Black History Month Activities – Elementary
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated April 07, 2024 February is almost upon us, and with that comes Black History Month! While I believe diversifying our curriculum year round is crucially important, February is…
English
Blog · English · Middle School
Christmas Activities for Middle School Students
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated Nov 29, 2024 Favorite Christmas Activities for Middle School Students Well, it is a few days past Remembrance Day (Veterans Day), which means it is officially time to…
Blog · Elementary · English
Veterans Day Activities for Elementary
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated Oct 16, 2023 October has been flying by in a wink, and I know many of you are already planning for November. Because of that, I thought I…
Blog · Bookshelf · English · Interactive Notebooks · Literature Circles · Middle School · Novel Studies
Middle School Novel Study Favorites
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated April 07, 2024 During the 20 years I spent in the ELA classroom, the middle school novel study was something that was always central to my teaching ….
Benefits of Teaching Novel Studies
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated April 08, 2024 The novel study can be the backbone of the middle school ELA curriculum. Exposure to well chosen and engaging texts is crucial to student reading…
The One and Only Ivan Novel Study Activities
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated April 08, 2024 The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate is a sweet story about friendship and freedom. The engaging story pulls on the heartstrings, and students…