some ideas worth sharing
for the love of Words!
I love to surround the students with WORDS! The feelings they evoke, their description, alliteration, nuance, mood, and tone. GREAT writing contains GREAT words! So I create word walls for our big units to inspire the students in their writing.
The students are encouraged to both add words to the wall and take them for their writing. The WORD WALLS encourage writing as a collaborative process where students help each other communicate in the most powerful way.
“I Can” Statements
I printed the 8th grade Common Core State Standards and put them in sheet protectors. Then I made “I Can” statements and laminated them. I secured them to clothespins and adjust them with each unit. I also post the BIG PICTURE question for each unit as well as the ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS, so there is no mystery as to what the students are learning and why.
KWL CHarts
We do KW charts individually as well as in groups. The students’ wealth of knowledge runs deep, but so do their misconceptions. KWL charts also help the students track their own growth.
