comma chameleon

ideas for ELA.

[writingprompts]

“What is it that you are absolutely sure you will never forget about being this age, and why have adults forgotten it?” – Amanda Mae Meyncke, who said this about the prompt: “Remembering what it’s like to be a kid is insanely profitable. I tell high-schoolers and college kids to write everything down because you think you’ll remember, but you won’t.”

[This is a remake of an older prompt.]

[comma-comma-chameleon]

First Day

Have seating chart and instructions on board. There will be different colored index cards on the tables. Students will fill out information. For class building activities, students can be separated by color. 

Perhaps different symbols can be stamped on for more divisions.

[comma-comma-chameleon]

Taboo Vocabulary Review

Divide class into two teams. Have each team create a stack of taboo cards to be used by the other team. One teammember gives clues until team successfully guesses vocab word, then the other team goes. Whichever team is still speaking when time is up loses and the other team gets a point. Continue until every person has a chance to give clues. 

[comma-comma-chameleon]

PICTIONARY

While we're in the mood for games played at parties that you want to leave right away, let's play some Pictionary. Instead of acting out words, draw the word on the board. That really quiet kid who turns in half-written essays will perk up when given the chance to utilize his creative talents. Who knows? Maybe he'll finish his next essay. This can be played in teams or as one massive "shout the word out whenever you think you know it" game.

-Bright Hub Education

[comma-comma-chameleon]

VOCABULARY SITUATIONAL ACTING

Put students in groups of 4 or 5. Give them a 3 x 5 card with a specific situation, for example: "you got home late," "your girlfriend caught you with another girl at a party," "you just won an important football game," or "you just soiled yourself trying to solve a math problem." Give them 20 minutes to create a skit effectively utilizing a predetermined number of vocabulary words. You can make it a competition or a film festival with academy awards and popcorn. The grade is based on effective use of words, entertainment value, voice clarity, and individual participation.

[writingprompts]

#784

five-dollar island

[photoprompts-blog]

[writingprompts]

John Spencer has created what is possibly my favorite prompt ever.

[spencerauthor-blog]

[writingprompts]

449

[writingprompts]

This was today’s prompt in class. Students definitely got into it.

[comma-comma-chameleon]

How to Use Social Media in a Low-Tech Classroom – TeacherPop

Sarah Varland uses Twitter to show multiple character perspectives from the same play in her 9th grade classroom at Schurz High School, 2014. No tech? No problem. Even if you’re teaching in a low-tech school, chances are your students know the basics of popular social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. As an ELA teacher looking to engage struggling and reluctant readers, I have been able to use modified versions of social media in the classroom without any technology at all. Here are a few ideas: 1) Facebook Profile Printouts What they are: Empty graphic organizers in the format of a Facebook profile. Linking to Common Core: Assess understanding of characterization by having students use textual evidence to complete one of these. You can also assess basic comprehension of a biographical article by attaching one of these organizers as an accompaniment. What to do with them: Though many of …

[kittycandour]

Zombies!

“Take a list of survival/household items like compass, water bottle, matches, can opener, etc. (or put these things together in a cardboard box for added effect). Break the kids into small groups. You can do several variations here: tell them to pick one-three items out of the box, randomly assign them one-three items from the box, etc. “You’ve got about 7 days travel on foot to get to the nearest quarantine outpost. Which item(s) do you choose to help get you there?” The object is to get them talking together as a group (building classroom community!), practice their speaking and persuasive skills, and come up with something creative. You might have them compare and contrast the usefulness of two or more items, or you might ask them to come up with the most creative use for one or more of them.

We let the groups figure out what kind of apcolypse they’re in (virus, alien invasion, earthquake, etc).”

[writingprompts]

#814

sad whale songs

[kittycandour]

I had my seniors working in groups as teams of psychologists trying to diagnose the characters with specific mental illnesses. I printed out WebMD articles on Postpartum Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Schizophrenia, etc. and each group would get a character as their “patient”. For the characters I used Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. I might have tried to use Macduff, but I can’t remember since it’s been a few years. In order to successfully diagnose them, they had to use quotes from the play as evidence, just like any psychologist would. It was really fun, and kind of gets them in the mindset for literary criticism, hunting for text to back up a claim.

(via kittycandour)

[kittycandour]

Twitter

Hashtags are tweet themes

Correct celebrity tweets to work on grammar

[comma-comma-chameleon]

Rhetorical appeals

Divide class into three parts and assign each either pathos, logos, or ethos. Have them design a commerical trying to sell the class a pen using that appeal.