Middle School English

Short Story Interactive Unit

Model for writing a short story: good for use on the Smart Board

Great Site!

"Using Graphic Organizers Graphic organizers are excellent tools for helping students connect ideas and see relationships between different pieces of information. The goal is for students to expand their knowledge by understanding the material in their own way. Graphic organizers can be used for a variety of purposes, such as eliciting prior knowledge, demonstrating a sequence of events, and comparing and contrasting. "

"The Writing Workshop, similar to the Reading Workshop, is a method of teaching writing using a workshop method. Students are given opportunities to write in a variety of genres and helps foster a love of writing. The Writing Workshop allows teachers to meet the needs of their students by differentiating their instruction and gearing instruction based on information gathered throughout the workshop."

Once Upon a Fairy Tale: Teaching Revision as a Concept Overview Students sometimes have trouble understanding the difference between the global issues of revision and the local ones of editing. After reading several fractured fairy tales, students make a list of the ways the original stories have been revised-changed or altered, not just "corrected"-to begin building a definition of global revision. After students have written a "revised" story of their own, they revise again, focusing more on audience but still paying attention to ideas, organization, and voice. During another session, students look at editing as a way to polish writing, establishing a definition of revision as a multi-level process.

Ideas for Writing You've probably heard the saying "write what you know" but writing is also a great way to learn about something new. Here's some suggestions for exploring writing ideas and a list of topics that you might not have thought about before.

Discussion protocols for learning together from and through texts

Make your own timeline using media to enhance the presentation

Activity 1: Introduction to the Genre of Memoir: Writing a Comparison/Contrast Essay, ONCE I WAS; NOW I AM (adapted from BEAT NOT THE POOR DESK, by Marie Ponsot and Rosemary Deen, Boynton/Cook Publishers, Portmouth, N.H., 1981).

A unique aspect of children's memoir writing is that their collection of memories, wisdom and value is limited. That is not to say these memories do not exist. Children should be given the opportunity to develop an understanding of who they are and where they come from, and how this is connected to the past & future, the near & far away. A memoir study focusing on location as a theme can provide this opportunity.

These sites have tips and examples for writing strong leads for paragraphs and structuring personal narrative writing. Students can learn how to capture and hold their readers' attention. There are classroom activities, online quizzes and exercises, and ideas to help writers develop their skills. Includes links to eThemes on grammar and interactive writing activities.

Memoir article and lessonSee how Gabriel Garcia Marquez transforms memories of his grandparents into an unforgettable memoir. (PDF)

Memoir article and lesson: See how Gabriel Garcia Marquez transforms memories of his grandparents into an unforgettable memoir. (PDF)

Memoir search on Scholastic.

These sites explain how to write memoirs and include ideas for getting started. There are also some writing examples and lists of recommended children's books that use this form of writing. There is a link to eThemes Resource on Personal Narrative Writing.