Teaching Theme with An Outsiders Novel Study
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated April 04, 2024 Outsiders Novel Study: Teaching Theme Understanding a novel’s theme can be a complex task. In order to grasp the theme of a story, students must…
Middle School
Blog · Elementary · English · Middle School
Questioning strategies for reading comprehension
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated April 11, 2024 As teachers, we know the importance of reading comprehension strategies. They are incredibly crucial to student success. Even so, with all of the content we…
Blog · Elementary · English · Interactive Notebooks · Interactive Notebooks · Interactive Notebooks · Literature Circles · Middle School · Novel Studies · Novel Studies
Holes Novel Study Activities for Upper Elementary
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated Dec 14, 2023 Holes Novel Study Activities Louis Sachar’s Holes is one of my very favorite upper elementary novels to teach. Strong character development, a fast-paced plot, and…
Blog · Elementary · English · Interactive Notebooks · Interactive Notebooks · Interactive Notebooks · Middle School · Novel Studies · Novel Studies
Hatchet Novel Study Activities -Character Analysis
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated Feb 21, 2024 If had to choose, I would award Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet the prize for the best book to hook reluctant readers. It is a story of…
Blog · Elementary · English · Middle School
Visualization Strategies for Reading Comprehension
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated Nov 28, 2023 In the ELA classroom, helping students to engage with and make meaning from text is an ongoing process. Through explicitly teaching reading comprehension strategies, we…
Blog · Elementary · English · Interactive Notebooks · Interactive Notebooks · Interactive Notebooks · Middle School · Short Stories
Building Reading Comprehension Strategies
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated Nov 18, 2023 Using reading comprehension strategies in upper elementary and middle school When it comes to ELA instruction, teaching students to apply reading comprehension strategies is crucially…