Engaging ideas for teaching literary genres with literature units in middle and high school ELA. Explore some activities you can try today!
Ready to get into the graphic game but not sure where to start? These YA graphic novels are must-haves for any collection!
As adults, we often walk into a bookstore with a certain genre we are ready to peruse the aisles for in order to find our next read. Would your students be able to do the
There are a few considerations you should make while looking for good childrens books. You must first confirm that the books are suitable for your childs age.
Many fantasy, sci-fi and historical novels are set in or inspired by countries across the world, but YA contemporary stories disproportionately take place in the US and UK – and those that are set in other countries are often told by newcomer suffering from culture shock, rather than an actual native. Here teen site member John Hansen recommends his favourite geographically diverse YA books that provide a fascinating glimpse into the lives of teenagers throughout the world
Historical fiction is my favorite genre to read because I love history (maybe I should have been a social studies teacher). It's also a genre I love to recommend to students because they learn about an issue, event, or time period as they are reading. Here's 9 historical fiction titles, that I've recently read and would recommend to high school students.
Other Posts in This Series: Post 1: The Setup Post 2: A Foundation with Reading Strategies Post 3: Mysteries Post 4: Informational Texts Post 5: Biographies Post 6: Poetry Post 7: Fables During my poetry genre, one of my main goals is to work on reading fluency. I want to give students some strategies to help them become more fluent readers. I also want them to see that as they read, read, and re-read a text (or poem), they become more fluent with it. This will be important as we move on to folktales next. Poetry is also a great tool for teaching so many important literary devices! As we are reading poems in our classroom, we are also learning to write poems - integration at its best! We begin our study by reading poems. I teach my students to think about reading poems - Where should they pause? What words need to be emphasized? What words should be read softly? Students learn to "mark" their poems to practice reading them. Marking a poem is just as it sounds - drawing marks or letters to remind you of how to read - we use slashes for pauses. We put one slash for a line break, another slash for punctuation, etc. Students will put an "s" above words to read softly, or an arrow above a word they want to stretch out. The options are endless, but they love to add these symbols and create a key for their meanings. We do several together before they start marking their own poems. It's fun to see how each child interprets the poems and mark them differently....it lets their personalities shine! :) This is the perfect unit for pulling out our whisper phones. You can purchase these phones through many educational outlets, or make your own out of PVC piping as I did (well, actually, the hubs made them). I spray painted them and numbered them just to lessen the germs being spread. Students are amazed at how they can read through one end in a whisper voice and then hear themselves so clearly through the other end! All of my little poets can be reading at the same exact time without disturbing others! We use a lot of poems from a lot of different places for our poetry unit - dig through all of your resources and make the most of what you already have! A couple of my favorite resources include: ...the You Read to Me, I'll Read to You books. These are oh so perfect for partner fluency practice!! They come in many different genres that I use with my other genre units, too (fables, tall tales, fairy tales)! <3 ....the Take Me Out of the Bathtub series. These poems are make-your-tummy-hurt funny and the kids eat them up! Plus, they're written to tunes of familiar songs, making it easy for students to find the rhythm for reading them fluently. #winwin As, I mentioned, we're also writing poems as we read them. I like to expose my students to TONS of poetry styles, while also encouraging them to write freestyle poetry. Gooney Bird is So Absurd is the PERFECT read-aloud during this time since Gooney's class is learning some of the same poetry styles as my students! Of course, in perfectly unique Gooney-fashion, Gooney Bird teaches the class to "warm" their brains with unique hats while writing poetry. We learn to write many, many styles of poetry and students choose their favorite ones to compile into a poetry anthology. We publish these into books - what special keepsakes! As we're reading and writing all of this poetry, we're discovering many literary devices. We create a lot of craftivities to help cement this devices into our brains - let's face it...they're tricky! These serve as references on our walls, as well as decorations for our "Poetry Picnic" celebration at the end of our unit. Alliteration with tongue twisters Onomatopoeia with poetry pops Rhyming with watermelon rhymes More alliteration with allite-rainbows Vivid vocabulary with vocab baskets Similes with Simile Sandwiches Personification blooms with our flowers Rhyming and/or Syllable review with Sandwich Poems Metaphors with Metaphoric Family Poems Whew! We work hard during this genre study! Of course, we want to showcase all of our hard work, so we invite our families in for a poetry picnic! We rearrange all of the tables in our classroom, set out all of our projects and a few little treats, and add some finishing touches! Students add acrostic poem name tents so families will be able to find their seats easily when they arrive. We add triangle poems to our napkins at our place settings and we're ready for our big event! Students each get a chance to be in the spotlight as they read some of the favorite poems they wrote during our study. Our class also performs some of our favorites (from other authors) as a class. Then, students return to their own desks to share all of their fun projects and poetry anthologies with their families. What a fun day of celebrating our learning! Units I've created to supplement this genre study may be found below. The Poetry Styles Unit includes a PowerPoint and individual signs of original poems I wrote for all of the styles that I teach my students. These are a great model to use when teaching the poetry styles and also serve as a reference throughout their writing. I also created a second edition called Poetry Styles II as a special request for an intermediate teacher. I do not use these styles in my classroom, but if you teach upper-grades, you may find it beneficial for your students. Poetry Pizzazz includes all of the fun craftivities for literary devices and also templates for publishing the poetry styles I teach. Weekly Poem work is my newest addition that I am in LOVE with! This is actually something I now use all year long to spiral poems and reading strategies with my students. They will be experts at reading fluency in no time with this year-long practice! I'll be back soon to share my final three genre studies - folktales (fables, tall tales, and fairy tales).
Introduce your students to the mystery genre with this engaging, no-prep resource! Whether you're doing a full mystery unit, genre study, literature circles, choice reading, or another activity that would require your students to know about the history and features of the mystery genre, this comprehensive resource will fill your students in on all of the details! After using this resource, your students will be able to define the major characteristics and subgenres of the mystery genre. They'll even be able to use their new knowledge to guess the subgenre for popular mystery novels and use the provided discussion cards to show what they know. ★ This Resource Includes: Teacher Instructions + Lesson Plan Google Slides Presentation CLOZE Notes Discussion Cards Subgenre Guessing Activity Note: The Google Slides Presentation is editable, but the worksheets are in PDF format and cannot be edited. ★ Great For: Mystery Unit Genre Study Literature Circles Independent Reading ... and more! ☆ Please contact me with any questions about this resource using the ask a question feature on TPT or e-mail me at [email protected]. Happy teaching! ❤️ Samantha ★ Looking for more great secondary ELA tips and resources from Samantha in Secondary? ✅ Follow me on TPT (Get 50% off new resources!) ✅ Check out the latest on Instagram ✅ Subscribe to my email list for weekly updates
Fantasy isn't my favorite genre, but it is currently the genre of choice for many students. If you are a reluctant fantasy reader like I am, here's 8 titles, many of them part of a series, that I've recently read and would recommend to middle and high school students.
Do you spend much time on drama? Like, after PE or lunch? Hahahaha I am cracking myself up. Well, obviously, that's not the kind I'm ta...
This literary genres bundle was created to provide you with a variety of genres to introduce to your students. It includes GENRE POSTERS, a study guide and a test along with genre units to help students better understand each genre.
If you are looking for ways to study genre in your upper elementary classroom, then you’ll want to download these FREE Reading Genre Review Slides and try out
Use this handy genre guide to teach students about 14 different genres!
Engaging ideas for teaching literary genres with literature units in middle and high school ELA. Explore some activities you can try today!
Using music in the secondary classroom is a great way to engage students, so here are some songs to use in ELA, and some ways to use them. (Blog post)
Love podcasts? Listen to this post in audio formatting through The Classroom Commute Podcast :
I love encouraging my students to explore a variety of genres, but sometimes that means I need to explicitly teach them about the genres first! These free genre posters are the perfect way to do just that!
3 Ways to Use Drama in the ELA Classroom By Danielle from Nouvelle ELA Using drama in the ELA classroom is one of those things you may have thought about doing, but never gotten around to. Maybe you don’t feel like you have enough time (a big one for all of us!) or maybe you lack confidence in your own drama-ness. No worries! I’m in the Coffee Shop this week to give you some tips and resources for integrating drama in your secondary English class. I have loved drama since my 3rd grade class got to be dancers in the school’s performance of “The Nutcracker”. When I was in middle and high school, I always wanted to do “acting” options for projects, sometimes asking my teachers ridiculous things like “can I show you the parts of the cell as an interpretive dance?” As a teacher, I seek to give my students the same opportunities. Drama is a great way to build public speaking skills, memory, and community in the classroom. I have used drama with grades K-12 in France, Germany, Puerto Rico, and the US, and students beg for more. Literally. After finals one year, I was planning to show a movie, and students asked to reprise some improv games instead. Awesome! So, where do you start? 1. Start with improvisation. Improv is spontaneous, unscripted acting, and it is excellent for building student confidence. First off, improv games are short and funny. Secondly, students are working toward a common goal. Third, improv is not graded and it is inherently “low stakes”. Here is a great game that I’ve used for English, ESL, Creative Writing, and Public Speaking classes and workshops. This is your go-to game if you finish your lesson early, particularly if it’s the last class of the day or a Friday. “Story, Story, Die!” Choose four students to be Storytellers, and one Pointer. The Pointer picks one person to start the story, and then randomly switches between people. The goal is to continue telling a cohesive story, picking up where the last person left off. A participant “dies” if they make a continuity error (accidentally change the setting, for example) or if they hesitate too long before picking up the thread of the story. The audience can be the judge, and participants can “die” an exaggerated stage death for more fun. Last person standing wins. Why this game is great: *Students are so focused on the story that they often forget 29 people are listening to them give a speech. Awesome! *Students have to listen to the other participants in order to succeed. Awesome! *It is hilarious and no-prep for you. Grab this freebie outlining STORY, STORY, DIE! and two other improv games for the ELA Classroom. 2. Convert “presentations” to “drama”! Remember how my younger self wanted to do an interpretative dance to show understanding of the parts of the cell? It’s time to brainstorm some ways that “drama” could be your final product. After reading “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl, my students choose to be the prosecutor or defense attorney in Mrs. Maloney’s murder trial. They write closing arguments as either lawyer, spinning textual evidence to support their case. Each year, I have at LEAST half a dozen students who ask to perform their arguments. Last year, one of my classes surprised me during our reading of Lord of the Flies. They wanted to act out each chapter after reading it, and even selected a student in the class to provide dramatic narration. You do have time for this! It may take a few minutes longer to let them act out a chapter summary, but they are more likely to connect to the material whether they are “on stage” or “in the audience”, and thus you can meet your goals for understanding and engagement. 3. Perform a class play The most complete way to bring drama into the classroom is to commit to performing a whole play, whether it’s Reader’s Theatre, a Staged Reading, or something memorized. This allows students to really dive in and explore characters, plot, and setting, and they will always remember this experience. In the past, I’ve split my class into groups and each group has been responsible for one act in whatever Shakespeare play we were reading. As a class, they decide to either keep a consistent time and place, or change it up for each scene. Depending on the grade level, they use the original text, an abridged text, or create their own lines but stay faithful to the original story. We’ve had everything from post-apocalyptic Romeo and Juliet to a British comedy version of Much Ado About Nothing. You can have students video these or perform them in the classroom. It’s also great to share drama with a live audience who comes fresh to the story and production. Last year, my 9th grade Honors classes worked together to do an abridged version (1 hour) of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They worked for several weeks on this project, and completed mini-lessons on parts of the stage, blocking, voice, and levels. They performed their dress rehearsal for an audience of parents, and their final for the middle school. If you're looking for classroom-tested, 30-minute abridgements, check out my "Shakespeare in 30" series! In addition to weaving it in throughout the school year, I do a dedicated Drama Unit each year (usually with a Shakespeare play). You can grab my Intro Lesson here (an exclusive for the Secondary English Coffee Shop!), and check out how I get students on the same page before we begin. Check out these other drama resources from Coffee Shop authors: Shakespeare Mini-Book by The Classroom Sparrow Improv & Role Play Scenarios by Presto Plans What are ways that you integrate drama in your ELA classroom? We’d love to hear from you in comments or give us an IG shout-out @secondaryenglishcoffeeshop. Have a coffee-tastic day!
An existing stigma still surrounds graphic novels in the eyes of students and educators alike. In actuality, educators can use graphic novels as an excellent
Let's jump into READING GENRES! Do you teach and discuss reading genres? I feel like with the ever so popular 40 book challenge genre is a buzz word in education right now...and I love it! I think its so good that we get the opportunity to explore to books with our readers. Gerne is so important because it's a springboard into reading! I wanted to share some of my favorite tips and activities for teaching about reading genres and weaving throughout the curriculum throughout the school year. #1 Make it RELATABLE First--the word genre is kind of fancy. But if you break it down and explain that it's really just a genius word for categories then it isn't that intimidating. Just about everything has categories...food, movies, music...and books too! My favorite tool that we use are genre notes and we use them throughout the year. As a class we brainstorm keywords that could be found in a book summary or events that happen in a book. We make a list of these key words that are dead giveaways as to what a books genre is. #2 Make it Hands On If you are going to focus on genres we have to put books in the hands of our students. I round up chapter books and picture books and create genre mystery bags for students to sort, categorize, and discuss. There are so many ways to spin this activity! Sometimes I have students search through the books for a specific genre, sometimes they need to "gene-lize" all of the books. It's a great way to get your readers thinking and talking. #3 IRL Practice (In REAL LIFE) One of my favorite and super authentic ways to help students determine genre is to print up Goodreads and Amazon book summaries. You can as a class go through the summaries and highlight those keywords and clues...it's real life and real easy. After some class practice it's easy to then have students go through summaries on their own. A bonus to this activity is often students read a book summary and they want to read THAT book. It's a great assessment but also exposes students to different books. Doesn't get better than that! #4 Talk the Talk If we are talking about it then your students will see the importance. When we are reading our #picturebookaday picture book you can bet that we are discussing genre. When students share some favorite books--you know that's the perfect time to ask and tell about genre. During guided reading/reading groups and book conferences have students share what they know! They can share events in books or keywords that they spot in their reading. Genre should be a talking point throughout the whole year. I love using these genre posters to write down books that students know in that genre. It's also a great resource if they are searching for a particular book to read in a certain genre What do you do to teach genres? You can find the GENRE NOTES here in my TPT store Those student centered GENRE POSTERS? They're in my TPT store too If you would like a copy of the mystery bag or what's my genre summary pages just leave a comment below with your email and I'll pass them along :)...until I get them uploaded to gmail or my TPT store.
This resource includes 50 Reading Genre Posters for your Reading area, bulletin board, or anywhere you want to help your students identify and choose books of varying genres. The genre posters included are listed below. Posters Included:FolktalesFairy TalesMythologyTall TalesFablesLegendsNonfictionHistorical FictionBiographyAutobiographyFantasyRealistic FictionScience FictionComedyHumorHorrorScaryDrama PoetryMysterySportsClassicsAdventureGraphic NovelEverybodyRomanceDystopianFictionJunior FictionAnimalsAnimal StoryHistoryScienceSuspenseChristianChristmasHolidayCaldecottNewberyMemoirNarrative NonfictionFractured Fairy TaleNatureTravelExpository TextNatureTravelBuddy ReadsInspirationalComicsHow-ToRelationshipsMulticulturalTechnical/Procedural TextGenre (as a display header)If you are looking for any posters that are not listed, please email us at [email protected] and we will be happy to add them for you. You might also LOVE...Reading & Writing Bundle #1 Reader’s Notebook Anchor Charts Buzzin' in Book Clubs {Book Club Reading Unit Resources} 🛑 Are you a member of the TLL Membership? These materials are already included. If you are not a member, click here to learn more. The TLL Membership gives you an all-access pass to hundreds of ELA resources for teachers in Grades 3-5. Let's connect! The Literacy Loft Blog The Literacy Loft on Instagram The Literacy Loft on Pinterest The Literacy Loft on Facebook Happy Reading!- Jessica
As adults, we often walk into a bookstore with a certain genre we are ready to peruse the aisles for in order to find our next read. Would your students be able to do the
Remember all those magazine quizzes we took as teens? This reading personality test is styled after those quizzes. Students LOVE this library genre activity! This version is designed to help secondary library students identify which reading genres are best for them. Click here to see a video demo of this product on YouTube. It's about 10 minutes long, but I show all parts of the product and talk about how I use it in my library. June 29, 2023: The 2023 Genre Personality Quiz update is ready! Bundle this with the Reading Genre Personality Poster Set and save 10%! Looking for the Elementary Version of this Reading Personality Test? Click here. FAST FACTS ABOUT THIS READING PERSONALITY TEST: Recommended for: Grades 6+ Lesson Duration: 2-3 library lessons of 40-45 minutes each Number of pages: 114 Formats: PowerPoint OR Google Slides, PDF Editable: YES, most text is editable. Genre Personality descriptions and Pet Peeves are not editable. Technology requirements: computer + projector + screen or wall (to use the PowerPoint), copier, paper, Google Classroom (optional) Student supplies: pen or pencil + one piece of paper or printable quiz HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL GET: What's Your Genre Personality? Quiz presentation 28 PowerPoint or Google Slides (you need only one) This is the actual reading personality test. It's a presentation that walks students through questions about their own personalities, likes, dislikes, and preferences. Reading Personality test presentation includes scoring directions and all 12 Genre Personality profiles. in the last half of the presentation. Multiple genre recommendations are given for each Genre Personality. Because libraries have different genre sections, you can edit the recommended genres in all parts of this product. Make it work for your library! It's all ready to go! No prep is needed other than printing the quiz for students to follow along, if desired. Includes full directions for teacher and students. All questions and answers are editable. Genre Personality Profile descriptions and pet peeves are not editable. Recommended genres are editable. Printable Reading Personality Test Students can follow along with the presentation and write their answers on the printable test. Includes 3-page test and 1-page "My Genre Personality" Reflections sheet. 4 pages total Editable in PDF, PowerPoint, and Google Slides formats. "My Genre Personality" Google Form After determining their Genre Personalities (most students will have more than one Reading Genre Personality), students fill out this Google Form. Alternative to page 4 of the Printable Test. This is a great way for librarians and teachers to see student results and whether students think they are accurate for their personalities. I love this because I have all the students' Genre Personalities in a digital format. 24 Recommended Reads Bookmarks Side 1 is the Genre Personality description, pet peeves, and recommended genres. side 2 is a list of recommended book titles for each Genre Personality, sorted by age group (either middle school or high school and beyond) The Recommended Reads bookmarks include approximately 18-25 recommended reads EACH for middle school and for high school. All the titles and recommended genres are editable in PowerPoint, Google Slides, and PDF formats. Reading Genre Personality descriptions and not editable except for genres recommended. 24 pages Full-Page Reading Genre Personality Profiles This is a larger version of the bookmarks, but it also includes the silhouette illustrations for each Personality. All suggested book titles and genres are editable, so you can make the recommendations fit your library. Includes MS and HS + adult Profiles Formats include PowerPoint, Google Slides, and PDF 24 pages Lesson Plan Detailed, step-by-step instructions for prep, Day 1, Day 2, and after Day 2. Includes digital and face-to-face lesson plans. 9 pages, PDF only, not editable Reading Genre Personality Description Cards These are great to hand out to students, teachers, and parents who want a small copy of their Reading Genre Personality Profile includes Answer Key (these can help students determine Genre Personality at-a-glance after the quiz 4 Personalities per page (you'll need to slice the copies into fourths) 4 pages total; only recommended genres are editable THE 12 READING GENRE PERSONALITIES ARE: The Questioner The Escapist The Innovator The Realist The Erudite The Thrill-Seeker The Comedian The Amigue The Activist The Artist The Sports Fan The Naturalist WHAT OTHER LIBRARIANS AND TEACHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THIS READING PERSONALITY TEST ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Allison T. wrote, "This was fun to do with my students. Many commented on how accurate the test was. It was a good way to show them they might be interested in a different genre than what they originally thought." (used with Grades 6, 7, and 9) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Jeri M. wrote, "This was such a great activity to do with my 6th-8th graders! I bought it last year and the students loved it. Doing it again with my students this semester and my 7th and 8th graders remember how fun it was last year and enjoyed seeing if their genre personalities changed. This will be a yearly activity for my students! Thankful for the updates in questions and books too!" (used with Grades 6, 7, and 9) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Jessica B. wrote, "This was such a great way to start off my year with my 7th grade ELA class. It was fun to get to know students, as well as give them a guide of what books they would enjoy most. It is December and we still reference the book marks included in this resource when we are looking for new books to read. GREAT resource!" (used with Grade 7) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Jessica C. wrote, "This is a very fun and reflective activity. My students completed it at the beginning of the year. I have continued to use their results to help them pick out books for their independent reading time. It was such a hit, that a couple of my administrators asked if they could take the survey as well. It was also fun having students share out the results in class and reflect on if the results seemed accurate to them." (used with Grades 9 and 10) RELATED RESOURCES: What's Your Genre Personality? (elementary version, grades 3-6) What's Your Genre Personality? (Double Bundle--includes both elementary and secondary versions) What Mystery Genre Character Are You? Quiz Shelf Labels for Genrefied Libraries Want a closer look? Click the green PREVIEW button at the top of this page. There are many more features not in the thumbnails. Still have a question? Please email me at [email protected] or ask a question through the TPT Q&A. I regularly add new products for school librarians and English teachers to my store. Click here to follow my store and receive notifications of when new products are posted. All new products are 50% off for the first 48 hours.
Students love dystopian literature. Use this enticing genre for book clubs or literature circles to provide enthusiastic classroom discussions.
Historical Discourse analyses the importance of the language of time, cause and evaluation in both texts which students at secondary school are required to read, and their own writing for assessment. In contrast to studies which have denied that history has a specialised language, Caroline Coffin demonstrates through a detailed study of historical texts, that writing about the past requires different genres, lexical and grammatical structures. In this analysis, language emerges as a powerful tool for making meaning in historical writing. Presupposing no prior knowledge of systemic functional linguistics, this insightful book will be of interest to researchers in applied linguistics and discourse analysis, as well as history educators.
By The Daring English Teacher When teaching a novel, I love to mix things up and throw in a fun, creative, or collaborative activity that engages students as they analyze and interpret the novel’s theme, characters, symbols, or conflict. This allows me to enhance my students’ understanding of the novel, and it gives them a break from the day-to-day routine of reading and reviewing that often accompanies novel studies. Providing students with fun and engaging, yet still rigorous, activities enhances their understanding and fosters a love of reading. Here are three fun activities that you can easily incorporate into any novel study. This is one of my favorite, go-to collaborative activities. Collaborative posters are a great way to review key concepts, analyze symbols and motifs, and brainstorm for essays, and they require little planning. Before class starts, write one character, symbol, setting, motif, or element from the novel in pencil in the corner of each paper. When class begins, have students form groups of 2-4 students, and provide each group with one of the pieces of paper. Then, instruct your students to record the item, information, and quotes from the book on the poster. For this assignment, you can focus on the author’s use of symbols within the novel. You will select a variety of symbols in the novel and assign the symbols to different groups. It is okay if multiple groups are assigned the same symbol. Instruct each group to title their poster with the symbol, write as many details about the symbol as they can think about (this includes what it stands for), and record up to two different quotes illustrating how the author uses the symbol in the novel. I recently did this activity with my Romeo and Juliet unit, and it was a hit. The students were prepared for their essays, and they developed a deeper understanding for the play. Once students are done with the posters, display them throughout the classroom and have the students complete a gallery walk recording the information. This activity is great because it requires students to analyze their assigned topic, while at the same time reinforcing the importance of collaborative work. Even better, this activity gets students up and moving! As an alternative to making posters, this assignment also works very well with post-it notes. Simply provide your student groups with multiple post-it notes, and have the groups write information on the post-its. Then, have students post the notes on the board for the gallery walk. This option is especially beneficial when you want to have a gallery walk, but do not have the time for making posters in the classroom. You can also read about collaborative brainstorming ideas in this blog post. A fun and creative character analysis project you can complete in your classroom is a mock job fair in your classroom. To prepare for this activity, students either select or are assigned a character from the novel. They assume the role of this character and create a resume for this character listing strengths, accomplishments, and skills. To prepare for this activity, I usually teach students about resume writing, provide them with a list of power verbs, and give them a resume template. After students create their resumes, I host a mock job fair in my classroom for one day. During the mock job fair students are assigned to one of two groups, and the groups rotate between interviewer and interviewee. The students assigned to the interview role are given a set of interview questions to ask their candidate. As the candidate responds, the interviewer records the responses. After the interview is over, the students switch roles. This is one of my favorite activities for my Of Mice and Men unit because the students get to explore the characters on a deeper level. Once the activity is over, students write a brief argument piece about whether they would hire that character for the job. After I read an essential chapter with my students, I like to take a day or two to reflect on the reading, analyze what happened, and make sure that my students understand the importance of what they just read, and a creative comic strip assignment is ideal for this. One of the best times to assign this activity is right after a major conflict or at the peak of the story so that students can really analyze the novel's conflict. I like doing this activity with my students when we read Fahrenheit 451 because it helps them understand the conflict more. When assigning a comic strip assignment, make sure students focus on more than just drawing pictures by requiring them to include quotes from the novel as their dialogue. In addition to quotes, students should also write narration, cite their quotes in MLA format, and dedicate an entire box to the novel’s conflict. You can download this FREE, EXCLUSIVE resource to use in your classroom with your next novel study! For more fun, yet rigorous, activities that you can use with any novel study, check out my Novel Unit. This resource is 99 pages and is filled so many activities that you can use them throughout the year for multiple novel studies. From introductory activities to use before reading, to differentiated writing prompts with built-in scaffolding to use as you read, to post-reading cumulative assignments, and everything in between, this novel unit is my go-to resource when I'm in a pinch and need an activity. Click HERE to check out this resource. Here are some additional resources to help you teach the novel! The SuperHERO Teacher - Workbook for Any Novel Unit Study Grades 7-12 Addie Williams - Novel Study Package - Use with ANY NOVEL Presto Plans - Assignments for Any Novel or Short Story Secondary Sara - Chapter Study Guides: Student-Made Activity for ANY Novel
THIS ITEM IS A DIGITAL DOWNLOAD. NO PHYSICAL ITEM WILL BE SENT AFTER PURCHASE. This set of 4 Nonfiction Genres posters is perfect for a Middle School or High School English classroom. This set is part of a series of digital classroom downloads, so please check the rest of them out in the shop. How to Order and Print Your Digital Download 1. Purchase the listing in my Etsy shop. 2. After your payment is processed by Etsy, you can instantly download your files under the "Purchases/reviews" tab. 3. Open the file. 4. Print! You can print at home or through an online service. If printing at home have your printer set to "actual size" to get the intended size. If printing through a service follow their directions. Each file is downloaded as an 8.5x11 PDF file to make it easier to print them at home. If you would like other specific sizes, please feel free to reach out. Please be aware that due to differences in monitor settings and printers, the print colors may appear slightly different from what you view on your screen. We at The Dungeon Rose have tried to make the on-screen image appear as accurately as possible. This item is intended for personal use only, so please do not sell copies or produce them commercially. Thank you! If you have any issues with printing or resizing your files, please feel free to reach out and we will be happy to advise!
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, […]
One of the most significant factors of a successful classroom novel study is engagement. If students are engaged in the text, they are more likely to enjoy
Introduce your students to the historical fiction genre with this engaging, no-prep resource! Whether you're doing a full historical fiction unit, genre study, literature circles, choice reading, or another activity that would require your students to know about the history and features of the genre, this comprehensive resource will fill your students in on all of the details! After using this resource, your students will be able to define the major characteristics and subgenres of the historical fiction genre. They'll even be able to use their new knowledge to analyze a sample passage and then they'll use the provided discussion cards to show what they know. ★ This Resource Includes: Teacher Instructions + Lesson Plan Google Slides Presentation CLOZE Notes Passage Analysis Activity Discussion Cards Note: The Google Slides Presentation is editable, but the worksheets are in PDF format and cannot be edited. ★ Great For: Historical Fiction Unit Genre Study Literature Circles Independent Reading ... and more! ☆ Please contact me with any questions about this resource using the ask a question feature on TPT or e-mail me at [email protected]. Happy teaching! ❤️ Samantha ★ Looking for more great secondary ELA tips and resources from Samantha in Secondary? ✅ Follow me on TPT (Get 50% off new resources!) ✅ Check out the latest on Instagram ✅ Subscribe to my email list for weekly updates
Graphic novels are wonderful for reading, but when students use this form for their own writing, incredible stories can emerge.
Romeo and Juliet: Cartoon Summaries and Activities
Exposing students to a wide variety of genres is so important to creating lifelong readers. It helps students begin to identify who they are as readers, including their likes and dislikes. By building genre background
This blog post focuses on teaching the various genres to upper elementary students. It includes a genre anchor chart and multiple free activities!
Are you reviewing the various genres of literature? Your students will love my literary genre activities - including this kinesthetic genre scavenger hunt!
Dystopian fiction is popular with our students - so it's perfect for book clubs or literature circles. Here's a list of books students love!
If you are looking for ways to study genre in your upper elementary classroom, then you’ll want to download these FREE Reading Genre Review Slides and try out
View the comic strip for Wrong Hands by cartoonist John Atkinson created July 12, 2019 available on GoComics.com
If you're a teacher looking for tips and ideas for teaching genres to elementary students, you found the right spot! Learn all about it here!
