by Kristin | Oct 13, 2022 | Reading Comprehension, Poetry, Short Stories, Teaching the Standards
What do you remember reading in high school? Maybe it’s Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet? Or perhaps it’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Poe? I’m guessing that whatever you remember, it was good literature and you enjoyed it because your teacher utilized various strategies...
by Kristin | Oct 1, 2022 | Reading Comprehension, Short Stories, Teaching the Standards, Writing
Long story, short… that’s exactly what a summary is! But how often does someone who uses that statement actually make their story short?! Whether in school or in life beyond the classroom, summarizing is a skill that needs practice, repeated practice. Writing a...
by Kristin | Sep 5, 2022 | Reading Comprehension, Rhetorical Analysis, Teaching the Standards, Writing
Have you heard the saying that teaching English isn’t just for English teachers? It’s so true! Many of the skills we teach and have our students practice in our ELA classrooms are transferable to other courses. Case in point, reading comprehension and guided reading...
by Kristin | Aug 29, 2022 | Poetry, Reading Comprehension, Short Stories, Teaching the Standards, Writing
In my years of teaching, I have found that the best way to get students learning AND retaining concepts and skills is by using thematic units. By integrating reading and writing together by focusing on a major topic and/or using a specific theme, you can incorporate...
by Kristin | Aug 15, 2022 | Reading Comprehension, Rhetorical Analysis, Teaching the Standards, Writing
In elementary school, the question of the author’s purpose tends to tie into pie. Not a delicious pie to eat but rather P.I.E., an acronym of the three purposes for any given text: Persuade, Inform, Entertain. However, we know as readers and teachers that things are...
by Kristin | Jul 16, 2022 | Short Stories, Back To School, Reading Comprehension, Teaching the Standards
Making the shift from middle school to high school can be a challenge for 9th graders and for the teachers of those 9th graders! But stacking your short stories for 9th graders with selections from Edgar Allan Poe, Ray Bradbury, Langston Hughes, Roald Dahl, etc. is an...
