There are already lots of middle and high school teachers who utilize Jeopardy!-type games. Leveraging the recording capabilities of most computers and mobile devices, students could explore the role of tone and sound by creating podcasts in the fashion of old-school radio shows. Ann Feldmann's sixth graders produced a great set of examples. That’s why we created four actionable principles of middle school ELA engagement. I’ve always been a big advocate of field trips because they can incorporate activities that are engaging/UDL alignments, and … 5 Ways I Engage Middle and High School Readers by Offering More Student Choice. My only hope is that those middle school students, whose enthusiasm I quashed, found another way to become passionate about literature. https://study.com/academy/lesson/fun-reading-activities-for-middle-school.html Middle school boys are fantastic writers – and engaging them in hands-on writing activities is an adventure all its own. Students engage with the ideas and apply middle school reading strategies to a short section of the text, take notes on their plates, process with other students at the same station, and “rate” the text from 1-4. Offering more independence can help motivate reluctant readers in a big way. How many middle school readers have you seen who look as engaged as the children in this picture? Does it hold students to high expectations for their learning? If pictures are provided, students formulate ideas and conclusions. See more ideas about Reading activities, Teaching reading, Reading classroom. Before teaching a new decoding skill or grammar rule, preface the lesson with a pretest. They hung on every word, engrossed in Edgar Allen Poe. Don’t believe me? It can help them anticipate the topic of the reading. Every year, students come to this activity unsure about reading criticism. The first week of school is a great time to build classroom culture, community, and teach class routines. Storybird allows students to choose from hundreds of illustrations in order to create their own stories. Chemistry Activities for Middle School. To do this, students created trigger images representing either the author or a character from the book, which their classmates scanned in order to watch the videos. . The teacher sets the timer (2 minutes or so); when the timer goes off, the students must pass their paper back to the person behind them. Pre-reading involves examining a literature’s title, subheadings and vocabulary. Book Clubs. . Effective ways to enhance reading and writing experiences. On the other hand, Elissa Malespina (@SOMSLibrary) constructed a completely different experience for her students. 2. Will Charlie Brown ever want to read another book? activities that help students retain the definition of a word instead of memorizing it for a quiz and forgetting it. Mind maps are excellent brain-based vocabulary . Can You Pass the Ethos, Pathos, Logos Definition Test? These studies turned into small research papers to which my students had hardly any personal connection beyond having completed an academic task. Marilyn has taught middle and high school English for over twenty years. By: ... most are unlikely to be engaging or appealing for middle and high school ELLs. . By incorporating their own drawings and writing instead of searching for images or shooting live video, the technology became a medium through which they could really engage with the literature. Sometimes, I set-up this reading activity to explore different excerpts from the, I might also choose to have students explore. Since inserted images can be hyperlinked to specific pages, students could create interactive stories. There are plenty of free Jeopardy! by Melissa Kruse. Ideas for engaging first week of school activities to make it easy and fun! The awkward age that ranges from around 11 until 15 is a challenge for even the best of teachers, but there is hope. If the desired learning objective is for students to . Underneath each picture write what you think they might be doing at that point of their life, and explain why they may be doing so. Here is a list of fourteen student engagement strategies from Reading Horizons Reading Specialist, Stacy Hurst, that you can use to increase student engagement during reading instruction or reading intervention: 1. The workload can get a little intense when middle school rolls around, but you can keep your kids motivated with our wide array of hands-on activities that provide a fun break from the routine. In order to see whether or not your students truly comprehend the characters, encourage them to create a new scene and put those characters in the middle of it -- to take a walk in their shoes. Either one of these options encourages students to identify significant moments from a book and illustrate their relative impact on the overall plot. Edutopia® and Lucas Education Research™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of the George Lucas Educational Foundation in the U.S. and other countries. The students write the story starter at the top of the page and then start writing the story. In fact, iMovie includes a set of pre-built trailer templates, and Ben Schersten (@benschersten) created a great set of PDF storyboards for students to use in planning those projects. Make your classroom buzz! In the spirit of movie trailers, book trailers allow students to create video advertisements to entice new readers. Yes, really! Both iMovie and Animoto allow students to focus on the content, as they greatly simplify the editing process. Does it help students meet and master learning objectives? Does Lucy clearly articulate her understanding of Peter Rabbit? This color mixing game is the best way for students to engage in play while learning new concepts. If you haven’t taught them, here is how they work: 1. does it have to be an essay or book report? templates for teachers available online. There are SO many different ways to set-up this fun reading activity that I use it over and over and over again! See more ideas about independent reading activities, high school ela, independent reading. By the end of class, they’ve read something from multiple pieces of criticism and can reflect on which one they would like to fully digest. Ask your school's reading specialist for help finding appropriate activities and materials. In middle school, we ask students to dissect texts and perform literary analysis. Not only do these projects ensure that students have a firm grasp on the story's plot, setting, theme and main characters, but they also provide an opportunity to address persuasive writing as well as digital literacy concepts like copyright and publishing. Partner Pretest. Help your middle schooler understand the science behind a chemical change with these chemical reaction experiments.. One of the best known (and go-to) projects for older kids has to be the DIY volcano, so have some fun with these hands-on volcano activities.. Marilyn Pryle (@MPryle) is a National Board Certified teacher in Clarks Summit, PA and the 2019 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year. Middle school boys are fun. To keep kids enthused, be prepared to get creative with evening reading events, school “read-ins,” and special guest readers throughout the year. Atticus Finch tells Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view -- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." . 3. This is how they choose the piece they’ll focus on for their paper. Keeping your students' attention focused on reading is often difficult. It also works well when preparing for the end of a unit, midterms, or finals. Within the Book Creator app, students can build e-books with text, images, drawing, audio and video. I’m always looking for reading activities to help my students engage with middle school reading strategies in unexpected ways. We need to channel middle schoolers’ excitement with their new ways of seeing and being in the world into tackling challenging academic experiences. During my eight years in the classroom, I ruined at least two amazing literary works by assigning horrifically dull reading projects. My only hope is that those middle school students, whose enthusiasm I quashed, found another way to become passionate about literature. School Reading Challenge. When my eighth graders read Night, they also conducted historical research into the life of Elie Wiesel to better understand the context of the book as well as the author's account. List of Reading Activities. Phonics Instruction for Middle and High School ELLs. At the culmination of their author study, her students created Animoto videos which they then turned into "auras" with Aurasma, an augmented reality app. For more on middle school boys and the writing conundrum, check out my guest post on the same topic at Year Round Homeschooling. It can be something like, “Suddenly, the lights went out,” or “Our camping trip was going great until,” or “I knew it was a bad idea to…” 3. Middle school boys are darling. Pre-reading activities can help the learner to be more prepared for what they are about to read. All Rights Reserved, I’m always looking for reading activities to help my students engage with middle school reading strategies in unexpected ways. When I assign mind maps in relation to vocabulary words, I generally have students select one word from our list instead of several because the connections will be more meaningful for them. They will help your students stay focused and learn at the same time. My middle school students struggled with identifying and comprehending the concept of foreshadowing. Engaging Post-Reading Activities. Demonstrate understanding of the plot elements, Identify significant scenes or events and their impact on the story, Analyze a character and show an understanding of that character's motivations, Explain the relationship between the author's life and the story. When it comes to ELA, these principles won’t just help your students “get through” middle school. Some of my favorite mentioned strategies were field trips, humor, and games. Does Schroeder have a solid grasp on the concept of narrative? 3 Myths About Differentiation in the Classroom, Step Up Your Halloween Activities for High School Students. The Truth About Student Engagement | Lindsay Ann Learning Educational Blog, Lindsay Ann Learning English Teacher Blog. 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