Filler Activities for ELA (blog post) What can you do with five extra minutes in secondary ELA? Here are a few ideas to engage students until the bell.
Looking for Wordle classroom ideas? Incorporate Wordle into your classroom with this activities, ideas, and templates.
Hello darlings! Do you teach vocabulary to your students? I think this is one thing we are missing in the upper grades and we are doing a disservice to our students. As they move up levels in reading, the thing that I notice that holds my students back the most is the challenging vocabulary they ... Read More about Adding Vocabulary to your ELA Block
Get your students reading and writing this summer with these fun and engaging enrichment activities for elementary grades.
Filler Activities for ELA (blog post) What can you do with five extra minutes in secondary ELA? Here are a few ideas to engage students until the bell.
With distance learning in full swing, here’s a closer look at ten resources that English teachers can digitally assign their students. All of my SMARTePlans
The end of the year is almost here! However, as spring fever begins to set in, teaching becomes much more difficult. Students and teachers alike reflect on the year gone by, but mostly dream of
Try this free, fun, and interactive middle school ELA games in your classroom to teach grammar and literacy ELA skills!
Movement in the classroom is beneficial for many reasons. First and foremost, getting up to move in the classroom might help anxious students relieve stress.
Need to help your students get more hands on practice for their vocabulary words? I've got 5 fun vocabulary games you can use right away!
Creative lesson plans are important in secondary ELA because they challenge students to go beyond the obvious and think outside the box. Creative lessons plans are also highly engaging for struggling and gifted students. This list of activities encourages creative thinking and growth mindset all
This past school year was a great one. With every school year that passes, I like to take a moment and reflect on activities that were successful in the
Farley is hosting her monthly Linky Party! Check out Currently February: As many of you know, I'm preggers (due in April). Therefore, my hubby and I are staying in a lot more than we usually do and watching lots of TV! We've watched Breaking Bad (all five seasons) and Homeland (just starting season two). We also watch lots of documentaries on Netflix. We found a great one the other night that I'd like to recommend. It's called "American Teacher" (2011), and it follows the lives and experiences of four teachers. It's only about 80 minutes long, so check it out if you have some free time! Matt Damon narrates the documentary so enjoy that! =) Photo courtesy of IMDb. On another note, did you hear about the Sunday Super Sale over at TpT!?! Everything in my store will be on sale for 28% off! Yippee!! I know I'll be shopping for lots of activities for the month of February, spring time writing activities, more clip art, and some center activities! Last but not least, I just added a great resource to my store called Sweet Sentences Mega Pack! It's only $4.00 and contains 56 pages of grammar and writing activities to help young writers grasp the concepts of complete vs. incomplete sentences. There are posters, activities for literacy stations and small groups, printables for independent practice, and whole group lessons. Check out a few examples below: {CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.1j and CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.1f} Leave a comment below about writing instruction in your classroom (also include your e-mail), and I'll choose a few lucky winners to receive the Sweet Sentences Mega Pack for FREE! :)
Oink! BOOM! Ker-plunk. POW! Cha-ching, cock-a-doodle do! This is what you would have heard if you were hanging outside my classroom door today! No, it wasn't bring-your -farm-animal-to-school day... it was actually onomatopoeia day! Ono Mato What??? Onomatopoeia are words that imitate actual sounds. For the next two weeks, my students and I are embarking on an exciting study of literary devices. For today's lesson we used the Literary Devices Poster and Foldable set from my TpT store. Students folded, cut, and glued their foldable into their reading journals. I showed them the poster for onomatopoeia and modeled for them how to write the definition and example into their book. Next, I had students meet me on the carpet and I shared with them a couple of my favorite books: Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee and That's Good That's Bad by Margery Cuyler. Both of these books are a lot of fun and students love to grab them up later to look more closely at the detailed illustrations. After I had shared some examples from children's literature and a list I found on the web, I had students choose one onomatopoeia (everyone had to choose a different one) and gave them speech frames to write them in. Here is their final display: You will find a lot of resources for onomatopoeia on the web. Here is a printable pdf list from Read Write Think . Tomorrow we will be adding abundant alliterations to our academics. Tongue twisters will be the talk of the town as we tinker with our language toolbox! I hope you take a moment to check in here at Literacy Loves Company!
This Language Arts Interactive Notebook is filled with over 30 pages of hands-on grammar activities for grades 4-8. Activities including everything from diagramming to figurative language.
Be sure to try out these ESL Vocabulary Activities and games if you want your students to have some fun learning new words.
Now that the 2017-2018 school year has come to a close, I am spending some time reflecting on my practice as an educator. While there were some lows of the
Are your students disinterested and tired of the traditional ways of learning characterization? Have you been searching for a really fun, student-centered, interactive way to eliminate their boredom? Well, look no further! I present to you a wonderful student-collaboration activity that will get your students involved and excited for a character analysis for any novel, […]
It's time to think beyond Mad Libs.
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Are you looking for engaging vocabulary activities? These 10 Fun Vocabulary Activities are sure to be a hit in your classroom.
Learning new words is like adding to your writing toolbox.
Wondering how to teach vocabulary effectively and meaningfully in secondary classrooms? Try these activities, strategies, and approaches if you're interested in upping your vocabulary game. #vocabularyactivities #highschoolela
This blog post explores engaging resources, lessons, and activities for making media literacy relevant in the 21st-century classroom.
Fun and engaging grammar games for your secondary ELA classroom! These grammar games will get your students collaborating, moving, and discussing those critical sentence structure and grammar skills! Bring fun to grammar instruction!
Looking for an easy and fun teaching idea for your students to practice their vocabulary words? My students loved it and never realized they were learning! This strategy can work for any grade, from kindergarten to high school!
Over the last few months I've discovered interactive notebooks and folding resources - and I've fallen hard for them! I love the ways you can combine folding, colouring, words and ideas to create an interactive resource which helps students to explore and engage with the topic they are learning.&
Get your students excited about language review with these FREE grammar activities for 3rd grade! Hands-on, collaborative, & fun ELA review!
Vocabulary instruction is so critical in today’s classroom! A vast vocabulary will help students to become better readers and writers. Vocabulary is also essential to their performance on standardized tests. Helping kids to develop their vocabulary is time that is well spent in a busy classroom. I have developed a routine to teach new vocabulary
Dig deep with these fun activities!
Dig deep into EVERY SINGLE 6th grade reading and writing standard EVERY SINGLE week with the flexibility to choose the novels.
With the end of the school year around the corner, it’s time to start planning out the final few weeks. Here is a look at some teaching resources that will
Vocabulary instruction is so critical in today’s classroom! A vast vocabulary will help students to become better readers and writers. Vocabulary is also essential to their performance on standardized tests. Helping kids to develop their vocabulary is time that is well spent in a busy classroom. I have developed a routine to teach new vocabulary
Looking for Wordle classroom ideas? Incorporate Wordle into your classroom with this activities, ideas, and templates.
These interactive language arts games are designed to keep students engaged and learning by targeting reading and writing skills. Perfect for Zoom or Google Meet sessions with students, you'll find seven great options that will encourage your students to take an active role in your online sessions.
I have always loved words and am a self-proclaimed word nerd. I actually read the book Word Nerds, met the authors at a conference a few years ago, and got to lead a PLC in my school all about it! Research shows that a child's vocabulary is a key component to their success in school, on standardized tests, and in life in general! Those three reasons alone should be proof enough to any educator that VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION IS IMPORTANT! What I love about vocabulary instruction is that it's cross-curricular. The words found in children's literature are just as important as those found in content areas, like science and social studies, which, in my opinion, makes it almost effortless to incorporate into your instruction. However, the hard part of vocabulary instruction is making it interesting and engaging to students. Merely writing definitions can only go so far. One way to make vocabulary instruction more engaging is to provide your students a variety of ways for them to engage with a vocabulary and then allowing them to choose what type of activity will help them best learn the word and internalize its meaning. A vocabulary menu can accomplish this. Students are instructed to choose from the ...
Unsure of how to teach inference? These fun and engaging inferencing activities for middle school will excite your students!
With my small group pull-out sessions limited to half-hour increments, I'm always looking for quick, engaging reading and writing activities to reinforce literacy skills. I used to think dice games were only for teaching math and probability, but I'm starting to discover that there are ENDLESS possibilities for using dice with literacy. Are you looking for a few ideas? Well... let's shake and roll! 3 Roll-a-Dice Activities for Reading & Writing My roll-a-dice resource collection continues to grow, but here are a few resources that I've added to my literacy toolbox that may be perfect for your students. 1. Roll-a-Story
Here are some great grammar games, ideas, and activities that will help early/middle elementary aged kids enjoy grammar just a bit.
Need to help your students get more hands on practice for their vocabulary words? I've got 5 fun vocabulary games you can use right away!
A fun and engaing, problem solving spelling word game. No prep - simply print and play to learn. Use with any spelling word list.
Discover grammar games that are engaging, rigorous, and fun! These I CAN Grammar Games are perfect for grammar review, practice, and literacy centers!
The activities below are available for free download, and are to be used in educational and/or private settings. They may not be used elsewhere or for other purposes (such as for profit) unless exp…
10 ideas for planning engaging novel units: creative, engaging lesson ideas for your next whole-class novel unit
Are you required to teach a list of vocabulary words each week? This list of vocabulary activities will help teach students to read!
If you have been following our blog, you might have seen our post about our favorite teacher hack, earlier finisher packets! If you missed it, don’t worry, I will sum it up real quick for you. Essentially, despite teaching different grade, Emmy and I realized we were both having the same Issue. Kid
This Doodle and Do resource is designed to help students understand 8 types of figurative language. First, students will complete highly engaging Doodle Notes about each type of figurative language. They'll doodle and sketch their notes on 5 different engaging doodle note pages. Students will learn about each type, review examples, and create examples of their own. Next, they’ll complete a fun writing activity for each type of figurative language. They’ll create silly similes with spinners, make metaphor matches, assemble personification cubes, participate in an alliteration tongue twister challenge, give sentences a hyperbole makeover, fill in onomatopoeia Wacky Libs, match and doodle idioms, and play oxymoron bingo. This mini-unit is not only effective in helping students understand different types of figurative language, it’s also super engaging and fun! This resource is completely customizable, too! First, the two types of doodle notes included (filled-in and guided notes versions) make it easy to differentiate instruction. Then, the six learning activities can be easily transformed into learning stations if you’d like. This way, you can create the very best learning experience for your students! This 8-day unit is not only effective in helping students understand figurative language, it’s also incredibly engaging and fun! Skills Developed: Students will… Develop an understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meaning Explain the meaning and note effectiveness of similes, metaphors, hyperbole, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia, idiom and oxymoron Interpret figures of speech Write creatively using figurative language in response to writing prompts Work collaboratively and imaginatively About the “Doodle” Notes: First, students will learn all about figurative language and similes, metaphors, personification, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, alliteration, idiom and oxymoron by completing a set of doodle notes. Doodle notes are color-it-in, fill-it-in, and doodle-encouraging note sheets. They’re not only visually engaging, they’re also effective in helping students increase their focus and ability to recall information. Plus…they’re really fun! In this resource, there are 2 options of Doodle Notes: Option 1: All the notes are filled in. With this option students will color, embellish, and add doodles to the notes as you review the information with the class. Option 2: Some of the notes are filled in and students need to fill in the remainder of the notes (like guided notes). Students will work to fill in the notes as you teach the content. About the “Do” Activities After students complete their Doodle Notes it’s time for them to “Do” some fun activities. The activities are designed around lessons to help students practice recognizing, creating, analyzing, and writing figurative language. There are six activities in all: Simile: Students will be creating fun similes during this activity. First, they’ll create similes with “simile spinners.” Then, they’ll respond to a writing prompt and include a simile in their response. Metaphor: Students will be creating metaphors during this activity. First, they’ll brainstorm ideas based on teacher clues. Then, they’ll match the ideas to create and write creative and unique metaphors. Personification: Students will be writing 6 personification sentences during this activity. First, they’ll brainstorm verbs. Then, they’ll combine the verbs with nouns that they brainstorm to create examples of personification. Onomatopoeia: Students will be practicing onomatopoeia as they complete a Mad-Libs-inspired activity. Alliteration: Students will be writing sentences filled with alliteration. Then, they’ll challenge a partner to read their alliteration sentences without making any mistakes (tongue-twister-style). Hyperbole: Students will be giving simple sentences a makeover with hyperbole. They’ll create an interactive shape and then write six examples. Then, they’ll select two examples of hyperbole to integrate into writing prompts. Idiom: First students will complete an idiom matching activity. Then, they'll get creative as the doodle the literal meaning of 4 different idioms. Oxymoron: Students will create 6 original oxymorons. Then, they'll put their knowledge to the test during a super fun game of Oxymoron Bingo! Implementation Ideas: Easily turn the fun activities into learning stations! Teach as a figurative language unit – covering one type of figurative language a day! Break up and teach at different times throughout the year Combine with a poetry unit This detailed “Doodle and Do” resource includes: A detailed teacher overview of the resource 7 detailed lesson plans: Figurative Language, Simile, Metaphor, Personification, Onomatopoeia, Alliteration, Hyperbole Doodle and Do cover page for students Set of Doodle Notes – all filled in (4 pages) Set of Doodle Notes – guided notes format (4 pages) Simile Spinners (2) Simile Writing Activity (2 pages) Metaphor Match-Up Activity (2 pages) Metaphor Match-Up Teacher Clues Personification noun and verb brainstorm Personification Cube template Onomatopoeia Wacky Libs – word clues Onomatopoeia Wacky Libs – “My Pet” passage Alliteration Challenge Hyperbole Makeover Interactive Shape Hyperbole Makeover Worksheet Hyperbole Writing Other Doodle and Do Resources… Langston Hughes – Poet and Poem Study --- Doodle Article and Interactive Poetry Analysis Flip Book Maya Angelou – Poet and Poem Study --- Doodle Article and Interactive Poetry Analysis Flip Boo 5 Reading Skills Mini-Units 5 Nonfiction Text Structure Mini-Units How to Study for a Test Doodle Notes and 5 Learning Stations Writing Responses with Text-Based Evidence Doodle Notes and 5 Learning Stations Doodle Book Review Any book! Or, you may also like… Figurative Language Unit 12 Writing Units Bundle - Writing instruction for an entire year! 101 Writing Prompts! Have you seen these Creative Writing Videos? Creative Writing Activity Alliteration Writing Activity Personification Writing Activity Following is Fun! Get the inside scoop on all store discounts, free products, and product launches. Just click the green “Follow Me” star under my store name on this page or click the green “Follow Me” star on my store homepage. Let’s Stay in Touch! Blog Pinterest Facebook Instagram *** Click HERE to receive the Brain Waves Instruction Newsletter filled with exclusive FREEBIES and Teaching Tips! Thanks! Brain Waves Instruction Doodle notes is a trademarked term used with permission. Please visit doodlenotes.org for more information.
