Happy New Year!!

May your year be filled with impassioned characters, riveting plot lines, and enlightened universal themes...

Tis' the Season - 10 Classic Christmas Books

1) A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

2) The Polar Express - Chris Van Allsburg

3) How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Dr. Seuss

4) "The Gift of the Magi" - O. Henry

5) The Nutcracker - E.T.A. Hoffman, illustrations by Maurice Sendak

6) The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - Barbara Robinson

7) The Christmas Box - Richard Paul Evans

8) The Night Before Christmas - Jan Brett

9) The Tailor of Gloucester - Beatrix Potter

10) The Father Christmas Letters - J.R.R. Tolkien

Create a Bookmark - Fun Lesson of the Week

Create a Bookmark can be used as a chapter check or a culminating reading activity, perhaps in lieu of the ordinary book report.  Create a Bookmark reinforces literacy and common core language arts standards, while allowing for individual expression.  It is a student/teacher-friendly, hands-on classroom resource that includes the following elements: 

•     Title
•     Author
•       Theme of book
•     Character quotation
•       Scene from the book 
•       Summary of the book

 This lesson is featured on Sharemylesson.com  - a fabulous website for teachers.  

Check it out: http://www.sharemylesson.com/teaching-resource/Create-a-Bookmark-50007523/

Happy Hanukkah!!!

What's in Your Character's Head???

This is a creative writing activity I do with my students.  They invent a character and make a collage of what's in their head, including thoughts, symbols, theme words, and pictures.  This lesson is featured on Sharemylesson.com  - a fabulous website for teachers.  

Check it out: http://www.sharemylesson.com/MyPublicProfile.aspx?uc=2706649&event=24