Happy Reading & Writing☮
The Things You Can Read!
Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books & Writing!
I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here
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'Tis the season for candy canes, holiday parties, and Dickens' most accessible novel!
Universally beloved and only 88 pages long, A Christmas Carol is the perfect book for a quick unit before the holiday break. And, with our ready-to-use Literature Guides, you don't need to spend the weeks leading up to the holidays doing prep work.
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The Things You Can Read welcomes you and thanks you for your readership. We, here at The Things You Can Read, ask your help, if you visit our site regularly, please follow us either via email or Google Friend Connect. Launched on June 7, 2012, our site has already attracted a great deal of attention. One of the goals of the site is to feature reviews of Children's Picture Books, Young Adult novels and Adult Literary Fiction/Nonfiction. A second goal for the blog is to be a resource for teachers of English and writing--with examples of student created writing, writing tips, resource links, and the opportunity to pick the brain of a seasoned English teacher. To spice things up...every now and then, we'll also include random quotes and thoughts on education and life in general, but our ultimate goal is to reach out into the blogosphere and be a "Book Whisperer" and "Writing Whisperer" to children and adults of all ages. Thank you for your readership. Here is to a lifetime filled with reading and writing.
Friday, December 11, 2015
NEED HELP: Resources to Teach A Christmas Carol
Thursday, December 10, 2015
The Things You Can Read: Great Critique of the "BEST" Movie Version of A Ch...
The Things You Can Read: Great Critique of the "BEST" Movie Version of A Ch...: The New York Times Critic A. O. Scott looks back at what he considers to be the best of the film adaptations of "A Christma...
Great Critique of the "BEST" Movie Version of A Christmas Carol
The New York Times Critic A. O. Scott looks back at what he considers to be the best of the film adaptations of "A Christmas Carol." Mr. Scott also makes comments that are a nice segue into some of the relevent THEMES found in the novel and the dramatizaton of A Christmas Carol. What do you use to give students a visual connection to the novel? Share your thoughts...leave a comment!
Happy Reading & Writing☮
The Things You Can Read!
Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books & Writing!
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| Don't Forget To Be Awesome! |
I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here
Monday, December 7, 2015
The Things You Can Read: MORE on THEME: HOW TO FIND IT!
The Things You Can Read: MORE on THEME: HOW TO FIND IT!: As we continue to exam the keys to understanding literature THEME still is an issue. I like this quick little refresher to remind folk...
MORE on THEME: HOW TO FIND IT!
As we continue to exam the keys to understanding literature THEME still is an issue. I like this quick little refresher to remind folks about the WHYS and the WHATS of THEME. Take a peek and let us know what you think! Comments are welcomed!
Happy Reading & Writing☮
The Things You Can Read!
Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books & Writing!
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| Don't Forget To Be Awesome! |
I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here
Friday, December 4, 2015
The Things You Can Read: Teaching Drama: Life on the Creative Edge
The Things You Can Read: Teaching Drama: Life on the Creative Edge: Great way to introduce your class to the trials and tribulations of the DIRECTORS life! The "Creative Process" often comes at a...
Teaching Drama: Life on the Creative Edge
Great way to introduce your class to the trials and tribulations of the DIRECTORS life! The "Creative Process" often comes at a price. This opens doors to some great conversation. NOTE: Preview the beginning not all movie, opera, and stage clips are appropriate. I start the video with Julie Taymor's talk.
How do you discuss the creative process with your students? Leave us a comment and let us know here at The Things You Can Read!
Happy Reading & Writing☮
The Things You Can Read!
Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books & Writing!
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| Don't Forget To Be Awesome! |
I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here
Thursday, December 3, 2015
ITS THAT TIME OF YEAR: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Take a peek at this great Introduction to Charles Dickens from the BBC...Do you use it? Have you used it in the past? If you haven't, try it out, and let us know here at The Things You Can Read how it worked out. Happy Holidays!
Happy Reading & Writing☮
The Things You Can Read!
Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books & Writing!
|
| Don't Forget To Be Awesome! |
I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here
Friday, November 27, 2015
The Perfect Season To Read: The Last Leaf By O. Henry
One of the short stories I like to use to teach irony, foreshadowing, inferencing, characterization, (dynamic, static, flat), symbolism, and suprise endings is "The Last Leaf" by O. Henry. Here is one of the many activites we do to work with this classic short story: I call it BE THE ILLUSTRATOR. I have divided an abriged version of the story up into sections that each require an illustration. Before we start, I let students know that "IF YOU ARE NOT GOOD WITH PEOPLE...DON'T DRAW PEOPLE! Use things that represent the people (good time to talk about symbolism with your students too.). I give them a few class session (maybe three 20 to 30 minutes segments of class) to work on it(where I can help) then what ever is left is for them to finish on their own before the test on the last leaf. Enjoy!
What kind of activities do you use to solidify the plot line of a story? Let us know here at The Things You Can Read.
Happy Reading & Writing☮
The Things You Can Read!
Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books & Writing!
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| Don't Forget To Be Awesome! |
I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Happy Thanksgiving From The Things You Can Read
Happy Thanksgiving
From The Things You Can Read
Have a restful holiday!
Happy Reading & Writing☮
The Things You Can Read!
Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books & Writing!
|
| Don't Forget To Be Awesome! |
I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here
Friday, November 20, 2015
Inferences: Can You Make Them?
Inferening is a skill students need to practice. Its really teaching students how to think using logic and evidence. Students do it all the time. However, for some reason when you aske them to apply this concept to a reading selection they make it harder then it really is, don't t ask me why? I work on this one all year. If you want students to learn how to make inferences in literature, nonfiction and real life, and to support those inferences with strong, reliable evidence my suggestion is to start working on it NOW. Here is a great tool to help,..watch Mister Sato's take on INFERENCING!
How do you teach infereincing? I'd love your views on this one, as always, let us know here at The Things You Can Read in the comment section!
Happy Reading & Writing☮
The Things You Can Read!
Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books & Writing!
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| Don't Forget To Be Awesome! |
I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here
Thursday, November 19, 2015
More on POV: Point of View
The BIG push in my class for the past few weeks has surrounded the concepts of Point of View or POV and THEME. I will say, my students are making headway. Yeah, SUCCESS! Here is another great reinforcer that I use to say again what I have already said...Let me know if it is helpful...Again, thank you Mister Sato for your great videos!
Please leave a comment about how you teach POV in your class.
Happy Reading & Writing☮
The Things You Can Read!
Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books & Writing!
|
| Don't Forget To Be Awesome! |
I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Theme: How Do You Find It?
Theme continues to be an area we are working on in all my classes this year. I realized that a great many adults don't really understand theme either. Theme and Subject often get confused. I tell my students the THEME is the life lesson that you can apply to your life and its universal! Here is a great video from MISTER SATO on Theme. Mister Sato does a great job of hitting the key points of how to go about finding THEME. Enjoy!
Identifying the theme of a story can be challenging. It requires the reader to identify a main idea in the story. Then extend the idea to the real world. Fortunately, as with all reading skills, practice makes perfect.-www.ereadingworksheets.com
Resource for Theme Practice: Click Here
How do you teach theme? I'd love your take let us know here at The Things You Can Read in the comment section!
Happy Reading & Writing☮
The Things You Can Read!
Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books & Writing!
|
| Don't Forget To Be Awesome! |
I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here
Thursday, November 12, 2015
How Do You Teach Point of View?
I just love this picture. In case you can't tell that is Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz flooting up in the sky. Dorothy's point of view of the situation and her friends, the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion"s point of view below are very different. As a teacher, I like to use visuals to illustrate POV. It can be a picture or short film clips. Both help students transfer the idea of POV to the page of a book.The BIG push in my class for the past two weeks has surrounded the concept of Point of View. I will say, my students act each year like it is the first time they have heard of POV, but I know that is not the case. However, I have learned to treat POV like it was the first time they ever heard of it. So with that said, my intro lesson introduces POV with a POW using a PREZI by Dana Linde. Check it out an let me know what you think.
Happy Reading & Writing☮
The Things You Can Read!
Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books & Writing!
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| Don't Forget To Be Awesome! |
I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Yes, John Irving=NEW NOVEL!
Yes, John Irving has released a new NOVEL! John Irving is my all time favorite modern writer. I can't wait to read this one. Let us know what you think of John Irving, here at The Things You Can Read!
"Reminiscent of A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving’s modern classic"-
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Happy Reading & Writing☮
The Things You Can Read!
Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books & Writing!
|
| Don't Forget To Be Awesome! |
I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Theme: How Do You Teach Theme?
How Do YOU Teach Theme?
There are lots of way to teach theme, but one of the ways I like to introduce theme is through film. Not long feature films, but shorts. Here is a short film entitled SUCCESS. It can be used to start a conversation about theme. After watching the film, I ask the question how would you describe the theme of the film?
How do you teach theme? Let us know here at The Things You Can Read.
Happy Reading & Writing☮
The Things You Can Read!
Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books & Writing!
|
| Don't Forget To Be Awesome! |
I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here
Monday, November 9, 2015
How to Use Picture Books in the Middle School Classroom: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Image Credit: Amazon.com
If you are an old movie buff, now we're talking old-Buster Keaton kind of old movie buff, and you love books, here is just what the doctor ordered. A children's picture book that has been turned into an Academy Award winning animated short, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. My students love this activity. Here is the link to the original lesson that I modified for my use-This is one way to use this exceptional children's book in the classroom: Film English
Here is the short film that won the 2011 Academy Award for Animated Short...After viewing make sure you go get the book, because everyone knows the book is always better!
Let us, here at The Things You Can Read, know what you think of The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore! If you are a teacher, let us know how you use this intriguing book or plan to use this book in the classroom.
Summary Courtesy of Goodreads:
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| The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore Image Credit: Amazon.com |
If you are an old movie buff, now we're talking old-Buster Keaton kind of old movie buff, and you love books, here is just what the doctor ordered. A children's picture book that has been turned into an Academy Award winning animated short, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. My students love this activity. Here is the link to the original lesson that I modified for my use-This is one way to use this exceptional children's book in the classroom: Film English
Here is the short film that won the 2011 Academy Award for Animated Short...After viewing make sure you go get the book, because everyone knows the book is always better!
Here is the short film that won the 2011 Academy Award for Animated Short...After viewing make sure you go get the book, because everyone knows the book is always better!
Let us, here at The Things You Can Read, know what you think of The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore! If you are a teacher, let us know how you use this intriguing book or plan to use this book in the classroom.
Summary Courtesy of Goodreads:The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Morris Lessmore loved words.
He loved stories.
He loved books.
But every story has its upsets.
Everything in Morris Lessmore’s life, including his own story, is scattered to the winds.
But the power of story will save the day. (less)
Hardcover, 52 pages
Published June 19th 2012 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers (first published 2011)
Morris Lessmore loved words.
He loved stories.
He loved books.
But every story has its upsets.
Everything in Morris Lessmore’s life, including his own story, is scattered to the winds.
But the power of story will save the day. (less)
He loved stories.
He loved books.
But every story has its upsets.
Everything in Morris Lessmore’s life, including his own story, is scattered to the winds.
But the power of story will save the day. (less)
Hardcover, 52 pages
Published June 19th 2012 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers (first published 2011)
Let us, here at The Things You Can Read, know what you think of The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore! If you are a teacher, let us know how you use this intriguing book or plan to use this book in the classroom.
Happy Reading!
Things You Can Read
Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!
Summary Courtesy of Goodreads:
Happy Reading & Writing☮
The Things You Can Read!
Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books & Writing!
|
| Don't Forget To Be Awesome! |
I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here
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