Noticings

When you teach students about "Noticings" you are asking them to teach themselves. Students look at examples of different works and tell you what they notice. For example, when I teach dialogue, I often ask students to look at a page that includes lots dialogue and tell me what they notice about the punctuation and use of capital letters. Students will basically write the rules for you, but they find them themselves as opposed to you just telling them.

I've used "Noticings" in writing units as well. Looking at our persuasive writing stack, I ask students what they notice that all of the persuasive essays have. Then I ask them what some have. You come up with a list "All" and "Some." When students write their own essays, all of them will include things like titles, paragraphs, and examples. Some of them will include subheadings and pictures and quotes. It is student-led learning.

Noticings ask students to find the information themselves. I like teaching with Noticings because students are often surprised at how much they already know. When students feel like experts, they develop a stronger connection to the material and their learning.

Moby Max

Moby Max is a FREE educational program for grades K-8. I just started using it this month to supplement the Plato 6th grade Language Arts curriculum. It has Math, Reading, Language Arts, Writing, and Test Skills lessons. Students take placement tests, and the program continuously assesses and places students in appropriate lessons. You can assign specific lessons as well. It gives you reports and the ability to print and download reports and lesson materials. Plus, the more students work, the more seconds they earn to play games built into Moby Max! I might expand it into the 7th and 8th grade class as well!

Martin Luther King Day Activities

Most of my students have some understanding of Dr. Martin Luther King and his "I Have a Dream" speech. What many don't know is how many other amazing speeches he gave. Using "All, Here, and Now" and "We Shall Overcome," I've had students determine the main idea of each and compare and contrast the two speeches. I play the speeches for the students so they can hear Dr. King read his words and the power behind each word. I downloaded them on i-tunes to have forever, but you can find the speeches here:

Also, here are some other MLK materials I have collected and used over the years. Happy Martin Luther King Day! I hope your day is filled with peace, hope, and compassion!

MLK Activities to Download

A Raisin in the Sun Flipbook

So, I just couldn't wait to share my amazing teachers pay teachers purchase. My eighth graders are studying drama and reading A Raisin in the Sun. Many of the literary terms are review from the novel study last semester, but since I work at a suspension school, most of my students were not with me during that time. This flipbook is a great resource to review those terms as well as study the content and themes of the play. I love the vocabulary section which was a great pre-reading activity and helped to focus the students as we started a new semester with new classes. It has been great for behavior management as well as students can work at their own pace for many of the activities. It is truly a terrific teaching tool, and I definitely recommend it for anyone reading A Raisin in the Sun. Thanks Ms. Knight! You're awesome!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/A-Raisin-in-the-Sun-Interactive-Layered-Flip-Book-1379353