Write a Novel in a Month

Have you ever wanted to write a novel in a month? I know, I know... such a rhetorical question.  After all, doesn't everyone? :) Last year, I stumbled across NaNanWriMo. With a name like that, you might think this website has something to do with Mork from Ork, a reference that would be completely lost on today's middle schooler.  At the time, I was 8 months pregnant, and I knew I would miss NaNanWriMo 2012 when the baby was born.  So, I did what every well-intentioned English teacher would have done.  I bookmarked the website and promptly forgot about it.  Now the new school year is only a few short weeks away, and I am rediscovering this writing treasure!

Project Overview

As the name suggests, this website will help students write a novel in a month.  Teachers can launch the program in October by guiding students through a prewriting workbook. The workbook is available for free in pdf form, but if your students need paper copies, they can be purchased for $10 a piece.  Different workbooks are available for elementary, middle, and high school students.  Students select their own writing goal (total number of words), and if they meet their goal by the end of November, they are declared a winner.  All winners are eligible for 5 free paperback copies of their novel through Create a Space.

Classroom Management

I love websites such as this that have ready-to-use classroom management tools.  Yes, setting up a Virtual Classroom may take a little bit of extra work in the beginning, but it's a tool that will help easily track students' progress.  Once the Virtual Classroom has been set-up, students can create their own account and associate it with your classroom.  Or if you feel inclined, you can create student accounts inside your virtual classroom on your own.

Write with Your Students

NaNanWriMo isn't just for students; there is also a website for adults who are interested in writing a 50,000 word novel.  Remember- be the inspiration for your students, and they will in turn inspire you!

Just Kick It!

Sssh! The baby is sleeping! And Kitty, you better behave this time and not wake BabyP like you did this morning! Yes, I know you received some sort of personal satisfaction from doing it, but I would appreciate it if you would use your indoor voice when you want my attention.

Today my vocabulary improvement quest continues, and I am excited about a few goodies in the game department.  Online games? No! I have links to plenty of those! What I am in need of is some good, old-fashioned, let's-get-these-kids-out-of-their-chairs games.  And I hit the jackpot on a really neat site, The Teaching Channel.  I guess I have been living under a rock because this website has been around since 2011. 

The video below is the one that brought me to the website.  

But I really like this idea, too!
Really? Vocabulary paint chips? Why haven't I thought of that? Hmmm... trips to Lowes, Home Depot, and Walmart will probably be in my future.

Here are a few other websites where I have found Vocabulary inspired games and activities:

• Flipit Word Parts (This activity screams for ActivInspire.)
• Expansions: An Online Book of Vocabulary Games (My students stare at a computer screen a lot.  I need ideas like these to mix it up sometimes.)
• Visualizing Vocabulary (Some of these methods have been around for awhile but could easily be updated using technology, such as Google Sites.

ActivInspire Me, Please!

One of my goals this summer has been improving my prefixes/roots/suffixes lesson plans, and although I have pages of ideas, my follow-through leaves a lot to be desired.  With August approaching,  I need motivation.  I need inspiration.  I need ActivInspire!

Over the last few years, ActivInspire has been my go-to resource whenever I feel the urge to be creative.  When I am in a rut, I google new and creative ways to use this software in the classroom. Here are a few ideas I may use this year, and you might like them, too!

Freebie: Daily 5 Center Signs

Download Variety Pack

I love summer! And this summer, with its wet baby kisses and raspberries, has been the best of all! As I write, BabyP sits in my lap with one finger in her mouth while I try to type one-handed.  I think she is feeling those two pearly whites, which are perfect in this mama's eyes.  Baby, don't you know Mama needs to use the home row keys?

Now on to the freebie! Teachers Pay Teachers is littered with Daily 5 materials, but most of it is geared towards elementary school.  I created center signs with a middle school audience in mind. They are available in five different color schemes as well as one variety pack.  Hope you enjoy!

"There's nothing so peculiar as a penguin..."

Teachers often have a lot of hidden talents.  While I was in college, I spent a lot of time learning how to use Photoshop.  Ten years later, I am still improving my graphic design skills.  One of my favorite things to do in the summer is create newsletter templates.  I don't often use them myself, but I like to post them for others.  You can download this newsletter template from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  

Behind the Scenes: This particular newsletter was inspired by one of my favorite cartoon shorts: Walt Disney's "Peculiar Penguins" from 1934.  Did I mention that I was Disney fanatic? I find inspiration in so many unusual places!

• Penguins Newsletter
• Penguins Labels
• Penguins Paper

Where did the summer go, Poe?

Is August really ending? It seems like just yesterday I was packing up my classroom for the summer and patting my little 6th graders on the head as they move on to 7th grade.  Little did I realize I would be welcoming some of these children back into my room in the fall. This year I will be teaching 6th and 7th grade classes- something I haven't done since my first year of teaching.  As I looked over some of my 7th grade lesson plan leftovers, I realized how much I have grown as a teacher in the last 10 years.  None of it was usable.  So this summer, I spent planning my 7th grade curriculum.  First stop- Edgar Allan Poe.


Our English department loves Poe.  Each year, different grades study different Poe stories and poems.  The 6th graders read "The Raven," and the 8th graders read "The Tell-Tale Heart." The 7th graders, however, read one of my least favorite stories, "The Black Cat."  Having lost one of my kitties to kidney failure last May and suffering from pregnancy hormone overdrive, I knew I wouldn't be able to get through the story without crying.  So I looked for an alternative and settled on the "Masque of the Red Death." With that settled, I began tackling a 21st Century collaborative project that students could complete along with the reading.

Scenario: In this unit, a famous movie director wants his next film to be about the life and death of Edgar Allan Poe and has has tasked the film's head writer with researching the various theories surrounding Poe's death. 

Collaboration: Students will assume the role of writer, and together, they will research, create, and pitch their theory to the movie's development team. 

Research: Perfect for younger students as well as older students! In this unit, students are given a website to use in the research process, but more advanced students can use this website as a springboard, launching their investigation even further.

Communication: Students will examine the parts of the presentation, persuasive media literacy techniques, and communication skills in preparation for their pitch. The product created will be available in an online format, easily shared with the world beyond their classroom walls!

Creativity: Students have the option to create projects that appeal to a variety of learning styles. Student choices are endless! I have included a list of Web 2.0 websites my students have enjoyed using in the past as well as a few other project ideas.

In this download, you will receive the following:

• A 15 page teacher's manual including fully developed lesson plans with essential questions, materials list, and step-by-step directions with set inductions featuring links to Youtube videos.
• An ActivInspire flipchart for each lesson that uses sliders and revealer tools.
• A pdf student manual that houses all of the handouts for the entire unit in one easy to manage download.
• Ready to use grading rubrics! Available in a printable format or spreadsheet form (Google Docs)
• Student self-reflection activity also available in printable format or in Google Docs forms.
• This unit is 100% ready to use and would be the perfect technology project to accompany the study of any of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories or poems.

Download The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe: A 21st Century Collaborative Project.

Heart Maps and Word Clouds

Georgia Heard's book Awakening the Heart is a collection of exercises designed to help students find poetry in their everyday lives.  One of my favorite activities from this book is the Heart Map, which is a drawing that contains words and images that represents who we are as a person and writer.  In my class, we refer to the heart map whenever we need an inspiration in our writing.  

Directions for Heart Mapping

What's close to your bones? (Changing the language of the activity to appeal to boys)

As a teacher, I believe in giving my students choices in how they create this project.  Some students love the artistic side of the assignment, but my non-creative students sometimes struggle with it.  For the last several years, I have considered using Wordle, or an alternative word cloud website, to create heart maps, but I’ve always hesitated, not wanting to lose the heart shape component of the project.  Luckily, there are now word cloud websites that allows the user to select a particular shape for their end product.  These are my Top 3 word cloud websites I would use for creating heart maps.  

1.  Tagxedo: When it comes to creating word clouds, my students prefer Tagxedo over Wordle because of the site's ability to allow the user to customize the shape, font, and color of the word cloud.  It is free, very easy to use, and best of all, it doesn't require a login and password!  There are several variations of heart shapes built into Tagxedo.  When students are finished with their heart map, most choose to screen grab it, but the website also allows you to print or save your heart map as an image file.    

2.  Tagul: Tagul is currently beta testing but looks as if it will have a promising future.  Not only does the website allows users to create word clouds in specific shapes, but it also allows users to add links to the cloud, making it a more interactive experience for the viewer.  The word clouds can then be easily embedded into a website or blog.  Another plus? This site isn’t flash-based, so it will work with iPads!  Each user account has a 20 word cloud limit.  Since I teach approx. 140 students, I am creating multiple accounts and allowing my students to share a class login and password.  Students can work on different word clouds in the same account at the same time (just not on the same cloud at the same time).  This website works well in Chrome, but it’s still a little buggy in Safari. 

3.  Image Chef's Make Word Mosaic: This site offers a free and a "Pro" plan.  The free version allows the user to create a small heart map, customize the colors and fonts, and save it to a computer.  Unfortunately, the image is rather small and the free version of the website contains ads, which on my visit included links to pretty girls on Match.com…  The "Pro" plan, however, removes ads and allows more customizations for your students, including the ability to save a larger version of your heart map.  Image Chef is also creating mobile versions of many of their products, and perhaps one day in the future, there will be an app for Make Word Mosaic available to iPad users.