Language Arts Lesson - Making the Most of May

Due to the scheduling of various standardized tests, i.e. A.P testing and individual state assessments, May can be a difficult month to keep students inspired and the learning momentum smooth.

The anxiety that might crop up as teachers plan around the Testing Calendar will abate when they use this middle and high school English lesson plan. With this unit, students’ not only choose the novel that they will study,  but they also create a daily reading and writing calendar that works with their scheduled exams and the teacher’s due date. These factors maintain a flexible and flowing learning environment that engages students and promotes responsibility.  

Students select a book of their choice to read and complete the detailed activities included in the packet.  

These requirements involve a

1. General Novel Packet with four aspects: Book Notes, Plot Diagram, Quotes and Theme worksheets

2. Full-length Essay (500-750 words)

3. Group Project: "Threads-Making Connections"

 

Every day the students will either

•  read for half of the period, or
•  work on their packets for half of the period.

The second half of the period, they will

•  participate in a whole class writing session, concentrating on a facet of writing, or
• discuss various aspects of their chosen novels with peers. NOTE: Each student in the group should be reading a different novel. Members take notes. These will enable them to complete the Threads-Making Connections activity.

By managing their class time wisely, students will only have to complete the typing and compilation of the required activities at home right before the final packets are due. They should bind all of the components of their packet together in some way - a folder with pockets is best.

Teaching time won’t be interrupted and chaotic because of testing when you let this unit plan become your May learning keystone.  Its effectiveness stems from dual factors - students hold the ownership for what they are learning and when they are learning.

Teachers do need to

• specify minimum length, genre and anything else you deem necessary for your charges.
• Mentor students’ progress with mini-conferences

And you, my teacher friends, will appreciate the fact that your students are challenging themselves mentally as they increase their reading comprehension, their higher level thinking and their writing skills with substantive activities and no loss of learning continuity.

Download Language Arts lesson - Making the Most of May from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Language-Arts-Lesson-Making-the-Most-of-May-681650 

Happy Teaching,

Teach it Write

Building Powerful Academic Homes

Language Arts Lessons - Everyday People A Trio of Comprehension Activities

The characters in fiction are everyday people, aren't they? That's what Middle and High School students will determine in these three comprehension lessons.
This trio of activities will add depth to students' comprehension as they analyze a stories. Here, they will examine characters for round, flat, dynamic and static qualities, as well as for the impact of characters on the Plot/Conflict.

For Background Check, students mesh the information that they gather on a character from their reading with their understanding of the jobs offered during the time period of the story, or for the criteria colleges require for admission. This career choice depends on the character's age.

Background Check  Directions: The character of your choice is applying for a job, or for acceptance to college - depending on his or her age. As the person in charge of investigating the character, your mission is to compile a dossier (portfolio) on him/her. Complete the following information, place everything in a folder with pockets, and turn it in on the due date.

The other two, What's My Title? and Fishing for Answers, require students to choose various plot situations, and then to analyze the character's actions and reactions on his or her main objective in the story, on the other individuals involved in the situation, and on the conflict.

 What's My Title? Directions: Choose five of the Rising Action situations, summarize each one, and then create a title for each that reveals the Main Idea of the event.  Next, explain your reasoning for the title that you chose.

Fishing for Answers Directions: Each of you will choose a situation from the story that hooks the character(s) in this action to the conflict. Select one of the characters to evaluate, and then respond to each of the points on this handout. You will have ten minutes to present your points and to support them. When time is up, each of you will stand and present the situation and your responses.

This tantalizing trio empowers students to add depth and understanding to their comprehension homes. Each of these English Language Arts lesson plans is aligned with Common Core Standards as well as Bloom's Taxonomy. This posting also contains detailed Teacher Notes.

Download these comprehension activities from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Language-Arts-Lessons-Everyday-People-A-Trio-of-Comprehension-Activities-631305

Happy Teaching,

Teach it Write

Building Powerful Academic Homes

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Language Arts Activity - Message "The Meaning is in the Words"

Figurative language enriches our reading and listening adventures and adds depth to our understanding of the piece. 

In my latest Middle and High School English lesson plan,
Language Arts Activity: Message - The Meaning is in the Words, students explore similes, metaphors, personification, sensory imagery and hyperbole in the stories that they study in class.

They exhibit their understanding for the types of figurative language with their selections to analyze, and deepen their comprehension with their explanations. 

This Activity has three parts:

Part A: Find three examples of each of the following literary terms. By the type of figurative language, copy the passage that you chose along with the page number. Next, explain its meaning.

Part B: Your Turn - Create your own figures of speech. Make each one fit the people, setting or plot of the book that you are studying in class, and

Part C: Closure: Address each of the following questions.
1. Which type of figurative language do you find the easiest to identify? Explain your response.
2. Which type of figurative language do you find the hardest to identify? Explain your response.
3. Which type of figurative language do you like the best to create? Why?
4. Which type of figurative language do you like the least to create? Why?

          

           

This standards-based and Bloom's Taxonomy aligned language arts lesson encourages middle and high school students to decode the meaning in the author's words, and to find the message in passages that are often confusing. 

Download this lesson and detailed Teacher Notes from 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Language-Arts-Activity-Message-The-Meaning-is-in-the-Words-1206588

Happy Teaching,

Teach it Write

Building Powerful Academic Homes

Language Arts Activity - Review It!

Students love to share their opinions about anything school, family, friends (and foes), community and world related. Review It! - a lesson plan for Middle and High School students - offers them the opportunity to develop their reasoning and logic skills as they write a review for a book that they have just finished studying in class. 

Best of all, they share their opinions with the world by publishing this piece on the book's page on amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. 

In this language arts lesson, students will show their understanding of the elements of literature as they analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the story as well as the piece’s intent and whether or not it met this purpose. They will choose direct and indirect citations from the story to support their points. 

Review It! should be introduced after students have completed the reading. This activity enables students in grades 6-12 to exhibit their range of thinking skills from knowledge through evaluation. Their writing will demonstrate their understanding of all aspects of the elements of literature as well as their analytic and critical-thinking skills.

This packet includes:
A. 6 reviews from amazon.com - 2 each for The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins), Divergent (Veronica Roth) and Twilight (Stephenie Meyer)- for students to read, analyze and discuss
B. A Review Check List to use for the discussion of the Amazon reviews and for their original writing.
C. The Review It! handout that details the directions for this activity as well as the points that students must cover in their reviews.

Review It! offers Middle and High School students an opportunity to practice how to share their opinions through effective analysis.

Download this activity that promotes strong reading comprehension, writing and higher level thinking skills from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Language-Arts-Activity-Review-It-1197160.

Happy Teaching,

Teach it Write

Building Powerful Academic Homes