Let’s face it these last two years have been tough, but teachers all across the country have continually shown up for students. This year for Teacher Appreciation week, we here at ELA Matters want to THANK YOU for your commitment to your students. We are gifting to you several ideas and freebies throughout this post to help you finish the year strong!
Get Started with Book Clubs
Carolyn from Middle School Café is passionate about helping her students discover a love of reading. Several times a year, Carolyn gives her students opportunities to participate in Book Clubs! Short units that put students in control.
If you have never run book clubs in class before, Carolyn has created this free planning sheet to help you as you plan.
Book Clubs are a great opportunity for students to discuss literature in an academic setting where they have control of their reading and the conversation. Listening to students discuss, sometimes passionately disagree, about a book is always a highlight of the unit.
A key component to a successful book club is choosing the right books for students. There’s no magic list of books that work for book clubs. When Carolyn is deciding on which books to use, she looks to her students – What type of books are they currently reading? Then, she looks for 5 or 6 titles she believes her students would enjoy.
Finding the right books can be a stumbling block for teachers as resources in many schools are limited. Work with your school and public librarians to borrow enough titles for your unit. You only need 3-4 copies per title.If you work in a district that only allows whole class novels. Carolyn has a post on her blog on how to incorporate the structure of book clubs with whole class novels – keeping students in control of their learning!
Independent Reading Choice Board
Want to feel really appreciated? How about a done-for-you project that you can use anytime?
Samantha from Samantha in Secondary is all about giving students choice and one excellent way to do it is with a choice board!
Grab this free Independent Reading Choice Board by clicking here and let your students’ creativity run wild.
There are so many ways you can use this resource:
- Let students choose a project after a full class novel or short story.
- Use it as a culminating activity for choice reading.
- Ask students to brainstorm other options to demonstrate their understanding of the reading.
This is a great activity to have in your back pocket for a fun and creative project for any text.
Poetry All the Time
Lesa from SmithTeaches9to12 loves poetry and is always searching for ways to incorporate more into her classes. That’s how this freebie was born – a way to showcase poems for every month of the year. It includes five poems with eight adaptable activities for any poem. As a bonus Lesa sends out a monthly lesson plan about one of the featured poems.
So if you’re wishing to try out a bit of poetry before this school year ends consider a June selection: Beyond the Years by Paul Laurence Dunbar or Next Time Ask More Questions by Naomi Shihab Nye. Both work wonderfully well as reflective works to end the school year. Read the poem. Highlight the figurative language. Discuss the big idea(s). Solo or in pairs to help students who may be less familiar or comfortable with poetry. Then write a poem using the title as inspiration to reflect on the year and what might be beyond. What’s next for them? What questions do they wish they’d asked? What questions do they wish they’d been asked?
Get your copy of the Poetry. All. The. Time! e-book delivered to your inbox today and get ready for new lessons to roll in for the rest of 2022!
Character Memes
Katie from Mochas and Markbooks loves to incorporate pop culture into her English classroom, and one of her favorite ways to engage her students is through memes!
Memes can actually require many higher order thinking skills to analyze and create. One of the most engaging memes for students to develop are those focused on the literature they are reading in class. Check out this Character Memes freebie to help your students through this process. Not only do the final results demonstrate their comprehension of characterization and plot, but they make for entertaining material to display on your bulletin boards!
If your students love that activity, Katie has more ideas for you in the blog post 13 Ways To Use Memes in English Class. Have fun!
An Easy Grammar Guide
Melissa from Straight Outta Class knows that when you give students the tools they need to be successful in your classroom, it’s a win-win for everyone. That’s why she loves the English Cheat Sheet, a handy grammar guide.
Not every kid is a natural at putting together complete sentences or generating ideas and organizing those into paragraphs. Not every kid is a natural speller or grammar whiz. But every kid can learn to use resources to become a better writer and independent learner.
Download your copy of the free English Cheat Sheet and see how your students will benefit from this reference guide when you incorporate it as part of their writer’s notebook.
If you love this resource, be sure to check out more teaching tips and ideas from Melissa on her blog.
