Comics. How can something that looks like such a simple literary genre, carry so much weight? Comics hold the heavy task of pointing at many social, personal, national and political problems. But…. they can come in such a cute package! Getting students familiar with this genre can be a very fun task, and one that we should all undertake at some point. It’s an art to be able to talk about a legitimate issue, with an air of satire or comedy. Let’s show our kids that they can effect and create change in their world, through literature. If you want to teach your students comic strip writing, follow these simple steps below: Comic Writing –Continue reading
Tag: writing
Extension Activities for The Wild Robot
The Wild Robot is a modern day tale of a robot that becomes stranded in the wild after an accident. This story is making it’s way across classrooms and into children’s lives, and with good reason. It’s a captivating comparison of technology and the natural world. As with all reading materials, they begin to take on more meaning when kids are able to apply what they’ve read in their lives and lessons. That’s why I’ve created this cross curricular extension activity package. It combines geometry and paragraph writing. Keep reading to get a peak into how you can use extension activities for The Wild Robot. 2D Shapes The first part of this package asks kidsContinue reading
Narrative Writing Plan For Kids
I recently gave a talk about creative narrative writing for 7-9 year olds after a book reading. Below are my talking points, which you can use in your class or homeschool. The kids responded really well to the plan and were able to reiterate the story writing process. They were able to relate to the concepts, so overall it was a great success! Read on to see the plan and you can find my narrative writing plan on TPT, it comes with and awesome poster set to display on walls. Part 1: Problem/Solution This is the most basic principle of story writing. The kids really seem to relate if you compare stories to a sandwich. Continue reading
Valentine’s Day Activities – Centers Package
We could all use a little more love right now; that’s why I’m excited to share my newest TPT package with you! It’s a Valentine’s Day inspired center activities package! Don’t want to set up centers? No problem! Use each activity as a morning Valentine’s Day activities/warm-up or as lessons on their own. It contains 6 fun Valentine’s Day activities, with instructions. Here is a closer look at the package: Center Activity #1: Each center activity comes with an instructions page, so that students can have a reference point when working on their activity. This activity gets students creating mosaic art! They simply tear or cut construction or gift tissue paper, and label each pieceContinue reading
Advertising Unit & Poster Set
Teaching kids the ins and outs of advertising can be a lot of fun, especially since marketers can target kids so effectively. I’ve noticed that students love media literacy topics, especially the idea of creating their own ads. That’s why I’ve come up with the perfect advertising unit for your students. The unit package includes a great classroom poster to display on your bulletin boards. Poster Set After going through the posters and discussing ad techniques, it’s time to start the unit! Teaching Tips Attract In the first section, students are asked to plan an ad meant to attract customers. They start off with a graphic organizer to help effectively plan just how they will attract buyers. HereContinue reading
Fraction Activity – The Best Parts of Me
Whether you’re looking for a fun fractions activity or looking to build your students’ self-esteem, look no further :D. I’ve got a cross-curricular fractions activity that will get your students practicing both their math and writing skills. Oh, and it’s a super-hero themed activity to boot. The package includes an introductory brainstorming page. This is where students are meant to think about their greatest qualities, and list them: Next, students begin drawing out their superhero image, and label a fractioned circle: These superheroes would be great as a way to decorate a bulletin board. Either cut out the superhero figures, or clue the page onto a construction paper backing. The package also includes clipart images,Continue reading
Parts of a Letter – Poster & Worksheet Set
I love teaching kids about writing letters. It feels like a lost form of communication in our time, but it’s still an important and relevant writing genre. Students will need lots of examples to show them the various components of a letter. It also helps to have students do lots of practice and write to famous authors, public figures, family members or to each other. Here is my Parts of a Letter – Poster and Worksheet set, available on Teachers Pay Teachers: This is a great way to visibly show students each part of a letter. Each section is labelled and has a coordinating explanation card, which further details what each section is and providesContinue reading
3 Reasons To Pursue Our Goals
There have been so many times when I’ve been struck by a profound idea; the kind of idea I felt would make a difference in my life, my family life or my community. Then, as always (and almost as if on cue) I would convince myself that it was too far-fetched, I wasn’t capable or I was just too busy to take on a project. But, something changed in me last year when I decided to finally take up a dream of mine and write a children’s book called Nightly News with Safa. Since the age of 16 I knew I wanted to be a teacher, and I spent a lot of my time preparing for that choice. IContinue reading
News Articles For Kids – Lesson Ideas
It’s important to raise kids with a sense of global citizenship and community awareness, and what better way is there to do this then to introduce children to the world of news? When teaching kids about news articles it’s helpful to dissect the genre itself: define it’s characteristics, read plenty of examples and look for stylistic elements. Once that’s done, you may have just prepared your students to be critical readers of the news, and perhaps even effective news article writers! Below is a list of steps I recommend if you plan on teaching writing news articles for kids. Take a look: Discuss Non-Fiction Features It’s essential that students understand that news articles fall within “non-fiction”Continue reading
News Article Graphic Organizer – Freebie
This news article graphic organizer is great for students because it helps them plan the overall flow of their news article before writing. It’s a great way to map their thoughts and plan out their writing, and it’s also useful for teachers to track their students before the final writing process begins. If you liked this graphic organizer and found it useful, don’t forget to rate us down below :).