Poor Poe-try.

Edgar Allan Poe

Can it be fun?

Edgar Allan Poe was an American poet in the late 18th, early 19th century. He wrote wonderful works, such as Annabel Lee, The Raven, and The Tell-tale Heart. For many years, students have dreaded getting to this part in their high school English classes. Poetry usually not seen as fun, but Poe Poetry is definitely not "fun," until now. 

Thanks to the invention of the wonderful World Wide Web, teachers get the opportunity to share their great ideas about everything from lesson planning to classroom management. The plethora of great ideas even includes some for the "scary" Edgar Allan Poe. Here are a few ideas I was able to come up with.

• ·      The student could create a timeline of Poe’s life. They could use paper or an electronic one. We could follow the outline of this lesson plan.  EdgarAllanPoeLesson1
• ·      The students could create Venn diagrams comparing and contrasting Annabel Lee to The Raven (both by Poe).
• ·      The students could create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting Annabel Lee by Poe and Fire and Ice by Frost.
• ·      Students could make a pictorial representation of the poem. They would not be allowed to use words, and they must draw what the poem means to them or what they believe the poem is about.
• ·      Students could compare and contrast the Annabel Lee by Poe and “Hope” is a Thing with Feathers by Dickinson
• ·      This could be an introduction to a unit on early American poetry such as: EarlyAmericanPoetyLesson
• Students could create a rap about Edgar Allan Poe OR one of his poems.
• They could write their own Poe-esque story or poem.
• The class could make a stop-motion video that tells the story of one of Poe's works.
• I found these other lesson plans too: EdgarAllanPoe2, EdgarAllanPoe3, and EdgarAllanPoe4.

Poe can be fun! Do not be afraid. Dive right in, and see what you find!

   

Yay for Lists!

Do you have a middle to high school, tech savvy student who does not want to listen? Have you been trying to find a way to get through to this student? I have a suggestion. What about lists?

There is a magazine called Mental Floss. They have a YouTube channel with a web series hosted by award winning author John Green. The web series is also called Mental Floss and it is a list show. John Green hosts the series and always adds little anecdotes and snide comments throughout the ten minute show.

I believe that this can be used in the classroom with literature. If a student is reading a more difficult book or genre, they can create a "list show" of what they learned. They can actually tape the project, or they can write it in a journal. This would be a fun and interactive way to get students involved in a story. They could research the background of the story, list the characters, or come up with something completely new and exciting. 

FREE BOOKS!

We Give Books

Who wants access to books for free? To good to be true, you say? You would be wrong. The Pearson Foundation has created a website to give educators, parents, students, etc. the access to a wide, varied collection of books. There are books for children from a new born baby to a middle school student. Every genre is covered. Every book is just how you would see it in print. Oh, did I mention, IT IS FREE! 

I encourage everyone to go and explore this website. You can find wonderful children's literature and expand your library book hundreds of books! 

What Time is it?

It's Duffy Time!

It is no secret to people that follow me on Pinterest that I am addicted to the most precious little animals in the world, pugs. Pugs make me happy and brighten my day, so naturally when I saw this book at our book fair, I had to have it. 

This wonderful nugget of a book is about a little pug named Duffy who LOVES naps. He is constantly working up to multiple naps throughout the book. Although he is constantly sleepy, he is also always concerned with his family. He is always with them, and Duffy looks to them for support and guidance.

This precious, little book was a great use of $10.00. This book is probably on a first or second grade reading level, and it teaches the importance of fun and family!

Five Stars: *****

Anything is Possible: JK Rowling

“Anything is possible if you’ve got the nerve.”

- J.K. Rowling

Joanne Rowling was born in Yate, England on July 31, 1965. She attended St. Michael’s Primary School in Winterbourne, Wyedean School and College, and the University of Exeter (Biography). At the University of Exeter she obtained a degree in Classics and French. She regretted not getting a degree in English Literature, but her parents saw no use for the degree. They saw it as a useless degree (J.K. Rowling).

In 1990, after graduating from Exeter, she moved to Portugal to teach English (J.K. Rowling). There she met and married her first husband, Jorge Arantes. Together, Arantes and Rowling had a daughter named Jessica (Biography).

After her marriage ended in divorce, her life was flung into chaos. She moved to Edinburg, Scotland to live with her younger sister, and she was supporting herself and Jessica off of government welfare. During this hard time, she began writing a plot for a book. A book that would not only change her life but also the life of most that read it, Harry Potter (Biography).

Her life just shows that people can change their situation. Every obstacle that got in her way was plowed over. She had a bigger plan for herself, and I feel that we all need to find our bigger plan. 

Information from: http://www.biography.com/print/profile/jk-rowling-40998

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/jk-rowling-0?pImages=y&x=49&y=5

http://www.jkrowling.com/en_US/

The Lorax

I have recently discover my new favorite movie. The story is not that grand. I was bored, and I just picked a movie at random from Netflix. This movie was The Lorax. 

This is movie is FULL of important lessons that children need to know. It not only teaches about having respect for nature, but also teaches about respect in general. This movie hit on topics such as the environment, family, friendship, and love. Once I came to the realization that this was one of the greatest movies I had ever seen, I noticed that I had never read the Dr. Suess book that inspired the masterpiece. 

The book did not disappoint. The book seemed to be more focused on environmental issues, but that did not take away from how wonderful the book was. I realized that there are so many lesson plans that would correspond with this book/movie combination. The main ones that came to mind were for Dr. Seuss week, Earth Day, and cause-and-effect. 

I recommend this book and movie for all grades. I believe it is applicable from kindergarten to senior year of high school. This combination will teach the valuable lessons of friendship and respect!