Introduction to Sci-Fi/Fantasy (Literature Circles)

In a time when collaboration is challenging, connect peers through a good book using a remote book club. Core principles include autonomy, goal setting, and collaboration between classmates. Diverse reads boost reading skills as well as...

Introduce literature circles with Roland Smith's novels. Your seventh graders will see the activity modeled as you read The Three Little Pigs together and apply the format to a Roland Smith novel of their choice. The lesson plan includes...

Get learners excited about reading with literature circles! Small groups discuss the day's reading in various roles, including Discussion Director, Summarizer, Word Wizard, Literary Luminary, Travel Tracer, Connector, and Fact Finder,...

Tired of those blank stares after your class reads a particularly complex passage from a Shakespearean play? Help high schoolers untangle that prose with a literature circle activity. Ten different roles prompt class members to focus on...

Discussing great works of literature with peers is an excellent way to both comprehend and celebrate reading! Learners work in literature circles during a unit on Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, and share paragraphs that stood out...

Parents who fail to discipline their children may be raising criminals. A video summary of A General Theory of Crime by Gottfredson and Hirschi, part of a larger playlist on the world's greatest ideas, presents the notion that discipline...

Assess your new learners' writing abilities and knowledge of literary terms with these diagnostic activities. Part of a back-to-school unit, this is meant to provide the teacher with information about the ability levels of their class....

Role sheets clearly define expectations of all group members in this introduction to literature circles. By using a variety of picture books or short texts, readers can practice roles while the teacher circulates to each group observing...

Introduce science fiction fans to writer Octavia E. Butler with a short video that argues for why readers should add her works to their must-read list. 

The 20th century was a tumultuous time in America, as reflected in several themes woven throughout Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. But are those messages applicable today? Check out a short video and accompanying materials to lead a...