I find so many resources on the internet that every so often, I try to return the favour by sharing a little in terms of resources and activities that have worked for me in class. Often, prepping for a lesson can be quite overwhelming, especially if you’re like me and like to have something planned for every minute of your lesson, plus a few extra activities just in case! In no particular order, here are a few things that have worked for me at my book clubs and writing workshops in the last few months.
Free Verse
I love teaching free verse! I’ve used all kinds of mentor texts in the past, including “Hope is the thing with feathers” by Emily Dickinson, which isn’t in free verse at all, but still works, as you can see below.
Both these poems are in issue 1 of WORDS, the e-magazine we create at my writing programme!
However, since I have children signing up for my writing programmes time and time again (Samanvitha is in my current batch too, for instance), I cannot reuse the same mentor texts and activities. And that is why stumbling upon a gem like In the Land of Milk and Honey was perfect!
We used this picture book in free verse to write poems of our own about places we know well. The text is perfect to explore imagery of all kinds, visual and non-visual. Additionally, the way in which Joyce Carol Thomas uses literary devices like metaphors, similes and personification makes In the Land of Milk and Honey a brilliant text to use in class!
World Book Day Celebrations
I had three online sessions on World Book Day this year, and we did three different things with three different age groups!
With the youngest ones – ages seven and eight – we did a book scavenger hunt. This is always fun, but I’ve learnt through experience that I must give the children some time at the end of the hunt, before I continue with class, to put books back where they belong!
With the older ones, we did two versions of recreating a book cover. For ages nine and ten, we played with virtual backgrounds and imitated book covers. For the older ones, we tried to complete book covers by putting a book that has half a face in front of our own face. It was all fun!
Fact Versus Opinion
When I teach nonfiction, we work a lot with fact and opinion. Often, opinions are more interesting than facts! Also, in the age of the internet, when you are sharing information about something that everyone has already heard of, what are you doing that is new? I can find out about monuments and birds by searching online. I’m interested to know what you think or feel about a topic!
And that is why when we read The Misadventures of a Lightning Thief, I asked the children to tell me about famous monuments, but more–about why they enjoyed visiting these places.
All the above images are via Wikimedia Commons
CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>: Big Ben – Diliff; Chariot of Hampi – Apadegal; Gol Gumbaz – Meesanjay
CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>: Qutb Minar – Sfu; Amer Fort – A.Savin; Pancha Rathas – Vinayaraj; Gateway of India – SriSriChinmaya; Rani ki vav – Rupeshsarkar
This was a great activity, especially as we linked it to a creative writing exercise once we’d finished reading the book!
There’s so much more that has worked for me in the past, and I hope to continue sharing ideas and resources. In the meantime, if you’re looking for more activities, take a look at my extensive bookish activities. Although they’re book-specific, a lot of activities can be paired with other books too! Also, taking a look at the Resources category on my blog could help. Here’s one last image to end my post – a tower of books that I’ve read at my book club so far!
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