Jan 07
By Traci GardnerAmerican Lit, classroom activity, ReadWriteThink
If you’re looking for some activities to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this month, read on! This post includes materials on the ReadWriteThink site that fit three categories:
- Resources specifically focused on Dr. King and texts he wrote
- Biographical activities you can use to explore Dr. King’s life and writing
- Family activities that relate to Dr. King
The materials range from mini-lessons to complete units and cross the grade levels. So read on, and celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his work.
Focused on Martin Luther King, Jr.
- In 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on this day.
Students study Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and work in groups to create a mural that depicts Dr. King’s vision of peace.
- Exploring the Power of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Words through Diamante Poetry
Students explore the ways that powerful and passionate words communicate the concepts of freedom, justice, discrimination, and the American Dream in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
- Entering History: Nikki Giovanni and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Nikki Giovanni’s poem “The Funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr.” is paired with Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, taking students on a quest through time to the Civil Rights movement.
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963.
Students explore the “I Have a Dream” Foundation’s website and brainstorm ways they can help themselves or others at their school achieve their educational dreams.
- Martin Luther King, Jr. and Me: Identifying with a Hero
This lesson provides ideas for celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by encouraging students to explore the connections between Dr. King and themselves through journaling and inquiry-based research.
- Living the Dream: 100 Acts of Kindness
This lesson provides the “action piece” for any study of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In this project, students participate in Dr. King’s dream by doing 100 acts of kindness.
- How Big Are Martin’s Big Words? Thinking Big about the Future
Inspired by the book Martin’s Big Words, students explore information on Dr. King to think about his “big” words, then they write about their own “big” words and dreams.
- Every Punctuation Mark Matters: A Minilesson on Semicolons
Students analyze stylistic choices and grammar use in authentic writing, focusing on the use of the semicolon in Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
- I Have a Dream: Exploring Nonviolence in Young Adult Texts
Students will identify how Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of nonviolent conflict-resolution is reinterpreted in modern texts. Homework is differentiated to prompt discussion on how nonviolence is portrayed through characterization and conflict. Students will be formally assessed on a thesis essay that addresses the Six Kingian Principles of Nonviolence.
Biographical Lesson Plans
Family Activities
- Amazing Biographies: Writing About People Who Change the World
After reading about historical figures and other important people that have changed the world, children choose someone that they consider to be “amazing”—either someone they’ve heard about or someone they know—and create a book page that highlights this person.
- Think Peace
Podcaster Emily Manning shares books that serve as a springboard to discuss how children and adults alike can use peaceful, nonviolent methods to affect change in society. This is episode 21 of Chatting About Books: Recommendations for Young Readers, a Podcast for Grades K–5.
- Celebrate Heroes
Encourage children to spend a little time thinking and writing about just what makes a hero and who their personal heroes might be.
- Dr. King Bio Cubes
Families and children can gather or summarize information about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with the Bio Cube interactive.
- Create Poetry with the Word Mover App
Use the word bank from Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and create found poetry.
If you want even more resources, check out the Martin Luther King, Jr. collection from Thinkfinity.
[Photo: MLK Memorial by alvesfamily, on Flickr]
Mar 31
By Traci GardnerLiterature, poetry, ReadWriteThink acrostic, diamante, found poem, free verse, haiku, headline poem, parallel poem, parody, sonnet, two-voice poetry
April is National Poetry Month, sponsored by Academy of American Poets and other poetry organizations. Last year, we posted thirty poetry activities, one for each day of the month of April—and the good news is that we’ve got an updated poem-a-day activity for you this year too!
Each day has a link to a different kind of poetry writing, either a specific poetic form, like sonnets or acrostics, or poetry focused on a particular topic, like seasonal haiku or color poems. The materials range in grade levels, but can usually be adapted for any age (even college students).
So here’s the challenge for you and students: I found a different poem for every day of the month. How many different poems can you write? And remember that even if you don’t have time in class to write a poem each day, these poetry activities will work any day of the year!
Cross-posted to the NCTE Community ReadWriteThink.org Group and the Reading and Language Arts Group on the Thinkfinity Community.
[Photo: Magnetic Fridge Poetry by Minimalist Photography, on Flickr]
Nov 28
By Traci GardnerBedford Bits, composition, Literature
Catch up on your reading with this round-up of posts from last week on teaching composition and rhetoric from Bedford Bits, on teaching English language arts at the secondary level in High School Bits, and on teaching literature and creative writing from Bedford Lit Bits.
A Few Extra Links
For regular updates from Bedford Bits, be sure to sign up for the Ink’d In newsletter (and other resources), like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Nov 21
By Traci GardnerBedford Bits, composition, Literature, research
Catch up on your reading with this round-up of posts from last week on teaching composition and rhetoric from Bedford Bits, on teaching English language arts at the secondary level in High School Bits, and on teaching literature and creative writing from Bedford Lit Bits.
A Few Extra Links
For regular updates from Bedford Bits, be sure to sign up for the Ink’d In newsletter (and other resources), like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Cross-posted as a Note on Bedford/St. Martin’s page on Facebook.
Nov 06
By Traci GardnerBedford Bits, composition, Literature
Here’s the round-up of posts from last week on teaching composition and rhetoric from Bedford Bits, on teaching English language arts at the secondary level in High School Bits, and on teaching literature and creative writing from Bedford Lit Bits. I hope you find something you can use in the classroom or your research!
A Few Extra Links
For regular updates from Bedford Bits, be sure to sign up for the Ink’d In newsletter (and other resources), like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Cross-posted as a
Note on Bedford/St. Martin’s page on Facebook.
Jul 31
By Traci GardnerBedford Bits, composition, Literature Bulwer-Lytton
One day, Edward George Bulwer-Lytton sat down and wrote what have become one of the most infamous opening lines of his novel Paul Clifford (1830): “It was a dark and stormy night.”
Bulwer-Lytton wrote other memorable lines. He penned “the pen is mightier than the sword” too, but chances are that if you know his name, it’s because of “It was a dark and stormy night.” Part of that sentence’s familiarity is thanks to Snoopy, who works so hard on that first sentence of his novels. If you’ve never quite understood the problem with that sentence, it’s likely that you’ve never read the full thing:
It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.
Quite the sentence, isn’t it? Since 1983, the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest has honored that epic sentence with a competition to write an equally spectacular sentence. This year’s winner, Sue Fondrie, teaches at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. The Guardian has more details, including the award-winning sentence which compares memories to wind turbines and sparrows and a groaner of a winner from the Fantasy category.
This post is the introduction from the Bits Flashback for July 31. Read the rest of the post on Facebook.
[Photo: Stormy night by Andrew J. Sutherland, on Flickr]
Jun 26
By Traci GardnerBedford Bits, classroom activity, composition, Literature assignments, food writing
Alyssa Rosenberg wrote about Food in Fiction and How Cooking Brings You Closer to Characters this week in The Atlantic. The article asks readers to think about how cooking and eating the same foods as fictional characters strengthens the connection between reader and the text.
Rosenberg describes some lemon cakes she made as a connection to Sansa, a character the books by George R.R. Martin that are the basis of HBO’s Game of Throne:
The cakes weren’t anything like I’d imagined from reading about them in the book—they were spongier and less sweet, and hard to imagine as a dreamed-of delicacy. But they were delicious, a powerful visceral connection to the people on screen and the world in which they live.
Such connections between reader and text reminded me of the potential writing about food has in the composition classroom. Jay Dolmage has written two entries this year that include assignments and discussion ideas. Take a look back at Writing About Food and Food Rules for ways you can connect with students just as Rosenberg connects with those fictional characters.
This post is the introduction from the Bits Flashback for June 26. Read the rest of the post on Facebook.
[Photo: Lemon Cake by Charles Haynes, on Flickr]
Mar 31
By Traci Gardnerpoetry, ReadWriteThink poetry
April is National Poetry Month, sponsored by Academy of American Poets and other poetry organizations. ReadWriteThink includes links to poetry lesson plans, websites, and classroom activities on the calendar entry for April 1.
I wondered, however, if we had enough resources on the site to write a different kind of poetry every day. I began with student interactives and then hit the site’s search engine to come up with the list below.
Each day has a link to a different kind of poetry writing, either a specific poetic form, like sonnets or acrostics, or poetry focused on a particular topic, like seasonal haiku or color poems. The materials range in grade levels, but could usually be adapted for any age (even college students).
So here’s the challenge for you and students: I found a different poem for every day of the month. How many different poems can you write?
Cross-posted to the NCTE Community ReadWriteThink.org Group and the Reading and Language Arts Group on the Thinkfinity Community.
[Photo: Magnetic Fridge Poetry by Minimalist Photography, on Flickr]
Feb 02
By Traci GardnerAmerican Lit, classroom activity, composition, Literature, NCTE Inbox, Photos african-american, black history, oral history, photographs, slave narratives
I gathered a list of links for Black History Month for the NCTE Inbox Blog in 2010. Lots of new resources have come online in the last year, so I’ve updated the collection with the most recent and best K12 and College resources for for African American Read-Ins and Black History Month celebrations.
As I wrote last year, click away, read, and marvel at these rich resources. There’s enough that you can visit a new site every day this month!
General Background Information
- African American History Month, from The Library of Congress
- Black History, from The History Channel
- Black History, from the National Archive
- Black History Month, from Biography.com
- Black History Month, from EDSITEment
- Black History Month, from Thinkfinity
- Culture and Change: Black History in America, from Scholastic
- The State of Black Studies: Methodology, Pedagogy and Research, from the Schomburg Center at the New York Public Library
Literature
- A Brief Chronology of African American Literature, from San Antonio College Lit Web
- African American Poets, from Famous Poets and Poems
- African American Women Writers of the 19th Century, from The Schomburg Center at the New York Public Library
- African-American Women, from Duke University Library
- Black History, from Academy of American Poets
- Twenty-Eight Days Later, A Black History Month Celebration of Children’s Literature, from The Brown Bookshelf
- Black History Month, from Reading Rockets
Historical and Nonfiction Texts
- African-American Odyssey, from The Library of Congress
- African-American Quotations, from InfoPlease
- African-American Sheet Music, 1850-1920, from the Library of Congress
- African American Cultural Heritage Tour, from the Smithsonian Institute
- Africana & Black History, from the New York Public Library
- American Slave Narratives: An Online Anthology, from American Studies Hypertexts at the University of Virginia
- The Church in the Southern Black Community, from Documenting the American South
- Electronic Text Center: African American, from the University of Virginia (Includes texts about African Americans as well as by African Americans)
- In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience, from the Schomburg Center at the New York Public Library
- In Those Days: African-American Life Near the Savannah River, from the National Park Service
- North American Slave Narratives, from Documenting the American South
- Notable Speeches and Letters by African Americans, from InfoPlease
Personal Histories
- Experience War: Stories from the Veterans History Project, from the Library of Congress
- Oral Histories, from the National Visionary Leadership Project
- StoryCorps Griot, from National Museum of African American History and Culture
Photographs and Other Visual Images
- The Civil Rights Era in the U.S. News & World Report Photographs Collection, from The Library of Congress
- The Face of Slavery & Other African American Photographs, from The American Museum of Photography
- Images of African Americans from the 19th Century, from the Schomburg Center at the New York Public Library
- Jackson Davis Collection of African American Educational Photographs, from the University of Virginia Library
- Pictures of African Americans During World War II, from the National Archive
- Photographs of Signs Enforcing Racial Discrimination: Documentation by Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information Photographers, from The Library of Congress
- Portrait of Black Chicago, from the National Archive
- Through the Lens of Time: Images of African Americans from the Cook Collection, from VCU Libraries
[Photo: Virginia Civil Rights Memorial by john.murden, on Flickr]
Dec 31
By Traci Gardnerclassroom activity, community building, List of Ten, Literature, My Writing
It’s that time of year when we take a few minutes to look back and reflect. I asked Google Analytics to do some of the work for me, and it came up with these blog entries, written in 2010, which received the most traffic during the year.
- 6 News Stories to Connect to Orwell’s 1984
Big brother really is watching you and the students you teach. These news stories (check the comments for additional links) talk about how schools and communities are using big brother tactics to track what you do.
- Top 10 Things to Do with a Banned Text
This List of Ten shares ways that students can think critically about censorship, focusing primarily on argument and persuasion.
- Text + Image = Tagxedo: The Next Generation of Word Cloud Fun
Word cloud-driven analysis (like Wordle) is ready to move to the next level with Tagxedo, which shapes your cloud of words into an image.
- List of Ten: Fun with Crayons
This collection of assignment prompts focuses on crayons, everything from color names to childhood memories.
- 38 Ways to Write about Writing
A collection of links to 38 ways that students can reflect on the writing they are doing, the strategies they use, and the different experiences they have had as writers.
- What’s the Trick to Building Community in the Classroom?
Online or off, getting students to talk to each other is a tricky task. These three lessons about building community in the business world, make a lot of sense in the classroom too.
- 6 Reasons Blogrolls Are Dying
When I tried to update a comp/rhet blogroll list, I found that blogrolls seem to be a dying breed.
- Thanksgiving Classroom Discussion: The Meaning of Thanksgiving
It turns out Mark Twain was a bit harsh about Thanksgiving, according to an excerpt from his newly-published autobiography. Turn the short passage into a classroom discussion of culture and commercialism.
- Turning Blog Posts Into a Book Draft
Thanks to NaNoWriMo and Literature & Latte’s Scrivener, I turned a variety of notes and blog posts into a very rough and informal book draft of 52,967 words!
- Literary Lists of “Ten Best”
This round-up features unusual literary lists (like 10 best tattoos or 10 best pairs of glasses in literature) from an ongoing series published in the UK newspaper The Guardian. See the comments for links to more.
So that’s 2010. I was surprised by the popularity of the Orwell post. I just happened upon several stories and threw them into the post. Lots of teachers seem to come to it however, and it was even linked in October from the New York Times Learning Blog. Who knew I’d ever get a shoutout from the New York Times? Not bad, as I look back at my personal blog writing. Not bad at all.
[Image: HP Winter Summit 2010 by negotiable_me, on Flickr]
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Hi, I’m Traci Gardner, known in most circles as Tengrrl. I’ve been exploring and writing about the best ways to teach composition using digital technology for over 20 years. You may have come here because you’re looking for my 
