New Year's Day Writing Activity - "Dynamite Resolutions for the New Year"

Teachers, this post offers you a few more days of relaxing, shopping, reading for pleasure, watching college bowl games, or indulging in whatever revives you best before you must unlock your classrooms after your much-deserved break.  This lesson, New Year's Day Writing Activity: Dynamite Resolutions for the New Year, will engage your middle and /or high school students as the first bell chimes while giving you an activity that meets comprehension, writing, thinking and speaking objectives.

As the New Year tick tocks its way into January, students’ brains need some prodding to shake off the cobwebs of long winter naps. This language arts activity sparks their comprehension, critical thinking and writing muscles as they consider the texts that they read and analyzed during the fall and early winter months. After they complete the handout and share their responses in a whole-class discussion that promises to be lively, their brains will be revved up for the next fiction or narrative nonfiction unit.

For this lesson, New Year's Day Writing Activity: Dynamite Resolutions for the New Year, students will choose five people from any of the reading they have completed so far this school year, and will create a New Year’s Resolution for each one. Each decision must be one that fits the character’s disposition, morals, values and temperament.

After the students create this pledge, they must explain

•  why the character made this decision,
•  why this is a logical choice for him/her, and they
•  must also include the title and author for each story that they use.

To score this activity, allot 1 point each for the character, the title and the author; 3 points for each Resolution, and 4 points for the Reason -10 points per each character response, and 50 points for the whole worksheet.

Example:

Character: Goldilocks; Goldilocks and The Three Bears; Robert Southly

Resolution: I vow never to break into anyone’s house again.

Reason: My parents grounded me for breaking and entering, eating the Bear family’s food, destroying their furniture and messing up their beds. For three weeks I had to eat cold porridge, sit in a wooden chair and sleep on a wooden pallet with no mattress. That was no fun.

This lesson promises to add more bricks to students’ academic homes while they prove the premise that Learning is Fun.  Resolve to download this $1.25 bargain from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/New-Years-Day-Writing-Activity-Dynamite-Resolutions-for-the-New-Year-179906.

Happy Teaching,

 New Year's graphic from https://openclipart.org/detail/211059/happy-new-year-2015-by-viscious-speed-211059

Dystopian Novels Generate a Teacher Utopia 16+ Teaching Ideas

Good can come from dystopian cultures, well, from the study of dystopian novels, anyway. This 10-page product for Middle and High School ELA teachers, offers 16+ lessons for the study of dystopian books. Although the directions and descriptions for each lesson reference Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, I use these details to add clarification- and to offer more lessons for my Brave New World Unit Plan,  (http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brave-New-World-Unit-Plan-5021), which was my initial goal. When I saw the universality of the lessons that I was creating, I decided to offer suggestions about how teachers could adapt these activities to fit any dystopian novel, or any novel, for that matter.

After detailing 3 Novel Preview Lesson Ideas, this packet includes 12 lessons for the topic, Novel Study Lesson Ideas: Exploring the Elements of Literature. I created from 1-5 activities for each element: Character, Plot/Conflict, Theme (and Theme Topics), Setting, Symbols, and Point of View. For the lesson on Setting, this packet contains a brand new handout with two activities -  Issues, Issues, These are the Issues. 

Under the Extended Study- And Then There was More heading, I suggest 16 utopian/dystopian novels -some classics taught in many schools- for independent reading, small group or whole class study. Here is a working list. So many terrific novels for this genre that work with adolescents exist, that I had to make some difficult choices.

*These books appear on Barnes and Noble’s “The Top 100 Bestsellers of 2014”

Animal Farm (George Orwell)

*Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)

*Nineteen Eighty-Four (George Orwell)

Men Like Gods (H.G. Wells)

The Time Machine (H.G. Wells)

Lord pf the Flies (William Golding)

A Perfect Day (Ira Levin)

*The Hunger Games trilogy (Suzanne Collins)

*Divergent series (Veronica Roth)

*Four (Veronica Roth)

*Maze Runner series (James Dashner)

The Circle (Dave Eggers)

The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)

Oryx and Crake (Margaret Atwood)

*The Giver (Lois Lowry)

Uglies (Scott Westerfield)

After that I give links to two products that tie into the study of dystopian literature and propaganda from my store: "Writing and Thinking Activity-Unconventional Inventions": http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Thinking-Activity-Unconventional-Inventions-18339 ($2.00) and "Thinking/Writing Activities 'Utopian and Dystopian Society Novel Projects'": http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/ThinkingWriting-Activities-Utopian-and-Dystopian-Society-Novel-Projects-1124376 ($2.50).

As a plug for all of my Teacher-Seller colleagues, I follow these suggestions by mentioning that ELA teachers will find lessons, activities and unit plans for 12 out of the 16 novels that I name here on TpT. I hope that this mention will send you all some sales, my friends!

I close the packet with a Parent Permission Slip since many of these novels reveal controversial issues and may be restricted in some school districts for various reasons. 

Many teens and preteens love reading dystopian literature. These lessons will engage them and will hook those students who need a lift onto my favorite train, the I Love Reading Express.

Download Teacher Resource - Dystopian Novels Generate a Teacher Utopia from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teacher-Resource-Dystopian-Novels-Generate-a-Teacher-Utopia-1502333 ($3.50).
 

Happy Teaching,
Connie

Flesh out Characters with Three Analytic Activities

Fall Into Character Analysis

I have always been intrigued by the people that I have met between book covers. Exploring how these fictional beings act and react to the people and the conflicts that they encounter have always fortified my understanding of humans, their passions and their ambitions.

This interest is why so many of my products focus on the character aspect of the elements of literature.  Fall Into Character Analysis adds even more depth to this emphasis.

Three handouts – “Island Odyssey," Fleshing Out Character" and  “It’s a Halloween Party" offer middle and high school students opportunities to reveal their comprehension of the characters they are studying.  Through writing and speaking, they will explore a trio of the basic motivations that propel authors to create dynamic, round individuals.

1. Who and what determines how characters deal with their thoughts, feelings and emotions?
2. What factors determine how characters interact with the people they meet and the situations they encounter?
3. Why do they act and react to these internal and external conflicts in the manner that they do?

Students will show their understanding of character development by choosing specific details to complete each teacher-selected activity. They will select their answers based on the information that they have gathered in their reading.

Teachers should introduce these activities during and after the latter part of the rising action - or when enough information about the characters is present for analysis.

As students complete these assignments, they will exhibit their range of thinking skills from knowledge through evaluation. They will also show their understanding of character development as well as their analytic and critical-thinking oral and writing skills.

Individual and/or small group options will work successfully, although “It’s a

Halloween Party” is better suited to individual responses.  As with all of my activities, the students should share their responses during whole class discussions.

Download this Language Arts Activity

from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Comprehension-and-Writing-Activities-Falling-Into-Character-1466674 ($2.00) Detailed Teacher Notes are included.

Don't plan during your personal hours- Download. 
Give yourself the gift of time with these ready for class lessons.

Happy Teaching,

What If? 3 Writing Prompts

ELA teachers can never have too many writing prompts. This Middle and High School lesson plan offers 3 new activities for students in grades 6-12 to strengthen their writing, understanding of higher level thinking concepts and speaking skills.

The prompts include:
1. Island Survivor Guide
What if you had to stay on an uninhabited island in the Mamanuca Islands chain for 30 days? This island does have a drinkable water source in its mountainous jungle terrain, but food sources are questionable. State why you will be there, list 10 items that you will take and explain why you have chosen them. 

2. Headline: “Teenager Wins Multi- Million Dollar Lottery”
What if you won $3,000,000 in a lottery? Although you are under 18 years of age, for this writing exercise, you winnings are legally yours. Write the article from a newspaper reporter’s point of view following the given format. 
Note: Keep the Lead Paragraph under 30 words. Body Paragraphs should be 30-45 words. Write in the Inverted Pyramid format by presenting the most important information first and the least important last. This is normal journalistic style, so if anything needs to be cut for space requirements, it will always be from the end of the article. Your article must fit in the provided spaces, only, and

3. The Perfect Home
What if you could choose to live anywhere in this world? Where would it be? Where you live right now? Would it be in the High Sierra Mountains? On a Thailand beach? In Highclere Castle? In a high-rise condo in New York City? Who would live with you - your family- a friend- -two Newfoundland dogs-no one? Why is this place- location and type of house- your ideal? Paint a word picture by describing your idyllic home- the place itself, the location and the people/pets who would share this home with you and your reason(s) for this choice. Use the back of this handout if necessary


As an added bonus, in the detailed Teacher Notes, I present another lesson option: "TRY THIS: use any of these activities during the study of any fiction or non-fiction piece to check students’ reading comprehension. In these lessons, students will write from the point of view of a teacher- assigned or student-selected character."

Three activities=Infinite Possibilities. 

Download these lesson plans for grades 6-12 from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-What-If-3-Writing-Prompts-1427588 

Happy Teaching,

Language Arts Activity - Fiction's Physique

Readers enjoy rating the books that they read whether this analysis occurs in their heads, on line, with a friend or in book group discussions.

This English Language Arts activity- Fiction's Physique- enables Middle and High School students to develop their comprehension and reasoning skills as they show- in writing and orally- a story's buff or flabby qualities.

Teachers should offer this lesson after students have finished reading the story. When they have completed this activity, students will reveal the buffness of their thinking skills from knowledge through evaluation.

This activity allows them to show their understanding of all aspects of the Elements of Strong Fiction as well as their comprehension of the various aspects of the story.

Here is the How the lesson should be taught from the Teacher Notes:

·         Introduce the activity by reviewing each Element of Strong Fiction (Vivid Details, Depth of Character, Descriptive Settings, Captivating Plots, Realistic Dialogue, Unpredictability, Originality, Emotions, Believable Endings and Purpose).

1.       Before class, write each of the ten elements on the board, leaving space for student responses.

2.       Give each student a card with one of the ten elements written on it.

3.       Allot them five minutes to find an example of their element and to write it on the board under the corresponding topic.

4.       Discuss the answers

·         Review the activity’s directions by reading them orally and then checking for understanding.

·         Give students time in class to work on this activity.  Suggestion- 30 to 45 minutes, depending on their skills and abilities.

·          Students may either finish this activity in class the next day or as a homework assignment. Teachers choose their desired option, depending on their students’ skills and abilities and their objective(s) for the activity.

·         The day that the activity is due, write the elements of strong fiction on the board again, randomly assign each student two topics, and then ask them to write one of their examples under each of their assigned elements.

·         Alternate Lesson: divide students into pairs or trios. Give them class time to complete this activity, instructing them to divide up the elements as they choose. Follow the previous bullet for sharing.

·          Each student must complete the Fitness Analysis segment.

 

Download this FREE activity from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Comprehension-Critical-Thinking-Skills-Activity-Fictions-Physique-1270261

Happy Teaching,