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Teaching Romeo and Juliet: 15 Engaging Ideas for Before, During, and After Reading


Teaching Romeo and Juliet is one of the pinnacle experiences of being a high school English Teacher. Romeo and Juliet has it all: poetry, love, fate, and tragedy. Try incorporating these 15 creative activities and assignments into your next Romeo and Juliet unit to keep students engaged and help them understand the play more!


All of the linked activities are included in my Five-week Romeo and Juliet Unit that comes with a pacing guide and multiple activities. It is perfect for teaching the play!


Teaching Romeo and Juliet: Pre-Reading Activities

1. Teach Blank Verse & Iambic Pentameter 

With blank verse being such an integral part of the play to help establish character rank, teaching your students about blank verse and iambic pentameter will help them better understand the soliloquies and monologues! 


After teaching students the basics of blank verse, I like to have students try out the classic poetry format for themselves. This free blank verse project is a great way to get students to write their own lines! Plus, these projects make for excellent classroom decorations and bulletin boards!


2. Prologue Annotation & Writing Activity

Shakespeare holds nothing back in his prologue of Romeo and Juliet. In fact, he basically spoils the plot before he even gets started with Act I! That is why this Romeo and Juliet Prologue Activity that breaks down the prologue through annotation and analyzing its themes, imagery, and meaning is such a great activity to complete with your students before you read Romeo and Juliet. 


A fun classroom activity is to challenge students to rewrite the prologue in modern language! Another fun twist on this activity is to have them write a prologue for their favorite Disney or Pixar movie —bonus points if they do it in sonnet form! 


Romeo and Juliet Prologue Activity


3. Shakespearean Insult Battle

Introduce students to Shakespeare’s witty insults by having them create their own using authentic Elizabethan vocabulary. Let them engage in a playful (and classroom-friendly) battle of words. You can find Shakespeare insult words online and share them with students. It is a great way to familiarize students with Elizabethan language. 


Teaching Romeo and Juliet: During-Reading Activities

4. Foldable and Interactive Romeo and Juliet Comprehension Bookmarks

These Romeo and Juliet Comprehension and Analysis Bookmarks are so great because they help you pace the drama as you teach and fold up so students can actually use them as bookmarks as they read! These bookmarks contain comprehension questions to help students understand the play, a place to track a timeline of events, and space for quote analysis!


5. CLOZE Summary Passages

One of the reasons why many students struggle with Shakespeare is because of the Elizabethan language. However, these Romeo and Juliet Cloze Summary Passages solve that problem! This resource includes a summary passage for the prologue as well as for each of the Acts! Each passage is summarized and written in everyday language and includes multiple fill-in-the blanks to assess students’ understanding of the play!


You can use these fill-in-the-blank summary passages to check for understanding and reinforce key events, themes, and character actions in each act or as a different kind of quiz.


Romeo and Juliet Cloze Summary Passages


6. Emoji Scene Summaries

One fun way to help students understand the text is to have them work in small groups to summarize scenes from an Act using only emojis! This can also be a fun and collaborative group presentation you assign your students after finishing an Act.


To assign an Emoji Scene Summary, divide your students into equal groups for each scene in the act you just finished. In a collaborative Google Slide presentation with one slide for each scene, have the students only use emojis to summarize their assigned scene. Before moving on, have each group present their scene summaries to the class. 


7. Storyboard a Scene

Another great way to assess student understanding of an Act is to have students work on comic strips or storyboards where they summarize key details and quote from a scene. By allowing students to visually represent key scenes by creating a comic strip or digital storyboard, it will then break down complex Shakespearean dialogue and analyze the significance of each moment. Students can even work in groups to create a comic strip or storyboard for an entire act, or even the entire play!


8. Romeo & Juliet Meme Challenge

Another way to help students understand the themes and character dynamics from the play is to assign a Romeo and Juliet Meme Challenge. For this fun and modern activity, select a scene from the play and have students work in partners to create a meme that they feel best represents the conflicts, tensions, nuances, or underlying tones from the scene. Since students love and relate to memes, this will allow them to dig deeper and analyze the text beyond the surface level. The key for the meme challenge is that the memes cannot be super obvious!


9. Create a Romeo and Juliet News Report

This fun activity is a perfect way to wrap-up Act I so that all students understand the initial conflicts and become acquainted with the characters before the rising action begins! Students can use their phones or Chromebooks to record quick 1-2 minute videos that report just the facts: the who, what, where, and when of what happened from a particular scene. Students can even go further into this activity by playing roles such as characters and reporters and creating mock interviews!


10. Romeo and Juliet Act Writing Tasks

While it is fun to incorporate engaging, hands-on, and kinesthetic activities into your Romeo and Juliet unit, it is also important to go back to the basics. This Romeo and Juliet Writing Assignment Pack includes a guided writing assignment (prompt, organizers, and scaffolds) for each Act.


Romeo and Juliet Writing Tasks


Teaching Romeo and Juliet: Post-Reading Activities

11. Final Argument Essay

Once you reach the end of the play, it is time to point fingers, assign blame, and decide who or what is ultimately at fault for Romeo and Juliet’s demise! This Romeo and Juliet Final Argument Essay resource includes everything you need from brainstorming organizers to peer editing sheets to walk students through the entire writing process. 


12. Timeline Review Activity

To help students review Romeo and Juliet, assign a timeline review activity that requires them to work together and sort through all of the events from the play. Students will work together against other groups in your class to place all of the events in order first! 


Romeo and Juliet Timeline Review Activity


13. Rewrite the Ending

I’m not sure about you, but no matter how many times I read Romeo and Juliet with my students, I am always hoping that somehow the ending has magically changed and that there is a more favorable outcome. Alas, that never happens. 


A fun way to incorporate the narrative writing standard into your classroom is to assign students a quick one or two-page rewrite of Act V. 


14. Symbolism Analysis Stations

Help your students understand the symbols within the play by completing a symbolism analysis station. This Romeo and Juliet Symbolism Analysis Activity includes six different symbol analysis stations. At each station, students read carefully selected passages and analyze the passage for the included symbol. It is an engaging and collaborative way to gain a deeper understanding of the play!


Romeo and Juliet Symbolism Analysis Activity


15. Romeo and Juliet: The Soundtrack

At the end of the play, assign students a soundtrack assignment. In small groups, students will work together to curate a soundtrack that accurately captures the themes, conflicts, and ideas from each Act of the play. Students can either select multiple songs per Act or just one song to best represent each Act. 


As students go through the soundtrack, they should experience the same mood and emotions as they did as they read the play. Students can also write a quick paragraph for each song explaining its connection and create an album cover for their compilation!


Make your next Romeo and Juliet unit your best one yet!



Whether it’s your first or fiftieth time teaching Romeo and Juliet, adding in some new activities is a great way to keep the play relevant, modern, and engaging for your learners. You can grab all of these linked resources in one bundle here: 5-Week Romeo and Juliet Unit


Looking for more Romeo and Juliet ideas, check out our earlier blog posts about Romeo and Juliet and Shakespeare: 6 Creative Ideas for Teaching Romeo and Juliet and Six Tips for Teaching Shakespeare!


Additional Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet resources and ideas:

6 Engaging Valentine's Day Activities for the ELA Teacher

6 Engaging Valentine Activities for the ELA Teacher

Valentine's Day is this week and we at the Coffee Shop have got you covered with some fun and engaging activities and displays your students will love! Check them out below.


Digital Valentine's Day Escape Room Activities

This digital Valentine's Day escape room is a very flexible resource, as you can use all of the activities or just one (depending on the time available). The best part? You can also easily export the digital Google Slides to Power Point and easily print out the activities. Students always have fun completing holiday-related activities and this is the ultimate way to incorporate team-building skills into any classroom.





 

Valentine's Day Candy Hearts Writing

Have some fun on Valentine's Day with Candy Hearts!  Use real candy hearts or the paper versions I included as prompts for a fun story or poem.  Using the words from the hearts students can find inspiration for their writing. This is always a favorite activity for students at this time of the year!  Everything is included so you can get started today! Click HERE to check it out.



Valentine's Day Literary Activities for Any Text


One of the easiest ways to incorporate Valentine's Day fun into your middle school ELA or high school English classroom is by assigning these Valentine's Day Literary Activities to your students! Whether you have your students use textual evidence to create a character dating or write a character love letter or break-up letter for whichever novel or short story you are currently reading, these activities are engaging and relevant. 


Can you imagine how much fun students would have if they wrote a love letter from Juliet to Romeo? Or imagine if they chose to write a break-up letter from Romeo to Rosaline! Since these four Valentine's Day Literary Activities were designed to be used with any text, the possibilities are endless! You can find these activities here

Valentine's Day Literary Activities for Secondary ELA



Love Song Poetry Activity

Can your students tell if the lines are from a famous poem or popular love song? Chances are, they will struggle! This activity is such a fun game to play around Valentine's Day, but it also works during poetry month or anytime of year. The bundle includes a 30-question quiz in which students are given the names of the poets and music artists. You can give them several minutes to complete it individually, in pairs, or in groups. Then you can show them the presentation where they can check to see how well they did! It's such an engaging way to show them that poetry (and perhaps love 😘) is all around them. This bundle also includes a bulletin board you can display after all your students have completed the quiz. It's sure to be a hit! Download it here: Love Song or Poem Activity Bundle


Love Song Poetry Valentine Activity




Who Has the Love Letter? Reading Mystery 


Try using a Valentine's Day Reading Mystery activity to engage your students and challenge them to look for text evidence, infer information, and read more closely. Put your students in small groups and share the back story to the mystery: Amanda absolutely loves Jack, but she is far too shy to tell him how she feels. In an effort to rid herself of the heartache, she writes him a love letter. She has no intention to let anyone (let alone her crush) see what's written in the letter, but when she sits down to do her homework at night, she realizes the love letter she wrote that day is missing from her pencil case! It's up to your students to use their close reading and inference skills to figure out who took it. Students must read a variety of evidence including a class attendance list, a seating chart, a note passed between friends, an email, the love letter, a text message, a postcard, an online gaming chat room, and a detention sign-in sheet to find clues to find the thief! Find this activity here.



Valentine's Day & Self Love

Not everyone is into romance on Valentine's Day, so why not take a look at the importance of self-love? This informational mentor text activity has students explore this idea while learning to understand, evaluate, and mimic elements of effective informational writing. 





5 AI-Resistant Assignments

 

This post is not about the pros and cons of using AI in an English classroom. It's a post for teachers who want their students to do their own work and their own thinking. As frustrating as this process has become, assigning something hard to plagiarize is still possible. The best part? You can do so and build the skills and confidence your students need to do the writing themselves. Read on and I'll share some ideas for 5 AI-resistant assignments:


Will any assignment ever be completely AI-proof? Sadly, probably not. But if you want to make it more likely your students don't turn to ChatGPT, to do their assignments, the ones that follow will help. That's because they require students to create something of their own while they build important ELA skills.


So let's dive in, and explore 5 AI-resistant assignments that students find engaging - which is the first step in getting them to bypass tools like ChatGPT.


AI-RESISTANT ASSIGNMENT #1: ONE-SLIDERS

My first AI-resistant assignment is the one-slider. You have probably heard of the one-pager; the one-slider is the same concept, but it's done digitally, on a slide. Students capture an essential idea - characterization, theme, etc. - using a combination of images and text. They illustrate their learning visually in a way that requires critical thinking and creativity.


Use One-Sliders when you want students to demonstrate their ability to:


  • Be focused and organized
  • Do literary analysis or research
  • Support their ideas
  • Carefully select quotations
  • Understand how images can be used to represent ideas
  • Think critically


The final product looks very different than a written analysis, but the skills students need to use are the same. These one-sliders are also a great way to add in some visual literacy to your course - while also circumventing AI use by your students.


The best part? Students LOVE doing these assignments, and they are easier to assess, especially if you have a rubric ready to use.


Students can create these on a platform like Canva, or you can grab one of my resources. Each one guides students through the brainstorming process and helps them get focused and organized. You can check out my ready-made one-sliders for any text here and the ones for research here. You'll get instructions, templates, samples, assessment checklists, and more!


AI-RESISTANT ASSIGNMENT #2: RESEARCH MAGAZINE

The research paper is an assignment that has traditionally been most prone to plagiarism. Now, artificial intelligence tools have made it even easier for students to pass in a paper they haven't written themselves.


I first used a research magazine as an alternative to the essay when I saw the success of my one-sliders. My students still had lessons and practice with research skills like finding credible sources, selecting evidence, embedding quotes, etc., but they presented their ideas in a digital magazine rather than a research paper.


This research magazine is focused on a thesis and is logically organized. It still has the required sources, quotes, and works cited page - but it's in a format that the students love working with. Like the one-sliders, they find this assignment so much more engaging than the traditional essay. It requires them to use the same skills as a paper, but they also have to think critically about how they present the ideas and the images and links they choose - a process that makes it far harder to turn to AI.


Use a research magazine when you want students to demonstrate their ability to:


  • Focus on a thesis
  • Develop a logical argument
  • Support ideas with research
  • Find credible sources
  • Carefully select, embed, and cite quotations
  • Use paraphrased information effectively
  • Illustrate effective language choices
  • Demonstrate an understanding of how visuals support points
  • Think critically


Once again, students could use Canva to create these magazines. But, if you want a ready-to-go process with lesson plans for you, and tips and templates for your students, I've got you covered!


5 AI-Resistant Assignments

AI-RESISTANT ASSIGNMENT #3: HEXAGONAL THINKING ANALYSIS

If you follow my blog or Instagram, you know I am a huge fan of hexagonal thinking activities (or "fun-agon" as a student once exclaimed). Hexagonal thinking is an activity that requires students to collaborate and think critically about a topic or text. And while it's a wonderfully engaging in-class activity, it's also one that can be used as an AI-resisitant assignment.


How? Well, first, you would do the hexagonal activity, where students make connections between the topics they have been given. However, you build in another layer and ask them to record points made by their group mates. These could be points they agree with or want to refute.


Then students take one of the connections that they discussed in their group and write an analysis of it. They need to explain the connection, support it with evidence from the text AND with evidence from their discussion. This puts the focus on what was learned during the discussion which is much harder to get with the assistance of AI.


Use hexagonal thinking assignments when you want students to demonstrate their ability to:


  • Make connections between ideas or within texts
  • Do literary analysis
  • Support their analysis with quotations and textual evidence
  • Collaborate with classmates
  • Explain their analysis is a focused, organized piece of writing

5 AI-Resistant Assignments

Grab a free template for this here.


AI-RESISTANT ASSIGNMENT #4: SHORT PROCESS-BASED ASSIGNMENTS


One reason why students turn to AI to do their work is that they don't have confidence in their abilities. That is why this is my favorite of the 5 AI-resistant assignments.


It's actually more of an approach, as one of the best ways to avoid plagiarism is with a focus on the process. I used such an approach with every major assignment, breaking down the thinking process that is required. For example, when we were doing persuasion, I started by getting my students to discuss some "hot" topics and to work through their responses in class. They would:


  • Do an initial reflection on how they feel about the topic
  • View videos that give them more information
  • Read & annotate other texts that explore both sides of the issue
  • Identify fact and opinion in the mentor texts
  • Discuss the mentor texts and clarify their ideas with peers
  • Select quotations to support their ideas
  • Engage in an informal debate with classmates
  • Write a formal response

5 AI-Resistant Assignments

We did this skill-building exercise several times before I even broached the idea of an essay. Then, when it was time for students to write one, we spent almost two weeks working through the process in class. They had to submit a good copy, but also all of the steps of the process. This did not eliminate the possibility of plagiarism, but cut it down considerably. 

Check the activities for persuasion out here and read more about my process here and here.

AI-RESISTANT ASSIGNMENT #5: IN-CLASS ESSAYS

Ultimately, the best way to AI-proof your students' work is to have them do it all in class, using pen and paper. If the first AI-resistant assignments aren't enough to assess your students' skills, then an in-class essay is the way to go.


This is not ideal. I'm aware. Something is lost when students don't get the time to work on improving a draft. However, I believe you can still give them some of that time with in-class assignments. By focusing on the process - and completing each step in class - you can slow down that in-class essay and make it more likely that students will do their own work.


5 AI-Resistant Assignments


I've written about this - and shared strategies and a free planning guide - here.


I know that the struggle to get authentic student work is real. We want them to think and build their skills, and the only way to do that is with strategies that boost their confidence, so they do the writing themselves.


I hope that one of my 5 AI-resistant assignments is something you can use with your students. If you'd also like to discuss the pros and cons of AI use in society and school, check out this resource.


Reach out anytime you have any questions!


Jackie, ROOM 213


Check out these resources too:

AI and Academic Integrity - The Daring English Teacher


Snowball Writing- Presto Plans



5 Tips to Improve Student Reading Comprehension In Middle School



By: Presto Plans


Reading comprehension is one of the most important and transferable ELA skills in middle school - and beyond! When students have a well-rounded vocabulary, can apply a variety of active reading skills, have the opportunity to talk about what they are reading, and are able to understand a variety of text types, their learning in all subjects improves! 


Although ELA is the perfect place to practice these skills, reading comprehension isn’t just for English class - it’s a life skill! That being said, I totally understand why many ELA teachers find it so daunting to teach. After all, it’s important to strike the right balance. Reading comprehension activities need to be engaging AND effective, and students require regular opportunities to build stamina and practice their skills. 


If you’re looking to improve your students’ reading comprehension skills, I’ve got you covered! Today I’m sharing my five tips for improving reading comprehension in middle school!


1) TEACH THE PROCESS OF ACTIVE READING

 

I think it’s really important for students to understand the difference between passive and active reading. While passive readers may experience a surface-level understanding of text, active readers are able to engage more deeply with literature. Interactive tasks - making annotations, highlighting key ideas, and answering questions - can help students connect to their reading. 


Of course, active reading is a skill that needs to be developed, and like all good things, it takes time! I like to incorporate active reading activities throughout the year to reinforce this concept. Through consistent practice, students will eventually learn to apply the strategies to a variety of different types of text, including poetry, nonfiction articles, and fiction passages. 


facebook profile one. 


I find it can be really helpful to model the active reading strategy you want students to practice, and then allow them to practice in a low-pressure way. For example, you might demonstrate how to summarize key ideas along the margin of a text while reading. Or, you might have them use sticky notes to record additional notes on key ideas or themes that emerge. As students gain more confidence applying their active reading skills to smaller texts like paragraphs and articles, you can slowly incorporate longer or more complex passages. Eventually, they will be able to independently apply active reading strategies to a variety of texts, including short stories and novels.


2) BUILD VOCABULARY


When students have a strong and well-developed vocabulary, and can determine the meaning of unfamiliar words using context clues, they are able to understand a variety of texts more easily. Building a comprehensive vocabulary requires practice - especially in middle school - but “practice” doesn’t need to be “boring!”


I love helping students apply their understanding of context clues through a hands-on, collaborative activity. One FREE escape-room style challenge I love is Escape the Egyptian Library, which allows students to work together to solve a series of puzzles that require the use of a variety of close reading strategies.


Students can also grow their vocabulary through more exposure to a variety of different words. Incorporating a Word of the Day or Week into your classroom routine can be a low-pressure way to expose students to a range of unfamiliar words. Exploring vocabulary on a regular basis can also help students review other ELA fundamentals, including the parts of speech, spelling, synonyms and antonyms, figurative language, and more!





3) INTEGRATE STRUCTURED PRACTICE


I notice middle and high school ELA students often struggle with essential reading comprehension skills, like finding text evidence. Just like vocabulary-building, this skill requires regular, consistent practice, lots of modeling, and plenty of patience!


With this in mind, it can be helpful to incorporate a structured, low-prep reading comprehension program that can be integrated on a daily or weekly basis. You can choose to incorporate different types of passages throughout the year, depending on how they integrate with your other units of study. Alternatively, you can also use a variety of high-interest readings, questions, and related activities as you support students in preparing for tests or final exams.





4) DISCUSSION & GROUP WORK


In my opinion, creating opportunities to discuss reading and literature is one of the best ways to support reading comprehension in middle and high school ELA. I like to remind students that they likely already practice this skill outside of the classroom when they share their thoughts on a new movie or show, or the lyrics to the latest Taylor Swift songs! When people of all ages - not just ELA students - talk about texts, they actively build connections and strengthen their understanding.


Because many middle and high school ELA students love to socialize, it can be helpful to channel their “talkative” energy into a productive and focused task. This is why I like to provide lots of structured guidance and support for their conversations. 


There are lots of different ways for students to engage in discussions about reading, including:


  • Think-Pair-Share - After providing a few minutes for individual students to respond to a comprehension question independently and jot down some ideas, they can “turn and talk” with a seating partner, and then share their thoughts with the rest of the class. 
  • Comprehension Stations - After reading a short story or other text, students can travel to various “stations” set up in the classroom, working with different small groups to respond to a variety of different comprehension questions or activities. 
  • Escape Rooms or Collaborative Games - Students work together in small groups, applying their reading comprehension skills as they solve a series of engaging and high-interest challenges. 
  • Peer Teach - After reading a short story, have each student (or pair of students) dive deeply into a different element of the text. (For example, one group can locate three examples of irony, while another group can explore the qualities of a character.) Then, each group can share their findings and reflections as part of a broader class discussion.

5) INFERENCE PRACTICE


One reading comprehension skill I notice many middle or high school students need to work on is their ability to make inferences. This can happen for a variety of different reasons - many students are very literal in their reading, while others may lack background knowledge that helps them “read between the lines” of a particular text. The good news is that making inferences is a reading comprehension skill that can be strengthened in middle school with direct instruction and regular practice!

For students who need to build a foundational understanding of how to make inferences, I love incorporating activities that incorporate visuals and other multimedia elements. (You can find some of my very favorite resources in my Inference Activities Bundle!)



For example, students can look through fictional social media profiles and draw conclusions from posts, photos, images, and other online behavior (like “liking” a particular store or brand). comments, and more. Sng lyrics also provide great opportunities for students to read between the lines and infer information, particularly with songs that weave in a specific narrative. Once students understand how to make inferences, I recommend integrating texts that require them to apply this skill. One short story I really love for practicing inference skills are “The Chaser” by John Collier.

Finally, once students understand how to make inferences, I recommend integrating texts that require them to apply this skill! One short story I really love for practicing inference skills are “The Chaser” by John Collier.

I hope these ideas help you support your middle and high school students with reading comprehension. Have a great week, friends!

Looking for more reading comprehension activities and routines for middle or high school ELA? Check out some of the other Coffee Shop blogger ideas below:


Activities to Ease into a New Year & New Semester

 

Activities for the New Year and New Semester

By Tracee Orman


Easing into both the new year and/or a new semester can be like starting all over again. The difference is that in January, students (and teachers) are already a little burned out from the first semester and the holidays. Not to mention the lack of sunlight and colder weather many of us face this time of year. It can get pretty depressing in January.


This is the time of year when I try to reinvigorate my students with activities that will foster their creativity and growth mindset rather than trying to start the year or semester off with a rigorous curriculum. It is more important to continue building relationships with students and give them the time to decompress. Here are a few activities you can incorporate this month (even if you're already into the swing of things):


SETTING NEW GOALS AND REFLECTING ON THE POSITIVES

A new year is about starting fresh, a new beginning. Remind your students that no matter what happened in the past, the future is theirs to mold and create. In one exercise, I use the numbers for the year (in this instance, 2025--but it is updated yearly) for students to create short, simple goals and how they plan to achieve them. 

New Year goals


For example, the "2" stands for two things to accomplish this year. Two is a manageable number of goals for teens. Everyone should be able to come up with two things they can achieve.


The "0" is how they will "zero" in on obtaining these goals: how are they going to do it? What steps do they need to take?


The next two numbers vary based on the year. For the "2" I have students write two things they wish to improve this year/semester. This can be related to what they want to accomplish or can be completely separate.


For the final number, have students write that number of things they are looking forward to this year. I like to end it with this positive outlook for the year. 


I use this handout and have students decorate the numbers then we display them. It's always nice to celebrate when they do accomplish their goals, too. This is an easy activity that doesn't take too much time (it can even be assigned if need be) and another way for you (and their peers) to get to know each other and further build your relationships.


If you wish to go deeper into the goals, my pack of activities includes several different handouts to choose from (it also includes the digital versions in Google Slides for a paperless activity). One of the new activities is a one-pager goal-setting activity. It is an alternative to the year numbers but still incorporates some of the same things. Students can choose to focus on one goal or three in the differentiated handouts. 





ONE-WORD FOCUS

Another activity in my bundle is for students to choose one word as a focus for the new year or new semester. The purpose of the activity is to inspire growth either personally, academically, athletically, etc. (students can choose how they interpret it). Example words could be: Determination, Courage, Gratitude, Growth, Adventure, Teamwork, Focus, Strength, Resilience, and so on. 


New Year One Word


After the students choose their words, they will give the definition, synonyms for the word, a quote using the word, and the reason they chose that particular word. They can use these words to remind them from time to time to hang in there to get through the rest of the year and achieve their goals. I also include a blank template so you can customize it with your own unique prompts for your students.


CURRENTLY STATUS UPDATE

I love doing this activity from time to time throughout the year for several reasons: book recommendations, gauge students' needs and moods, learn more about what they love and what's important to them, etc. You can download this handout FREE here (it also contains a blank page that you can add your own prompts). It's such a simple, quick activity to use throughout the year as a bell-ringer or exit slip. Then you can display them for their peers to also get to know each other (and get book recs!).

Currently Free Download

COLORING PAGES & BOOKMARKS AND PUZZLES

After a long break, sometimes students just need some time to catch up with friends. Instead of just letting them talk and socialize, have them color or work on puzzles while doing so. Some may say this is brainless or busy work, but it does serve a purpose. Coloring has been proven to improve mental health in teens and adults by lowering stress, improving focus and mindfulness, and even improving brain function because it engages both of the brain's hemispheres. Teens need these opportunities in their busy lives. I have a bundle of New Year Coloring and Bookmarks and New Year Word Search Puzzles that are perfect to use this month! 


If you don't have colored pencils or markers for your classroom, Amazon has numerous packs that are relatively cheap. You can also ask your fellow teachers if any have some you can borrow for a day. This is also a great request to ask of parents or a parents club. 


BACK TO SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

Starting a new semester with a new group of students (or even the same ones) is a great time to bust out your back-to-school activities once again. Even if you use the same ones over again, you'll most likely get different responses. It's also interesting to see how students have changed from the beginning of the year. I love having them revisit some of my beginning-of-the-year activities.


It's also a good time to go over your rules and procedures once again. That's never fun, but it often needs repeating this time of year. Use some funny memes or pictures to help. Students always need refreshers, especially if you have new students who have recently joined your class.


I hope these ideas will help you ease into this new year and new semester. Have a great one, friends!


Check out these great resources from my colleagues to help you ease into the new year:

New Year's Figurative Language Worksheets & Activities by The Daring English Teacher

New Year Escape Room by The Classroom Sparrow

New Year's Close Reading Mystery Inference Activity by Presto Plans

Back to School Activities by Addie Williams

Back-to-School Getting to Know You Activities by Room 213


Thanks so much for reading!





New Year & New Semester Activities

4 Must-Teach Essay Writing Skills to Boost Student Writing

By The Daring English Teacher


If you are tired of reading “This quote shows” or scanning over quoted evidence that is five lines long in your students’ essays, I’ve got the perfect solution to help you boost your students’ writing! Teaching these four essay writing skills is essential to transform decent, formulaic writing into stand-out, exemplary writing.

These are the four must-teach essay writing skills: writing effective commentary, writing in the third person, writing in the literary present, and properly using brackets and ellipses to pare down only the essential information for cited quotes.

However, Teaching these skills all at once is much too daunting of a task. Instead, teaching these skills one at a time and providing students with dedicated time to practice each skill before moving on to the next one is more beneficial and more effective. Furthermore, students must have a basic understanding of essay and formulaic writing before teaching these skills!

All of the resources mentioned below in skills 1-4 are available in a money-saving bundle that is sure to help improve your students’ writing: Focused Essay Writing Skills Unit - Teaching 4 Focused Writing Lessons.

Essay Writing Skill 1: Effective Commentary Writing

Teaching students how to write meaningful commentary is one of the best ways to see a dramatic improvement in their writing. After years of formulaic writing instruction and practice, many high school students are stuck at and almost refuse to move beyond the standard sentence starter “This quote shows…” that they’ve learned from their elementary and early middle school years.

It is worth noting that sentence starters such as the infamous “This quote shows…” are essential and developmentally appropriate for younger students during initial essay writing instruction. However, as these students transition to eighth grade and high school, expanding beyond “This quote shows…” helps a student elevate the commentary and analysis in their writing.

The two most effective strategies for teaching students how to write effective commentary are exemplar sentences and detailed sentence frames. These strategies are included in this teaching unit: Essay Writing Skills - How to Write Commentary and Analyze Quotes in Essays.

Exemplar sentences are crucial for students to learn this skill because they’ve been writing “This quote shows…” for so long that they need to see how to write commentary differently. The use of sentence frames helps students build off what they see with the exemplar sentences by providing them with the necessary framework for writing their commentary sentences.

Here is an example. Let’s take President Roosevelt’s famous quote from his speech about Pearl Harbor.

“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

If students were to quote this in an essay, the goal is to move the commentary from “In this quote, the President states that the U.S. was attacked” to “In announcing the attack, Roosevelt makes it clear that the attack was planned ahead of time. Words like ‘suddenly’ and ‘deliberately’ show his audience that the U.S. was targeted and caught off-guard by the attack.” Do you see how powerful this difference is? The latter sentence would serve as an exemplary sentence for the students.

Here is what a sentence frame might look like:
When [author] __________, [pronoun] [strong verb] ________________________.


You can find more instruction, examples, and dedicated practice in this unit: Essay Writing Skills - How to Write Commentary and Analyze Quotes in Essays.

Essay Writing Skill 2: Writing in the Third Person

While students learn all about writing first, second, and third person during their early elementary years, there is a keen difference between being able to identify point-of-view and consistently writing in one point-of-view.

One of the best ways to quickly improve student writing is by teaching them to take themselves out of the essay. That is, stop writing in the first and second person.

Rather than having a student write, “I believe that schools should not require students to wear uniforms because uniforms restrict student expression,” the statement “Schools shouldn’t require students to wear uniforms because they limit and restrict student expression” is much stronger. One of the main reasons why the latter is a stronger statement is because it sounds more assertive and less wishy-washy. Just the phrase “I believe” detracts from the power of the student’s initial claim.

In my classroom, especially for the students who use the “I think,” or “I believe” sentence starters, I encourage them to use those phrases at first if they need to, and then delete the words afterward.


By teaching students how to write in the third person, students will gradually elevate their writing. You can teach this writing skill with this unit: Essay Writing Skills - How to Write in the Third Person. Your students will benefit from the unit’s side-by-side examples that clearly demonstrate to students why the third person is so much more powerful.


Essay Writing Skill 3: Writing in the Literary Present Tense

Once students have a solid understanding of writing effective commentary and consistently writing in the third person, another essential essay writing skill to teach them is the literary present tense.

When writing about literature, the literary present tense is the most conventional tense for academic writing. With the literary present, students wite about events and examples from literature in the present tense - as if they are currently happening.

The literary present is sometimes a difficult concept for students, especially because they already read the book, the events in the book already happened, and the characters already said that they said. The literary present tense extends beyond just works of literature too. It also applies to films, paintings, and other artistic expressions.

The best strategy for teaching students the literary present tense is exemplar sentences, and lots of them. Since writing in the literary present tense is so challenging for students, the more examples they see, the better. It is also helpful to employ the literary present tense as a teacher when discussing and reviewing literature in class. The more exposure students have to the literary present tense, the more they will begin to write with it naturally.

Rather than saying Romeo was lovesick for Rosaline at the beginning of Romeo and Juliet, say that Romeo is lovesick for Rosaline. Rather than saying Romeo met Juliet at the masquerade, explain to students that Romeo meets Juliet at the masquerade.


In this resource, Essay Writing Skills - How to Write in the Literary Present Tense, the instructional presentation explains and breaks down the literary present tens, and there are multiple examples to help students understand how valuable it is.

Essay Writing Skill 4: Using Brackets and Ellipses in Quoted Evidence

One of the final essay writing skills to teach students is to use brackets and ellipses in the evidence they cite in their writing. This skill helps improve student essays in two unique ways: the essay will grammatically fit in the essay and students will only use the most crucial part of the quote.

By teaching students how to use brackets and ellipses in the evidence they choose for their essays, it helps the quotes fit in more seamlessly while also ensuring that the cited quote doesn’t take up a quarter of the page (because we’ve all read those essays).

To teach this skill, one teaching tip is to have students identify the entire quote they wish to use, highlight the most important part of it, and then begin their sentence by paraphrasing the beginning of the quote to add context to the evidence sentence. They can also remove unneeded material from the quote by using the ellipse.

From there, have students read part of their essay with the quote embedded aloud. This will help students identify any tense errors or ambiguous parts of the quote that can be eliminated and clarified using brackets.

To help your students effectively use brackets and ellipses in their cited evidence, you might be interested in this teaching unit: Essay Writing Skills - How to Use Brackets and Ellipses in Quotes and Evidence.

More Ways to Help Your Students

If you are looking for additional teaching tools and resources for helping your students become stronger writers, I’d like to recommend my teacher professional development book “Building Strong Writers: Strategies and Scaffolds for Teaching Writing in Secondary ELA” to you! I wrote this book to help teachers with writing instruction, and I filled it with strategies and actionable activities that teachers can immediately apply to their own classroom instruction!

You can also check out a previous blog post I wrote about breaking down the writing process

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