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By MARISSA DESPINS Updated Feb 9, 2024 If you have read my previous post all about The One and Only Ivan, you already know how much I love this beautiful novel. I…
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…
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…
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated Nov 22, 2023 Wonder Novel Study Activities for Upper Elementary The message behind R.J Palacio’s novel Wonder is all about choosing kindness – an essential and important concept…
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated Nov 28, 2023 The Dystopian genre has long been a favorite with my middle school learners. The overarching themes of survival, governmental control, and loss of individual freedoms…
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated March 8, 2024 As I mentioned in my last post, Dystopian fiction is an absolute favorite genre for my middle school learners. It can be a real challenge…