storiarts on Etsy:
Image: Storiarts on Etsy.com

While you are visiting Etsy, check out one of my favorite shops: the Boolady. Her To Kill a Mockingbird inspired jewelry is awesome (favorites of mine from last year!):
Image: Boolady on Etsy.com

Every bibliophile would appreciate these Book Lover Flip Flops for their trips to the beach...or anywhere:
Image: CafePress.com

More big books:


Just to keep going with the theme...




And for the book junkie:


Alice in Wonderland inspired necklace:



"So It Goes" Necklace, inspired by Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse V:


Thoreau-inspired t-shirt:


Or The Great Gatsby:



FOR THE HOME

I love the look of the card catalog cabinets! Here's a beautiful piece to add to give your loved one for home, office, or classroom (holds CDs, DVDs, etc.):



For the Harry Potter fan: a Marauder's Map blanket to keep your book nerd warm this winter:



The grammar nazi in your life will appreciate these dishes:




It's always time to read with these clocks:








Book ends are always useful:





Vintage typewriters:



Magnetic arrow book ends:


For the Doctor Who fan:

From A to Z or @ and & book ends:




Shakespeare book ends:



The only bad thing about this Hunger Games Mockingjay book end is that it only comes with one!






Because every book lover will continue to acquire new books, give them a place to keep them all:






Front view of swivel bookcase.









MISCELLANEOUS

Here's a beautiful and easy way for bibliophiles to label their books:



Because most book berds are creative themselves--because this game does take some creative-thinking--I offer up the Cards Against Humanity game. This is a game for horrible, terrible, rotten people who laugh at the expense of others. And it's highly addicting. Oh, the humanity:






Need more ideas? Check out my Pinterest pin board for more gift suggestions:

Gifts for the English Teacher Pinterest Board


What are YOUR favorite gifts to receive? To give? Post them below with a link!

Happy Holidays from Mrs. Orman's Classroom



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