literature ideas Archives - Faulkner's Fast Five

End-of-Year Reflection: Top Five Classroom Success Stories of 2019

One of the most important things we can do as teachers is reflect, and so that’s why I love this annual blog post. It’s been my new year tradition for the past several years (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018), and choosing only five memorable teaching moments is always so hard, but here goes: My top five classroom success stories of 2019!

This year in review…

Teaching Gatsby for the first time in forever and writing the unit plan for it. A little bit Disney Frozen on the brain here, but it works. In the past, I had taught The Great Gatsby mainly in parts or just as a movie-viewing experience. So this time around when I was able to teach the novel as a whole to my group of junior honors, I was very excited to unpack everything it has to offer. Most students love the idea of the 1920s and the mystery of Gatsby, so I just played off of that enthusiasm. I started the unit with problem-solving questions and station rotations that introduced the time period and the novel. Once we began reading, I loved having students track the colors, do guided close reading exercises, and analyze the characters. We closed with a “My American Dream” project, and it was really incredible to see what students aspire to become. I was very pleased with the way the unit turned out. Check out my complete unit, my movie-viewing guide, and my escape game here.

Island challenges for Lord of the Flies. I cannot even begin to tell you how much fun teaching The Lord of the Flies was after I decided to create the challenges. I had wanted to do something like this for a while with Flies, but never got up my nerve. Finally, I just dove in and did it. I am SO glad I did. Read more about all the challenges on this post. Get my entire unit plan here.

Vacation Bible School. It seems like VBS makes my greatest hits list every year, and that is fine with me. I enjoy the themes, the decorating, projects, crafts, and energy created by a week of studying the Word with kids. This year’s theme was The Incredible RACE. We traveled all around the world learning about different cultures and God’s love for us. We decorated our hallways like an airport and our classrooms like the inside of an airplane and the country we traveled to each night. What an awesome trip!

First Chapter Fridays. As soon as I saw this idea from my friend Lauralee over at The Language Arts Classroom, I knew I had to work it in somehow. Each Friday, I would start class with one chapter, or a piece of a chapter, from a book that I thought my students would be interested in. I related the books to holidays as well. See all the books I shared over on my Instagram, and I also took it up a notch by including pictures of our weekly destinations because my classroom library theme is “Books are an Adventure.” See the video of me explaining my weekly process here, my classroom library set up here, and get my classroom library materials free here.

Christmas Nativity bible escape games with the younger students. If you’ve been reading my blog for very long, you know how much I love escape games for the classroom. I create them every chance I get, and my high school students love them. This year, I was working with the PreK-4th grade students on Wednesday nights at church, and we were planning to study Paul’s escape from prison. I was in charge of the activity rotation, so of course, I thought – escape game! Since it was December, it only made perfect sense to do an escape game for the Christmas Nativity story. I ended up creating two games: one for the PreK-K level and one for the 1st-4th grade level. It was completely worth it. I always enjoy it when my high school students are playing, but I can’t even tell you how much fun it was playing the break out games with my “littles.” None of them had ever played one before, but they figured it out quickly and ran with it. Grab these two games here.

I would love to hear about your greatest teaching moments and classroom success stories this year. Share below!

Love this content? Join a group! There are already tons of ideas, freebies, and fabulous teachers in my new groups, and joining is simple. Just click over to the following links, answer a few questions, and voila! Thanks again for following along my classroom stories and small-business journey, and I really do hope you to see you over in my new “backyards” where we can chat and share all things English and Yearbook.

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What Not to Miss When Teaching Fahrenheit 451

There is so much to teach and learn when reading Ray Bradbury’s magnum opus: Fahrenheit 451. I’m compiling this list of not-to-miss points when teaching Fahrenheit 451 after having taught it for years and years, but also with the disclaimer that every time I teach it, I see something new. However, these five aspects of the book surface each time through as the topics that spark the most learning and enjoyment.

1. The Language & Allusions: I suppose this wouldn’t be a proper English-teacher approved blog post, if I didn’t include the beautiful word choice, figurative language, and carefully chosen allusions throughout. One criticism or challenge students might face with this novel is Bradbury’s “overuse” of figurative language; it can often be difficult for readers to wade through. Thus, I provide students with a list of the figurative language from each section, and they identify what type of figurative language that is used. Sometimes students do that alone for a grade or in the form of my beautiful Fahrenheit 451 coloring sheets. Other times, we do it as a game in groups: I set a timer and they identify as many as they can before the timer goes off. (Use a song about fire as a timer for thematic fun!). Even though identifying the types of figurative language is not an “application” level task, it teaches students to notice the language as they read. In turn, that creates reading with a more critical eye and allows them to see patterns, themes, symbols, and more – which is a higher level skill. In this book, that is really important as Bradbury uses the figurative language to illuminate major themes and concepts such as in the way he describes the book pages as feathers early in the novel, which connects to the Phoenix allusion later on, for example. The allusions in the novel also add layers of meaning. Of all the books and mythology mentioned, Bradbury chose each one carefully, I believe. In my Complete Unit Guide for Fahrenheit 451, I provided tools for figurative language and allusions.

2. The Predictions: In the early 1950s when Fahrenheit 451 was published, it was considered a science-fiction novel, and it typically still is considered as such. Bradbury stated in interviews that his primary motivation for writing Fahrenheit 451 was concern for “how television destroys interest in reading literature.” With that fear as the guiding conflict, he traced the implications of too much television on a society… but not just television. I picture him wondering “Where could this talking box take us? and What else could possibly be invented?” What we got was the picture of a dystopian society that is frighteningly all too familiar to us less than 100 years from then. These “predictions” of technological advancements and the state of humanity ultimately serve as warnings to our culture and our students’ generation. That’s not to be missed. In fact, it’s so important to me that I close my unit by having students investigate those predictions (earbuds, robot dogs, smart homes, etc.) to determine if they are really predictions or not. That short research project is included in my Complete Literature Guide for teaching Fahrenheit 451. By completing the project students note how the “predictions” really do come true and that they weren’t really all that far-fetched to begin with. We discuss, then, how that allows us to truly connect with the text, and it really does become the mirror that Bradbury intended.

3. The Motif of Fire: I am a fan of tracking while reading novels. Just ask my students — insert eye roll from them here. But now, every time we start a new text, they ask me “What are we tracking this time?” Truthfully, even though they may not enjoy the discipline of the tracking process, they do enjoy seeing how a motif, symbol, or character can be developed throughout the course of the novel. It keeps them tied to the novel in a meaningful way and keeps them alert while reading. I also like that it teaches the practice of annotation and since it’s so specific, it’s perfect for struggling readers. Advanced readers also excel with this type of practice because they begin to see the connections quickly. With Fahrenheit 451, we track the motif of fire, flames, burn, burning, heat, sparks, and the like. It may seem “typical” or “obvious” to track fire, but Bradbury is both implicit and explicit in his use of this motif, and I want my students to pick up what he is putting down. Throughout the course of the novel, students begin to see how the use of fire changes from something destructive in nature to an entity that provides warmth and new beginnings. Through tracking, students will also be able to see how each of the sections in the book end in fire, and in that, they’ll really begin to appreciate the writer’s craft. I also have students note Bradbury’s choice of section titles as part of this exercise. A fire tracker along with prompts about fire are included in my Complete Literature Guide for teaching Fahrenheit 451, or just have students grab a sheet of paper and make a list as they read.

4. The Themes of Emptiness and Happiness: A case could certainly be made for many more themes than just emptiness and happiness, but I think these two concepts bookend the novel. As a pre-reading exercise, I have students write in response to a quick journal prompt: The word empty is mentioned forty-three times in the text of the novel. It is safe to say that Bradbury intended this emptiness to be a theme throughout the text. So, how do we get to this place? How do we get so empty? Write about a time when you felt empty. What filled your bucket back up? Students make text-to-self connections right away as well as tuning into this theme right away and what causes this internal conflict in the characters. About half way through the novel, I have students do another prompt on happiness: When Montag first met Clarisse McClellan she asked Montag is he happy. Now that you’ve seen the plot and conflict develop, is it happiness that Montag needs or something else? Explain. (This prompt and others are included in my Complete Literature Guide for teaching Fahrenheit 451.) Despite the heavy warnings fused throughout the text, I don’t think Bradbury wanted to write a tragedy; I believe he wanted to show the causes and effects of darkness in order to inspire the light. It was Faber who gave us the recipe for happiness: choose quality books and take time to actually read them.

5. Censorship: I can’t imagine a world where people don’t want books, but I don’t live under a rock, either. As an English teacher, I regularly face resistance to reading from my students, and I see them moving further and further away from choosing to read. Books introduce ideas; they enable to us to travel to new places and meet new people; they give us education; they move us; they make us think; they make us look more closely at ourselves, which is what I think this book does so well. Bradbury’s gift was being able to look at the world around him and wonder… “what if?” and “why?” Ultimately, controlling books through censorship removes a sense of wonder from the world, and if nothing else, I want students to walk away from a unit on Fahrenheit thinking critically and knowing it’s ok – and encouraged – to wonder. After all, “There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house.” I love doing my banned book project around Banned Book Week that asks students to research why certain books have been banned throughout history. This project is included in my Complete Literature Guide for teaching Fahrenheit 451.

There’s so much within the pages of this beautiful novel that it was really hard to narrow it down. One important thing to remember, though, when planning a novel unit is to ask yourself “Why?” What really do you want to accomplish with the novel, and go from there. It’s easy to want to include it all, but that is only frustrating for you and your students. While it was Bradbury that said, “Quantity produces quality,” it isn’t necessary to cover all the things with everything you read, it’s just necessary to cover everything with all the things you read. So, read all the things. 🙂

Title Photo by Fred Kearney on Unsplash

Lord of the Flies Island Challenges for Each Chapter

Each time I teach a novel, I try something different. I love teaching Lord of the Flies, and this past year I decided to give island challenges a try. Let me tell you… best decision I made for teaching this novel! I taught the novel out of class and hosted book clubs each Friday. (See more about my book clubs here.) Fridays, then, were when we did our challenges, discussions, and quizzes. I’m so excited to be sharing these chapter-by-chapter island challenges with you. I worked really hard to find or design challenges that would connect either with the theme or conflict of the chapters, so they wouldn’t just be “random” fun things to do. I really wanted the challenges to be both meaningful and fun. They are also a blend of mental and physical challenges, which we found to be perfect for a mixture of winners due to so many different abilities in the class. Because there are 12 chapters in Lord of the Flies, I’ll be breaking my traditional “Fast Five” format to share them all with you. Excited yet? Ready to get lost on an island adventure? Come and get your feet wet and your toes in the sand!

Pre-Challenge: Have your students get in groups. These will be their island factions for the rest of the reading. I let them pick, but I was teaching this novel to older students with specific friends groups, and I liked letting them work with people with whom they felt comfortable. Plus, it added to the tension in competitions among groups. No group was more than 4 students. Then, they picked a name for their group, a symbol, and a motto. On the first day of the unit before I even handed out books, we did this and they made their group “flags” or posters. I hung these “flags” on the board, and this is where I would put their stars when they won challenges. I usually had a first and second place, but everyone always had to finish the challenges.

Also on this first day, we did a pre-reading challenge, which is a survivor game that comes in my Lord of the Flies Teaching Unit.

Chapter 1 Island Challenge: Frequently Confused Words Maze

I absolutely loved this interactive maze challenge. The boys in the novel go out searching the island in the first chapter, and the creepy vines only add to their confusion and fright in trying to find their way around, so having my own students participate in a maze made perfect sense. I found this activity from EoLA Ruth, and it’s brilliant. In this commonly confused words maze, students are challenged to find the answers to the worksheet by searching around the room (and in the hallway) for the hidden clues. EoLA Ruth has everything done; it really was print and go, and it challenged even my older students. Get it here.

Chapter 2 Island Challenge: Build a 3D Map of the Island

For this challenge, students had to use textual evidence to build a 3D map of the island. By this chapter, the boys on the island have begun to figure their way around a little better, and Golding has given us some very specific descriptions. I set a timer and awarded first place to the group who finished their map first and correct. This 3D map activity is no prep, and it’s included in my Lord of the Flies complete teaching unit.

Chapter 3 Island Challenge: Building a Hut STEM Challenge

To coincide with the boys’ island experience, I challenged my students with a fun STEM-oriented tent-building activity. Everyone received the same supplies: a plate, piece of construction paper cut in half, 4 tooth picks, four straws, one fruit roll up, 6 mini pretzel sticks, a long piece of plain tape, and I used jelly beans as people. I don’t think I’d do people again. The three categories were Most Aesthetic, Most Functional, Most Creative/Thoughtful Intent. The tents had to fit on the plate and be only one tent. I had a few other teachers come in and judge.

Chapter 4 Island Challenge: Figurative Language Throw-down

I used the figurative language worksheets in my Lord of the Flies teaching pack for this challenge and had kids race against the clock and each other to get the most correct. You can’t miss Golding’s beautiful use of language, and this was a good, quick challenge.

Chapter 5/6 Island Challenge: Building a Parachute STEM Challenge

This chapter introduces the fallen parachute soldier, so I went with another STEM challenge. For this activity, students had to use certain supplies and build a parachute that would float the longest. If I do it again, I’ll also add a prize for one that goes the farthest. Supplies: plastic bag, piece of felt, piece of aluminum foil, pieces of string, a long piece of tape, and a unicorn that had to be secured to it. We went to the bleachers to drop them off, and I can’t even tell you how much fun this was!

Chapter 7 Island Challenge: Worm Dig

By this point the novel, things are getting messy… nasty and dirty are taking over – the island is transforming and so are the boys. For this challenge, I bought extra large cups of chocolate pudding and sour gummy worms. I ran it kinda like a minute-to-win-it came. One student per group volunteered, and without any hands, they had to remove all the worms from the “dirt.” They also had to clean up the worms, so no dumping out the bowl and winning. The group with the most – and cleanest – worms out in a minute won.

Chapter 8/9 Island Challenge: Pin the Tail on the Piggy

At the climax of the novel, it was only fitting for students to experience a pig hunt, of course! So, I went classic with this one, and we played pin the tail on the piggy. Each group got one tail, one minute, and one try to get the tail as close to the marked spot as possible. I had one person per group and each person went one at a time, and their group could help, but other groups were yelling out to make chaos. Oh, and we did create hurdles for them to tackle as they crossed the room. It couldn’t be too easy, right? We did have a tie, sort of, so I had those groups go all at once for the win. Let me just say, they did battle it out.

Chapter 10 Island Challenge: Quiz Scores

During each book club, we would also take a quick quiz, and I used an average of the groups’ scores. Quizzes can be found in my Lord of the Flies teaching unit.

Chapter 11 Island Challenge: Theme/Quote Sort

This challenge is again geared toward testing the students’ understanding of the content of the novel now that we’ve almost made it through to the end. For this challenge, I chose to use my theme and quote sorting activity. They raced against the clock and each other to get the most card matched correctly. Each group got one set of cards. They can be found in my Lord of the Flies teaching unit.

Chapter 12 Island Challenge: Escape Game

What’s an island survival novel without an “escape off the island” game? I wanted so badly to create a quick mini escape game of my own, but time was running thin. So, luckily I found an awesome digital game from English Bulldog that worked very well. I hadn’t ever used a digital escape game before, but I was really impressed with the clues and content. My students enjoyed it, and it was the perfect way to end the island challenges.

For each set of three chapters, I did prizes (extra points) for the people in that group. I used different colored stars to track the wins. Then, I did an overall winner at the end, and they got a more festive prize. I really enjoyed creating and conducting the island challenges, and my students enjoyed participating. I think the videos and pictures show that, but when one of my class-clown athletes said, “What do you have for us today? You’ve really made me be excited to come to class,” it took my breath. It was a lot of work, but if a few little games can get kids wanting to read and come to class, I’ll do it every day, all day. #worthit

Grab my full complete Lord of the Flies teaching unit!

Written 6/2019

Solar Eclipse 2017 Lesson Ideas for Secondary English

The 2017 Solar Eclipse is coming and my county is in one of the paths were a great amount of totality will be experienced. It’s such a big deal that we’ve called off school that day for several reasons, but we are required to teach a lesson on the event before August 21, 2017. I’ve researched and glanced briefly online, but most lesson ideas that come up are either for math or science, or they are not for middle or high school level. We secondary English teachers don’t want to let the elementary teachers or science and math teachers have all the fun with the 2017 solar event of a lifetime; we “totally” want to join in with the fun, too! Therefore, I’ve brainstormed five ideas that I think are perfect to shed some “light” on the topic in your secondary English class.

1) Reading Informational Text: Find some articles that explain what happens during an eclipse. I used this article @ http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/gem-projects/hm/0304-1-08-eclipse/Types%20of%20Solar%20Eclipse.htm for the lesson I did with my dual enrollment seniors. I had them read the article and annotate. Then, in groups, they had to make a poster displaying that information. There were many skills that I was able to cover in this lesson including reading complex informational (scientific texts which scores points for ACT science); summarizing; classifying information; speaking & listening; art. Before conducting the lesson, review close reading strategies with my Close Reading and Annotating Teaching Pack.

2) Traditional Writing: Students don’t usually get “starry-eyed” about writing, but when the topics are as cool as a once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse event, even the most reluctant writers will “shine.”

Narrative Prompt – Tell a story of what happens if the moon didn’t move out from in front of the sun, and it stayed dark forever. Teach younger students to use descriptive language when writing narratives using my interactive “Show. Don’t Tell.” sorting game.

Explanatory Prompt – Compare and contrast the different types of solar eclipses. (This would be a perfect follow up to the informational text reading activity above.)

Explanatory Prompt – Write to explain what causes a total solar eclipse to occur.

Argumentative Prompt – Your school is considering closing for Solar Eclipse Day, but some of the school board members disagree. Write to persuade them to let you have the day off. If your students need extra practice or an introduction to counterclaims, my Claims and Counterclaims Teaching Pack is sure to brighten their arguments.

3) Songs/Poetry: Students love the opportunity to listen to songs in class, and I don’t mind when we can study them as poetry. Take a look at Pink Floyd’s “Eclipse” or Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of My Heart.” These two songs in particular are rich with figurative language and a particularly appropriate dark tone. Grab my poetry analysis bundle with a variety of tools including poetry worksheets, poetry analysis task cards that are perfect for stations, and vocabulary review games. You’ll be all set to guide your students through a celestial poetry analysis.

4) Reading Science Fiction: Ray Bradbury is the first author who comes to mind when science fiction is mentioned. He expertly explored and explicated his imagination of the future and even life outside of earth in relation to and as a reflection of our own humanity. I’ll be reading his “All Summer in a Day” with my juniors for our eclipse lesson. While the characters in the story actually are waiting to see the sun, and we will be waiting to do the opposite on August 21, 2017, Margot, the main character, is literally in the dark and misses the experience entirely because of her antagonistic classmates. See my easy prep, ready-to-go lesson with other paired texts and a complete sun-themed unit. I think this lesson would also work well with younger students, too. If you are looking for a science fiction text for more advanced students, check out Isaac Asimov’s “Nightfall.” Pair it with my literary analysis task cards, and your students won’t be in the dark for long.

5) Creative Writing: Many cities across the country are planning events and celebrations to host viewing parties for the Great American Solar Eclipse. Have your students use propaganda techniques and figurative language to create posters advertising a real – or imagined – viewing party in your neck of the woods. Sneak in a little review of the types of propaganda with my complete teaching pack.

Check out NASA’s website and my own county’s website for more information! #headingtothedarkside

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5 Ways to Keep Students Tuned-In at the End-of-the-Year

It’s getting to be that time of year when things get a little crazy – a little sideways. Students – and teachers – are starting to tune out! So hopefully, these ideas will make these end-of-year days less stressful, and more fun. Plus, these 5 ways to keep students tuned-in at the end-of-the-year are all student-centered and standards-based, so the kiddos stay engaged, and your job is easy. Join me for a fun recap of 5 ways to keep students tuned-in this time of year. Perfect for any secondary education classroom.

1) Make It Real

When the CCSS started to roll out and there was so much emphasis placed on nonfiction, I’ll be honest – like many other “old English teachers” – I was nervous about giving up so much class time to those texts over my beloved classic fiction texts. Now, I love finding nonfiction texts that stand alone and/or that pair with my fiction. And, honestly, the kids LOVE it when they know it’s real. Students really “tune-in” with nonfiction because sometimes it’s so hard to believe that it is actually real! Sometimes I have them go searching on their own for real information – like in my mini research project on banned books in my Fahrenheit unit. Or other times, I’ll pair the info for them and have them dig into the material in class like in my lesson on the LeRoy HS outbreak after we read Act 1 of The Crucible. Also, take a look at several bundles of hot topics informational text lessons I have ready-to-go. Whether you teach English or not, finding ways to bring in the “real-world” aspect of your subject matter really gives your topic purpose, and I find students are much more likely to buy-in.

Hot Topics Informational Text Lessons: BUNDLE, Set 1, 5 Ways to Keep Students Tuned-In at the End-of-the-Year

Hot Topics Informational Text Lessons: BUNDLE, Set 2, 5 Ways to Keep Students Tuned-In at the End-of-the-Year

2) Make It Personal

We all know that secondary students can be ah hem… self-centered. (Bless) So anytime they get to talk about themselves, there’s interest. When my seniors read Fahrenheit 451, they do a generational Interview project as part of their reading tasks for the last section of my Fahrenheit unit. They – and their grandparents – really enjoy the project and the students learn so much about their families and themselves. Another way to make it personal and keep kids tuned in is with poetry that speaks to them. In my treating senioritis poetry pack, I’ve selected several poems that draw on students’ personal experiences and the follow up activities ask students to reflect on their past, present, and future. Another teacher shared this classroom success story about my poetry pack: “With less than a month left for the Seniors, they are losing their focus in class quickly. These are great assignments that keep them engaged and challenge them to keep at it. This is also great for Poetry Month (April). My student’s actual poems (from the extension activities) are being published in our campus newsletter to celebrate it.” Anything you can do as part of a lesson or short research project that allows students to make connections with their own lives will add a layer of interest they won’t be able to resist.

End of Year Poetry, Surviving Senioritis, Poetry Month Act, 5 Ways to Keep Students Tuned-In at the End-of-the-Year

3) Make It Interactive

I have to admit that I’d never used puppets in the classroom before with high school students, but now that I have, I can’t stop. I also have to admit that it was partly my students’ idea to conduct the first puppet show I ever conducted. When my seniors read The Canterbury Tales, I had made little cards with the characters on them. I wanted each student to read and research about that character to share with the class. One student was holding up her card and thought she was being funny when she said, “We should do this as a puppet show.” I said, “Actually, that’s a great idea. Yes, we should.” That night I glued Popsicle sticks on the cards and borrowed a puppet curtain my mom had made for my nieces. Voila! The next day we had a puppet show! After that, I let my emoji addiction get a little more out of control, and I made emoji puppets for accountable talk, review, point of view, and more! See my Facebook post about them. If you don’t have puppets for your class, then just consider what topic you teach that students to re-enact or role play. For an extra layer of rigor, have the students write the scripts, too!

Escape games are super hot right now, too, and you can find them in just about any subject and grade level. The end of the year is the perfect time to give one a try for review or just for fun. I’ve made full-length games for some favorite stories I teach, and I recently started to make mini escape games that last 30 minutes! All of my games are designed so that you can use a physical lock box that you buy premade or make yourself or digitally with Google. I love using the physical lock box for students, and I’ve created this quick video tutorial just in case you’ve wanted to try it, but have been a little apprehensive about it. When I conduct an escape game in class, I have 100% participation and engagement. It doesn’t get more tuned-in than that!

4) Make It Project-Based

Projects don’t have to be a lot of work for you. Nor should they be a lot of work to prep. One year I wanted something new and fun for Earth Day, so I rummaged through my junk drawers at the house and had student create uses for the various items. The skills we covered? Propaganda, Info-Text Analysis; Speaking and Listening, Presenting. That project is for sale here! This time of year, my yearbook students also work on projects to keep them busy until the books come back. They would be excellent for a yearbook class, business, art, or technology class. I’ve also successfully done short research projects, and I have a ton of those available as well on a variety of topics.

Earth Day Paired Text Reading Lesson, Speech and Poem , 5 Ways to Keep Students Tuned-In at the End-of-the-Year

5) Make It a Movie Day

Let’s be real for a minute. We can’t always show a movie, but if we are talking about getting tuned in, well, we can’t ignore the obvious. If you missed my post about how to incorporate media effectively, click here to go check that out. I will say that my seniors are going to be watching The Hunger Games next week. Why in the world, right? It was their idea – and it wasn’t because they just wanted to watch it randomly. In fact, they’ve been asking me all along our 451 unit if there’s a sequel to Bradbury’s magnum opus. (Can we pause to just say how awesome it is that they want to read MORE 451?!?!?) Then one day, it dawned on a student that there was quite a bit of intertextuality between 451 and THG. I had noticed the parallels before because I love THG! He made a pretty good case for it, so I thought this would be a fun way to end the unit. They’ll have to write something showing those parallels, of course. Plus, I’ve got you covered for tons of movies with ready-made, standards-based movies guides. All you need to do is get the DVD and press play. Click over to my other blog post, as well, with more Tips for Teaching with Movies.

Here’s to a great rest of the year. Comment below with ways you successfully keep students tuned-in at the end-of-the-year.

Love this content? Join a group! There are already tons of ideas, freebies, and fabulous teachers in my new groups, and joining is simple. Just click over to the following links, answer a few questions, and voila! Thanks again for following along my classroom stories and small-business journey. I really do hope you to see you over in my new “backyards” where we can chat and share all things English and Yearbook.

Updated 2021, written by Julie Faulkner

Benefits of Using Task Cards in Middle and High School

Using task cards in middle and high school can be hugely successful. Interestingly, I was using “task cards” in my high school English class before I knew they were called that – and way before they looked so cute! If I needed to guide a particular group on a topic or break up the assignment, I would often just grab some colored index cards and a sharpie and begin assigning the tasks, differentiating, or reviewing! Now with the wonderful world of technology 🙂 and access to tons of programs, task cards can come in any form or fashion. Here are 5 ways and reasons to use the task cards strategy at the middle and high school level.

#1) Differentiation and Scaffolding: Task cards offer teachers and students many benefits. Teachers need easy, but effective ways to meet the needs of all students who come to the table with all different ability levels. Task cards can easily be used to tailor instruction and reinforcement to those needs.

–You choose who gets which card, and that can be done without the students’ knowledge of that choice. All of my response to text task cards are written in two levels and are clearly labeled in the file. Pictured below are two examples from my poetry and speech task cards. If you head over to my TeachersPayTeachers store, you’ll be able to get a couple of these free in the preview file.

– One directive per card helps students focus.

–If students or groups of students are working through a set of cards, they set their own pacing. Here different groups of students are analyzing poetry, but one group only has one card, while the other group has two cards.

–Some cards can have suggested answers or clues, while others are more open-ended.

–Some students or groups can be assigned one or more depending on their needs.

– Task cards just by their nature provide individualized instruction and scaffolding because they allow for effective chunking of material. For example, when I teach writing, we use task cards to guide analysis of model papers during the pre-writing process and task cards to provide directives for revision and editing during the phases of the writing process.

#2) Discussion & Collaboration: Classroom discussion is very important for classroom culture but also for understanding. I believe students need to read about it, talk about it, and then write about it. Task cards provide a direct focus for talk topics where needed.

–Students can see cards first to prepare individually before small or whole group discussion.

–Guides whole group discussion. Take a look at these fun Emoji Accountable Talk Stem Puppets They offer a accountable talk stems for students to respond to or use during discussions.

– Can require students to produce a larger product together. For example, if you want students to write a paragraph, give each group a task to complete a certain section of the paragraph. When they put their work together, they have a complete product.

– Can even be used with large class sizes. See how I make it work:

Using Task Cards in Stations
How-To: Using my task cards in stations with large groups. (I apologize in advance for the wacky focusing on this video. IDK. LOL!) #iteachenglish #highschoolenglish #iteachhighschool #literature #teachingstrategies #taskcards
Posted by Julie's Classroom Stories on Sunday, April 8, 2018

#3) Games and Review: Play traditional games (board games, card games, beach ball toss, etc.) with task cards for your subject. Below students are reviewing ELA vocabulary using vocabulary cards from my 100 words every high school English student should know pack in order to move their pieces around a game board I whipped up for fun. Give each group a set of task cards, and in order to take a turn, each student had to answer a question on one of the cards. The rest of the group had to agree with the answer before they could move on. Groups or students could also have a recording sheet that they turn in or use as a study guide.

#4) Gallery Walks, Scavenger Hunts, Quests. and Stations: Lessons that involve movement can sometimes be overwhelming to create and produce, but for Kinesthetic students, especially, movement enhances learning. Pretty much any student, though, enjoys the opportunity to move around during class. Task cards make these types of activities much more attainable because they are easier to create and/or manage.

–Cards are posted around the room/hall for a gallery walk. Never tried a gallery walk? Want some fresh tips? Click over to take a look at this FREE video tutorial where I explain how to set up and manage gallery walks.

–Assign students certain numbers to complete or do them all.

–Set time limits.

–Students record answers on sheets.

– Use them in stations or centers. Here’s a quick video where I explain how I developed impromptu centers using my poetry task cards in station rotations. Get the FREE poetry recording sheet here.

Poetry Stations Using Task Cards
Enhance poetry analysis with poetry stations using task cards! It's super low prep, and it gets students involved in rich, deep poetry discussions. Get my poetry task cards @ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Poetry-Analysis-Task-Cards-Comprehension-Prompts-Any-Poem-1115584
Posted by Julie's Classroom Stories on Saturday, April 8, 2017

– Add QR codes for a self-checking function or to add a quick video tutorial.

— If you want some ready-made station labels to get going with task cards in your classroom, check out my station rotation kit with five fun designs.

#5) Going green with task cards The trend is certainly moving toward more technology in the classroom that is student-centered. Task cards offer so many opportunities for teachers to convey both lesson content, practice, and assessment because they are so flexible.

– 1:1 schools

– via Google Slides or Google Classroom in the lab, group device, or on their own devices. All of my response to text task cards are now available in Google Slides format. You can get them here.

-Nearpod student led or in homework mode.

-Classflow with student response systems or on their own devices

-Kahoot for whole class review and gaming. I love putting my Real-World Grammar Fails Task Cards in Kahoot to use at bell ringers or fun test-prep review! They come in large pdf and large jpeg mode for easy uploading in this format, so there’s no extra work for you. See more about my experience with Kahoot at this post!

– Single iPad used via Apple TV, Smart TV, or Boxlight to share task card work. Below students were correcting sentences with some grammar task cards. In order to share with the class, I used the mirror feature on my iPad with my Apple TV, so the entire class could see the original sentence from the task card as each group explained the corrections that needed to be made.