Rapping to Review

As the first nine weeks comes to a close, my children are in complete panic mode about 99% of everything.  My honors classes really don't have a reason to be worrying, but I guess that their 98.9 in English II could always be a 99. ;) So, in true honors style, they begged me for extra credit.  I'm not a huge fan of extra credit - I tend to prefer regular credit, BUT one of my children offered up such a wonderful idea that I couldn't say no.

My 1st period class asked if they could write and perform original songs that would review or discuss something that they've learned this 9 weeks.  I'm a fan of creative projects AND seeing my kids have fun & embarrass themselves on video. I just couldn't say no.  Of course I asked for permission before I posted(and seeing how all of their videos are on YouTube, all anyone in the world would have to do is search), and all of them were MORE THAN WILLING for me to share these with the world. 

Here are a couple of my favorite videos:

And here's another one:

The formatting of my other favorite was a little odd, so I couldn't get it to post. :( BUT If you know me at all, you know that I absolutely HATE cell phones in class.  Every teacher has something...and my something is the phone.  All of my children KNOW that if they instantly want to be on my "list", then take out the phone. It's one of those things that just thinking about it makes my skin crawl!  That being sad, but children did a parody of "Hotline Bling" where they changed the words to "She caught me on my cell phone, when I was supposed to be doing my work." They also mentioned my OCD about there not being any paper on the floor! haha! Here are their lyrics:
[Chorus]
Catch me on my cellphone
When I was supposed to do my work(2x)
So I just threw the trash on the floor
Now I'm headed straight out the door(2x)

[Verse 1]
Ever since I been in class, you
Started tripping about trash on the floor
Told me I should recycle more
Now I'm ready to walk out the door
Ever since I left the class, you
Started giving quizzes when we didn't read
You sent me out when I wanted to eat
In ISS with kids I've never seen before

*brief intermission to get our lives together*

[Chorus]
Catch me on my cellphone
When I was supposed to do my work(2x)
So I just threw the trash on the floor
Now I'm headed straight out the door(2x)

[Verse 2]
Ever since I been in class, you
You and me we finally get along
Told me I had bad grammar when I did it wrong
Now I don't dare use my cellphone
Ever since I been in class, you
You got exactly what you asked for
Running out pages in my notebook

My kids are the best and we had a great review day/viewing party today.  It also helps that half those songs got on our minds and we walked around singing about literary devices all day! ha! 

Happy end of the 1st nine weeks, ya'll! It's almost Thanksgiving Break.

Halloween in High School

     I absolutely love celebrating holidays and I don't think that you should stop the celebrations just because your students aren't in elementary school.  Let's be honest, who doesn't love a treat bag!?  

    As I prepare the treat bags, bake the cookies, make sure every eyeball is perfectly placed on the ghosts (Nutter Butter cookies), and stack spooky pencils on my shelf (all while watching Hocus Pocus), I thought I'd throw a sale on all of the Halloween products in my TPT store.  There's nothing better than celebrating my favorite holiday while sticking with the standards, too! ;)

From now until October 28th, enjoy 20% off all of the following products:

 Click Here to View Details or Purchase

I usually spend time at the end of the week or at the end of the class each day doing short, spooky activities in the month of October.  This bundle includes all you need to do the same, OR to use for extra credit assignments (which I sometimes throw in, too!).  

Bundle Includes:
- Poe's "The Masque of The Red Death" full text
- Symbolism activity for the short story (7 deadly sins) - answer key included
- Creative Project "Prince Prospero's Playlist" to analyze imagery + mood
- Critical Thinking questions + answer key for "The Masque of The Red Death", students consider symbolism, reliability of narrator, theme, etc.
- Nonfiction article Scavenger Hunt on America's First Serial Killer 
- Research activity based on nonfiction article
- Spooky Square - a "magic square" with literary terms 
- Poetry Analysis activity: includes poem + thinking stems + illustration activity to enhance student understanding of symbolism, tone, and mood
- Pumpkin Project - an extra credit assignment where students are prompted to carve a pumpkin using their favorite author or story as inspiration. Rubric Included

 Click Here to View or Purchase!

My freshmen are working on writing narratives and creating their own stories from scratch.  They started this activity last week and loved it.  I compiled a list of great prompts that I've collected over the years and put them on printable cards for the students.  They were given short prompts or spooky photos to spark their imaginations.  

 Students are given an assignment sheet which details how they must compose a scary short story using literary elements and specific stylistic devices. They are then given a list of over 20 scary story starters or spooky photos to use for inspiration. 

Also includes cards to use when reading other stories from classmates. Students rank the other stories on spookiness and how well they like what they've read. 

Click Here to View or Purchase!

If you're trying to get your students to think critically OR if you've just taught a unit on social commentary - this is the perfect film for you!  My students BEGGED me to watch more of this each day.  I've included over 30 questions for them to think about, BUT I only asked them to choose 10 to actually answer for credit.  I also included my presentation on social commentary & how I introduce it to my students.

I hope everyone has a spectacularly spooky week - and that your kids get all sugared up AFTER they leave your class. Fingers crossed hoping that nobody gives out sticky hands/bugs/ANYTHING this year! :)

Lexile Levels, Freshmen Fun, and Independent novels!

My school recently invested in a reading program to pilot to a few classes.  I was lucky enough to be chosen to try the new program with two of my 10th grade classes and one 9th grade class.  Achieve 3000 tailors specific articles (chosen by the teacher from an AMAZING list) to every individual student.  The program starts by testing the students' lexile levels, and we receive a score report in less than 24 hours.  After the initial test, Achieve 3000 automatically sets each student's log in to their own individual lexile level.  Every student reads the same article, but every student will read a different level article.  Yes, the program actually changes each article to fit every student's learning style!  The students then have to answer multiple choice questions, thought questions, and complete graphic organizers.  They gain points for right answers and are even offered cool prizes if they are a top scorer. It's a great program that REALLY helps some of my struggling readers and pushes my veteran readers past their comfort zones.  You can learn more about the program here: Click!

I was also lucky enough to be chosen to teach a large class of 9th graders that contains honors, regular, and ESL children ALL IN THE SAME CLASS.  I've never faced a bigger challenge, but the students are GREAT and I really enjoy being their teacher.  I found that choosing novels and short stories is THE GREATEST CHALLENGE OF THEM ALL. When one group is confused, the other group is bored to tears.  Everyone is on a different level which makes it so much harder!  After I received my Achieve 3000 lexile level scores, I gained SO MUCH INSIGHT as to why certain children were struggling.  


This week, my fabulous media specialist, AMAZING assistant principal, and I, put together a game plan to really target specific learning goals and individual needs in this class.  I decided to survey my children and find out their reading interests, preferences, and history.  I used this form: 

Then, I took this information + my lexile scores and headed to our school library!  The media specialist helped me pull books that were appropriate for each child's reading level.  We chose books that would be high interest - we even found some graphic novels!  I put together a "book tasting" with silver trays from the dollar store and handmade genre signs. 

I placed one tray on each table.  The following day, I gave students a blank "menu" and explained the rules.  They were to get in groups of 5. I sent one group to each table and gave the class 5 minutes to look at books from that genre.  They could read the back, flip through the pages, check out the cover, and get a general "taste" for what the book was about.  I also had them to fill in their "menus" with their top favorites!  After 5 minutes, every group switched and went to a different genre.  The process repeated.  We talked about choosing a "good fit" book, so they also had to rank each one of their choices on how difficult they thought it would be for them to read.  Here's a sample of their menu: 

I was blown away by how much my class enjoyed this!  Here they are, enjoying their book tasting :) -

Everyone took it seriously and had a great time!  After we left the library, I sat down with all of their surveys and made individual colored coded cards.  Each color represents a different genre group (so we can have small group discussions).  

They checked out their books the following day and I was pleased to see that almost all of my students dove head first into their books! YAY!  We're currently creating individualized lap books from file folders.  I'll post more as we progress.

I now begin my class by teaching a reading strategy + a literary device.  They take notes and create foldables for their interactive notebooks.  Then, I give them 20-25 minutes to read their chosen books silently.  During this time I conference with small groups.  I use a specific form that I created that is GREAT for monitoring growth, and even for parent conferences!  The form looks like this: 

I'm anxious to continue with this process and see how my children grow.  I'll keep you posted and check back in shortly.  So far, my students like the individual conferencing because of the extra attention :).  It also holds them accountable!  They don't want to be the one who can't talk to me because they haven't read. Yikes!  

Have any of you tried an individual novel concept before? How did it go? Do you have any magic secrets that I need to know about?

Better Body Biography

I know we've all seen a million body biographies, BUT I still like the basic concept and wanted to be able to use the idea for my honors class. We recently finished MY FAVORITE book that we read all semester: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. It is AMAZING. Seriously, if you've never read it, buy it, read it, then go ahead and buy the class set. I believe in this book so much that I bought my own class set from thriftbooks.com. A set of 30 books was less than $90! It is such a great site, and they even give teacher discounts on orders over 20 books. Just use the code APPLE to get your discount, too! 

 Because I like to differentiate (and partially because I'm slightly crazy when it comes to being original and not copying anyone's idea), I do separate projects for each one of my sections of Honors English II. My first period is super creative, so I wanted them to be able to utilize their artistic abilities whenever they analyzed the end of the book. I revamped the body biography and kicked it up a notch or 3 for their project. All I provided for my students was blank paper, crayons, and directions. They had to illustrate, create, and most importantly THINK for themselves about the overall intended effect of the author. I asked them to look at everything from symbolism in setting, to motifs that help develop the theme. Here's an exact list of what I asked them to do:

Here's a couple of my favorites:

They had to add specific details and textual evidence on the back of their separate parts.  They actually spent two days on this project, meticulously combing through the text, and talking with each other about what they enjoyed reading.  

I had my next period complete a "create your own book" project based on how violence (motivation, reaction, brutality) evolves throughout the memoir.  I'll talk about some of my favorites tomorrow! Here's a sample:

Since we've wrapped up the book, we're starting on my second favorite: Night! My freshmen are also have a great time reading...I let them choose their own books (yes, I must have had a moment of crazy, but I'm hoping they'll be mature enough to handle it).  What's everyone else reading? 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Happy Homecoming!

It's Homecoming week at school and I could not be more excited if I tried!  Nobody, and I mean NOBODY loves high school football more than I do.  I could have brain surgery and lose a limb, but still show up at the field on Friday nights.  I love to see all of my many children on the field (and on the sideline cheering!) showcasing their talent.  

As another fun part of Homecoming week, my school does a door decorating contest. I decided to give my 1st period free reign (WHICH IS SO HARD WHEN YOU WANT TO CONTROL EVERYTHING AND  MAKE SURE IT'S JUST RIGHT)  over my door.  I have some hilarious and creative children in the class, and they came up with what is probably my favorite door of all time.  

Check it out: A great take on Straight Outta Compton 
(The "L" is for Lincolnton, NC)

The 3D wolf head is my favorite.  Didn't they do a great job!? Let's hope this encourages my football "sons" to beat those Trojans on Friday. 

What are some of your favorite Homecoming traditions? 

Happy Homecoming, Ya'll!

Character Foil Fun

I've always loved Kevin Hart....I love him even more now that I was able to use him so that my students would understand foil characters!  We used the concept of (I'm ashamed that I think this movie is so funny) Get Hard, in order to understand how authors enhance characterization through the use of a character foil.  

I discussed how and why this literary technique is used by emphasizing the film and all of the ways in which the characters are different.

We even practiced with a few of their favorite texts before we ever discussed the foil characters in OTK. My students later completed a group project on Oedipus + Creon and how they are a great example of foil characters. 

BUT, I always like to challenge my students individually as well - especially in an Honors Class!


I'm actually a huge fan of tricking my students into doing harder work than they think they can do. (You're always smarter than you think you are!) So, I secretly choose AP prompts and make the word choice appear easier, to take away some of their fear. They have no idea they're doing AP work, but their test scores and writing styles certainly show improvement!

 I decided that their first official analytical prompt would deal with foil characters.  I use a released form of open-ended AP prompts.  This is a great way to introduce your students to more difficult material + apply it to whatever you're currently studying. All you have to do is change a few words and BAM you have an instant activity that challenges students, yet still sticks with the content.  Here's a list of open ended AP prompts if you're interested: Click Here!


We spent an entire week discussing how to write an analytical paper, what NOT to do, and how to make your project stand out from the rest.  Their notebooks looked like this at the end of the week:

The culminating activity: Choose a story or novel that you've read that displays an example of a foil character.  Illustrate the characters and include their differences.  Include at least 2 symbols + three quotes that highlight their differences on each side.

THEN, respond to the following prompt: In a literary work, a minor character, often known as a foil, possesses traits that emphasize, by contrast or comparison, the distinctive characteristics and qualities of the main character. For example, the ideas or behavior of the minor character might be used to highlight the weaknesses or strengths of the main character. Discuss how the relation between the minor character and the major character from the book/story you chose illuminates the meaning of the work. Here's a few of my favorite illustrated examples:

You can purchase my foil project which includes a rubric, project outline, examples of paper + illustrations, and more! Click here to view: Character Foil Project

We're moving on to my favorite memoir now, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. What's everyone else reading?