Literacy Speaks Volumes

Approach of Winter by William Carlos Williams The half-stripped trees struck by a wind together, bending all, the leaves flutter dryly, and refuse to let go or driven like hail stream bitterly out to one side and fall where the salvias, hard carmine-- like no leaf that ever was-- edge the bare garden. I am a consummate consumer of the written word~poem or prose, fiction or nonfiction. I'm like Sherlock Holmes~constantly noticing those unusual sound combinations and odd spellings that make for an interesting gem of a word. Besides the overall feeling of this poem, I'm impressed with the word "half-stripped"; it implies tenacity (another great word)~the tree seems to know that winter is on its way bringing with it the harsh reality that all will soon be lost.  As a lesson, I would first ask students to tell me how they know that this is a poem~I'll probably get answers like "it looks like a poem" or "it's shaped like a poem....

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...