Literacy Speaks Volumes

Yesterday I completed two products (yea for me!): Grammar Unit Two presentation and Digital Papers. That's a first for me; I don't usually complete and upload two products on the same day, but I seemed to have a burst of energy at the end of the day. I hope the same happens today as I've not been very productive today~or at least not as productive as I wanted to be.  I'm working on a 7th Grade English Language Arts Common Core State Standards (that's a mouthful) presentation~I'd say I'm almost halfway finished. My plan is to share it with the students on a daily basis so that they can monitor their own learning.  I created a cool chalkboard template using Corel Paint and PicMonkey that I'm using. After I finish the presentation, I'm going to spruce it up some and add different colors and sell as a blank presentation template. I've realized that if I think something is cool other people probably do also.  I also found these cool l...

I went to my classroom today to begin to get ready for the new school year~even after twenty years I still feel a tingle of excitement as each year begins. It's like I'm getting a fresh start~a chance to "do it better" this time. I like the whole ritual of moving desks and bookcases, then filling those bookcases up in anticipation of a new group of students reading them. As I left the classroom, I turned for one last look~proud of my handy work.  When teachers decorate and arrange their classrooms at the beginning of the school year, they're creating a mood for the students. You want your students' (along with their parents) impression of your classroom to be one where learning is taken seriously, but it's okay to be a seventh grader. One teacher described her classroom as a "safe haven"~I like that idea. When teaching mood in literature, there are three basic learning targets that you (and your students) need to keep in mind: (1) ...

How do you make a good impression? In the short story "Seventh Grade" by Gary Soto, Victor and Michael enter seventh grade a little anxiously~maybe with a little trepidation. Their conversation steers itself toward making a good impression on the girls~for Victor there is one girl in particular whom he wants to impress: Theresa.  Michael and Victor each have different ideas on how to impress girls. Like seventh graders everywhere, Victor and Michael are trying to fit in like everyone else. For this lesson I will focus on the Common Core Standard RL (Reading Literature) 7.6 Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text. This story lends itself well to this particular standard because it will be easier for the students to compare and contrast the characters' actions and their development. This lesson will take anywhere from 90 to 120 minutes to teach allowing time for silent reading and writing. Before th...