Category Archives: Teaching Tips

Ideas to Liven Up Your Classroom Routine in the Spring

Posted on April 17, 2013 | 2 Comments

Let’s face it. Spring is here, and the students are beginning to think about summer already. Perhaps you are too. This is the time of year when teachers are tired, students are tired, and routines are tired as well.

I try to add some pizzazz to the class this time of year by changing small things and introducing new games and practices. It gives everyone a little jolt of energy and keeps things interesting. Any little thing that’s out of the ordinary can wake up tired minds.

Image by Cayusa on Flickr

Image by Cayusa on Flickr

Here are eight ideas that work well in my class.

  1. Introduce new music. I use Pandora on my classroom computer and type in a station for something we haven’t heard much of, such as jazz, movie soundtracks, or music from another culture.
  2. Introduce some video drawing lessons. When we need a short, ten minute break, I play a video of one of Mark Kistler’s drawing lessons. His drawing lessons entrance kids up to about age 13. You can find several of his lessons on YouTube. Each one is only a few minutes long, and the students turn out some nice looking pictures while learning art vocabulary.
  3. Play some new games. One we play is called Slapstick. Two students stand back to back, and a third student gives them each a playing card which they place on their foreheads. The third student says the product of the two cards. The other two students turn and face each other. Looking at the other person’s card, they must guess what card is on their own forehead. For example, if the product is 7, and the first student sees a 1 on the second student’s forehead, he knows his card is a 7.
  4. Play a poison word game for the entire day. We choose a word such as “please” or “thanks” to be the poison word and we choose a language. All day long, any time a person says the poison word, he or she must say it in the new language. We also choose core content words, such as “electricity” or “revolution” or a word related to our content topic of the day. Everyone has to stay awake to play this game!
  5. I use a points system for classroom management. If the class gets three points ahead of me, I let them play a game for three minutes. Sometimes I let them have three minutes of free time to sit with a friend. Or we’ll extend recess by three minutes. Conversely, if I get three minutes ahead of them, I have the option of giving them an extra page of homework. Bwahahaha!
  6. Assign new types of projects. If you choose a computer project, the students will usually be quite excited. Have them do a video book report, or a PowerPoint report on a topic you’re studying. Have them write a song to remember a concept. Turn the mundane routines into something fun with music, kinesthetics, and technology. 
  7. Invite more of your parents to come in and do a presentation or activity with the students. Having a guest visit the classroom is a great way to break out of your regular routine.
  8. Get a jump start on summer reading. Give your students a sampling of some of the best summer books. Look up a list of good books at your library, and read excerpts out of each one. Or better yet, take a trip to the local library and have the librarian introduce the students to some activities and books for their age group.

Of course, this late in the year, you don’t want to let routine go by the wayside. If you do, your room will turn into Class Chaotic. So keep the regular routine that works for you, and add a few activities here and there to keep everyone interested and happy.

Do you have other ideas to shake things up in the spring?

Enjoy the rest of your school year teaching!

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Rhymes to Remember Proper Use of There, Their, They’re, Theirs, and There’s

Posted on April 4, 2013 | 4 Comments

One thing that drives me crazy, and may do the same to you is when people misuse the words in the title of this post. My students have trouble knowing which to use when, so I came up with these simple pointers to teach them the proper use of the homophones for the word “there.”

One week, I’ll make a spelling list of nothing but the words there, their, they’re, theirs, and there’s.  I teach these rhymes to remember which is used when.

When to Use There, Their, or They’re

Location

When you’re writing about WHERE,

If it’s not HERE, it’s always THERE.

Notice how the location words all have the spelling HERE inside them? Point that out to your students. That’s the trick to remembering THERE.

Ownership

Once upon a time a little HEIR

Lived inside of the word THEIR.

When he was joined by other HEIRS

The things they owned became all THEIRS.

Notice again the spelling of the word HEIR  inside the ownership version of THEIR.

Apostrophes

If your sentence can use THEY ARE

Put an apostrophe into THEY’RE.

When THERE IS  fits the sentence heard,

THERE’S an apostrophe in the word.

We spend the week learning these tips, and using them in context. At the end of the week, I give them a test. It’s a reading passage with all the homophones for the word “there” removed. They must write the correct spelling of each one in the empty spots.

For example I read this aloud, filling in there, their, and there’s. The students must write the correct spelling in each blank.

________ are fifty states in the United States. Some of ___________ names have historical significance. _____________ a trick to remembering _________names in alphabetical order.

By the end of a week, most students have mastered the proper use of these troubling words. In fact, one of my students went home last month and taught his parents how to use these words. (I hope they didn’t find it annoying to have their ten-year-old teach them grammar!)

If these words give you trouble, they won’t any longer, after you learn these rhymes to remember them.

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Posted in Become a Better Writer, Teaching, Teaching Tips, Tips for Writers, Writing, Writing Tips

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Teaching Simply: Edit Writing in Ten Minutes

Posted on March 6, 2013 | 5 Comments
Student writing in her journal.

Image from StarforLife.org on Flickr.

This ten-minute line editing system is what I teach the students in my classroom to use. It breaks down the editing of their writing projects into small, manageable chunks that allow them to concentrate on one thing at a time. This system is perfect for short stories, five paragraph essays, persuasive writing, and five-paragraph report writing.

If you’re interested in a more in-depth editing system for freelance writing and novels, see my earlier post on How to Edit Smarter, Not Harder.

The acronym CUPS details the steps of this editing process. I first heard of CUPS in the Step Up to Writing method, sold and marketed by Sopris West. Over the past dozen years, I’ve adapted it to my ten-minute method. It saves time in the classroom and produces fast, accurate results.

CUPS stands for:

C – Capitalization

U – Usage

P – Punctuation

S – Spelling

EDIT FOR CUPS IN FOUR SHORT STEPS

Step 1, C – Capitalization:

Armed with a colored pencil or pen, my students exchange papers. I set a timer for two minutes. I tell them in the first two minutes, they will look at nothing but capitalization. We review the rules of capitalization of the first word in a sentence, proper nouns, and the word I.

Working with the timer running, the students quickly scan through the writing, triple underlining anything that should be capitalized, and crossing out anything that should use a lower case letter.

Bam. Done with the first step.

Step 2, P – Punctuation:

I skip to P for punctuation. We review basic punctuation rules for end punctuation and quotation marks. I start the timer and off they go. Working quickly, they scan through the article, checking to see if the writer used proper punctuation. If they find a mistake, they correct it using proofreaders’ marks, putting the punctuation in a circle.

If you’re unclear about some of the basic rules, see the most popular post on this blog, How to Use Proper Punctuation When Writing Dialogue.

Bam. Step 2 is done.

Step 3, S – Spelling:

Now we move on to spelling. I remind the students that they do not have to provide the proper spelling to the writer. They only have to circle any words they believe are misspelled. It’s the writer’s responsibility to find the correct spelling.

I set the timer, they circle misspellings.

Bam. Step 3 is done and we’re on to the fourth step.

Step 4, U – Usage:

Now we backtrack to usage. I save it for last, because it seems to be the most complicated, especially for English Language Learners. My classes typically have 65% to 75% students with a home language other than English.

After reading their peer’s writing three times, they have a feel for the writing. They know if it’s choppy, or if sentences are constructed poorly. They may not immediately know how to fix it, but all they are responsible for is circling the sentences in which they find mistakes. This may be in word usage, verb choice, subject verb agreement, or other basic problems.

The timer starts, they circle.

Bam. Step 4 is finished.

FINAL STEPS IN EDITING

The students hand their papers back to each other. Typically, I see wonderful conversations happening about the marks on their papers, and discussions about what could be done to change it. It’s a fabulous sight to see.

Last of all, if you’d like the students to do a conceptual edit, this can be added and done in another two to four minutes.

Simply review what you as the teacher are looking for in this piece of writing. It might be as basic as a clear topic sentence and conclusion that restates the thesis, or it might be more complex.

Have each student read through his or her writing, and make notes in the margins for elements they need to change, move, remove, or insert.

Now the papers are finished, edits are noted, and the final draft of the writing becomes homework.  Using this system, my ten and eleven year old students have produced wonderful writing they’re proud to present to parents and peers.

I hope you find this system helpful for teaching how to edit quickly. If you have a system of your own that works well, I’d love to read about it in the comments, and I’m sure my readers would love to see it, too.

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Teaching Simply: How to Write a Script

Posted on February 26, 2013 | Leave a comment

As you may know, I teach young people, (ten and eleven year-olds) how to write as well as how to read what they write. I keep my lessons as clear and simple as possible, then add layers of depth in follow up lessons.

My class had a fabulous visit the first week of February from an actor with the B Street Theatre who did a short scriptwriting workshop with them. Little did they know, I would be requiring each of them to write a short play of their own. (Insert evil laugh here.)

I love playwriting, and it’s a way to get students to have fun writing, especially in the mid-year slump time. They get to flex their creativity and write with laughter.

First Step: Teach a Three Act Structure

I do this by drawing a big arc on the board. I then divide it into three sections representing the three acts. The First Act ends about 25% of the way into the script. The Second Act lasts for the next 50% and ends with the climax. The last 25% is Act Three, where the resolution to the story is written.

In the first section of the arc, I write C, S, E. B, S.

C stands for characters.

S stands for setting.

E stands for events.

B is the Black Moment of Death.

S is the solution, denouement, and resolution.

Working together as a class, we choose two character names. One will be the protagonist, (the hero) and the other will be the antagonist (the villain.) Then we choose the setting.

For the lesson this week, they chose Fred and Karina as the protagonists and a robber as the antagonist. They decided the play should take place in Spain.

Second Step: Create Big Problems for the Characters

Next, the class decided on three events that should lead to the Black Moment of Death, (the climax.) Most of the students in my classes have never written a play before. I always keep this lesson simple by limiting the characters to two or three, and having them think of three problems that build on one another to reach the 4th huge problem that is the climax.

  1. Fred and Karina, a brother and sister, are on vacation in Spain, and they get separated from their parents and are lost.
  2. They aren’t too worried. They have a cell phone. When Fred pulls out the phone to call their parents, a robber grabs it, steals their wallets, and runs. Fred and Karina run after him.
  3. They catch up to the robber and knock him down.  They search his pockets, but the wallets and cell phone are gone. The robber has already passed them off to someone else. 
  4. Black Moment of Death. Fred and Karina yell for the police. When the police come, they decide the two are hoodlums and they throw them in jail. Fred and Karina have no identification, no money, no phones. If the play ended here, they would probably die in jail.

Fourth Step: Solve the Problem

After we considered all the possible resolutions to the problem, we chose one.

I keep this lesson as simple as possible by using one main story arc. We don’t have any subplots or interwoven lines.  Simplicity gets the basics down; complexity will follow.

Erase the Arc and Repeat

Now I erase the story arc and draw a new one. I do this three or four times, until the students are comfortable with the process. It’s quite fun and energizing to hear the ideas they come up with.

Teach How to Write Stage Directions and Dialogue

The next step is showing the students the format of a script. Most of the students have never even read a play. I pull out copies of scripts for Reader’s Theater practice, and show them how stage directions and dialogue are formatted.

I require my students to skip a line between the characters’ lines. I also require stage directions to be in parentheses. You may prefer the formatting of your scripts to be slightly different. Just be clear and concise about what is expected, and show examples.

Set Them Free to Write

Invariably, by this point, the students are clamoring for me to stop teaching so they can write. I love when it gets to that point. This week, I turned Pandora Radio to the Classical Music for Studying station, and with the strains of Debussy in the room, they wrote.

They even asked for more time to write. They didn’t want to stop.

That was Tuesday, and by Friday, we had twenty-eight original new plays. Some were time travel, some were space travel, some were shopping adventures, and some were wild animal adventures. The best part is seeing the wide variety of topics.

Taking it Further

Now we have short plays to use for Reader’s Theater (RT) performances. I’ve found RT to be an effective way to increase expressive fluency in reading. When they’re reading their own creations, they are vested in making the best presentation possible. So they work hard at perfecting the delivery of each and every line.

In the end, we have fun writing, fun performing, and fun watching the plays. It meets many of the California writing and reading standards for our grade level. We’re covered if someone walks into the classroom and thinks we can’t possibly have that much fun if we’re working on the standards.

Have fun teaching and writing!

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Growing Readers in the Classroom

Posted on December 12, 2012 | Leave a comment

There’s a reason I use the word “growing” in the title of this post and not the word “teaching.” Teaching reading is only one part of the whole process of growing readers. I use the word “growing” to give the connotation of planting a seed and caring for it as it takes on a life of its own.

Lao_schoolgirls_reading_books

I believe reading is the one most important skill children need to learn to become successful students and successful in life. Reading is the cornerstone to learning all other subjects and skills, whether it’s in math, the sciences, the arts, or trades. If someone is able to read, that person can learn anything.

However, unless a person develops a love for reading, the process will always be drudgery, and learning other things will seem tedious as well. Our technologically advanced world requires literate, creative thinking problem solvers. They need to be able to read all types of text on all types of devices.

After reading The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller, I set out to teach reading with a new intent. My purpose in teaching is to create good readers who love the written word, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, and who become well educated through reading. Think about it. What better way is there to gain a wide range of knowledge than by reading? For students in my socio-economically depressed area, reading is the only way. They don’t have the opportunity or funds to go to the theater, museums, or cultural events. It’s rare for one of my students to have ever traveled outside the country except for the few who visit relatives in Mexico. The only way these children will learn about the world around them is through reading.

Here are my five steps for growing readers, in order of importance.

Give them uninterrupted time to read.

Set aside a dedicated thirty minute block of time to do nothing but read every day. Thirty minutes seems to be the optimum amount of time for daily practice of new mental skills. Thirty minutes is also just enough time to really get into a book and get enough out of it to enjoy it. I tell my students that I’m their coach. If their soccer coach teaches them a skill, he or she requires them to practice it. The coach would never say, “Here, let me make that goal for you. Let me kick the ball for you.” No, the coach requires them to practice until they reach mastery, and then they practice some more. The same applies to reading. This thirty minute block of time is their reading practice time.

Don’t let anything get in the way of their reading.

Give them truly uninterrupted time. Don’t allow anyone to use that time to catch up on late assignments, to chat with friends, or get distracted from reading in any way. We call our time DEAR, (Drop Everything and Read.) I do mean drop everything, and I am religious about doing just that. Along the same lines, I refuse to allow the frenzy of test prep and pressure to horn in on our reading time. Always keep that time sacred.

You read too.

Yes, you, Teacher. Set the example and show them how enjoyable reading can be. I choose to read books my students will enjoy. Sarah Weeks, the author of So B. It, Regular Guy, Pie, and many other books, has become a favorite in my class this year, and right now I’m reading Pie. Three students saw me start reading it yesterday, saw the author’s name, and immediately asked to read it after me. There’s always a waiting list for books by our favorite authors. Last year it was Gary Paulsen. Next year, who knows?

Have plenty of books in the classroom at all levels of reading.

Students come to me in the fifth grade reading at levels varying from 2nd grade to 10th grade. I have hundreds of books in my room, perhaps thousands. I’ve lost count. They’re organized in tubs by genre.  I buy genre stickers from Demco, a library supply company, and all the books are labeled. This makes it easy for the students to find and replace their books. There’s something for everyone, at every level. I’m a pro at finding books on the cheap. I haunt library book sales, where I can buy books for a dime, and I’m a regular volunteer and shopper at the Scholastic Book Fair Warehouse. This week I picked up over fifty brand new books for my classroom for $35.00.Book tubs in my classroom

Teach explicit reading strategies.

You might wonder why this is the last item on my list. It’s important to teach explicit reading strategies, but only if you give the students time to practice those skills in an authentic manner. I teach a skill, use a short reading passage to practice, then set them free to read and apply that skill in their own books.

As a result of using this method to grow readers, I’ve seen my students go from struggling readers at the beginning of the year to expert readers by the following Spring. This time of year, the students are begging for longer reading time. When I give them a five minute warning for the end of the reading time, they look up from their books, eyes in another world, and they use the five minutes to cram the last few words in as they come back to the real world. It’s a lovely sight to see.

If you’re interested in reading The Book Whisperer, you can visit Donalyn Miller’s blog to learn more about her methods.

Do you have any other ideas for growing readers? Is there something you do in your classroom that works well? Please share.

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Can I Buy a Semaphore, Please?

Posted on July 11, 2012 | 2 Comments

I’m a wordophile, and if you’re reading this, you may be one, too. Wordophile isn’t a proper word, I made it up, but it consists of logical word parts, and has the meaning, “An affinity or love for words.”

Cupcakes with racing cars and checkered flags

Image by Treasures and Tiaras Kids Parties on Flickr

Since I was a wee lass, my father played word games with all his bairns, instilling a love of word challenges in all of us. So when I discovered WordSlug, it appeared to be an easy way to add a few more words to my vocabulary. I’d grown weary of Freerice and needed something new to sate my linguistic hunger.

WordSlug presents a word for you to define. You then rate yourself on a scale of 0-5 according to how quickly and accurately you gave the correct meaning. Zero means you totally bombed while five means you knew it so well your fingers couldn’t hit the keyboard fast enough to keep up with your sizzling hot brain. The best feature WordSlug has is repeating a word again in a future round if you miss it or are unsure of its meaning.

Semaphore is a word that means, “conveying information with a visual cue or signal.” The first two times I tried this word, I totally blanked, getting a zero. Obviously, I needed a visual clue. A flag or a flashing light or sign language. The third time I was given the word, approximately ten days later, I vaguely remembered it. I proudly bumped my score up to a three. Pride goeth before a fall, because the next time semaphore appeared, I tripped and scrambled to find a visual memory to help me define the word.

After the fifth time, I settled on a checkered flag like the ones on these racing cupcakes by Treasures and Tiaras Kids’ Parties. It may not be a perfect visual cue, but it’s a clue I remember. Now I can tell you the meaning of semaphore with nary a second’s hesitation. Vroom, vroom!

I’m happy to report I no longer need to buy a semaphore. I’ve got it. But do you? Does anyone reading this want to buy a semaphore? I can give you a good deal on a visual cue.

Your turn:

Which words trip you up, time and again? Even better what often misused words have become your pet peeves?

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Why Teachers Dye Their Hair Blue (or at least this one does)

Posted on June 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

Yes, friends, today I’m running wild with blue hair.

Katy_Perry_blue_costume

No I’m not feeling blue, I’m not swearing a blue streak, and I’m not singing the blues. I’m celebrating in a big way over at the Honey Creek Books blog. Come on over and find out why I chose this particular look.

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Best of the Blogs in #amwriting #writetips #yalit #teaching

Posted on May 31, 2012 | Leave a comment

The latest and greatest posts from my blog feed. I tweeted them through @suzannelilly. If you missed them earlier this week, here’s your chance to catch up on your reading!

The Craft of Writing

Video examples of conflict in writing. http://tinyurl.com/6wcoecz #amwriting #writetips via Waterworld Mermaids

SEO and Social Media for Teachers and Writers

Free Sites to Promote Your eBook – GalleyCat http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/free-ebook-promotion_b52130 #indiebook #amwriting #amreading @JenniA8677

Social media, schools, teaching, writing, talking online. Good or bad? http://tinyurl.com/6p6kejs via ChickSwagger

Writing and Teaching Resources

What dominoes & writing have in common. This video shows you in 1.5 minutes. http://tinyurl.com/7asthut via @BridgetteBooth #amediting You can use this to illustrate stick-to-it-iveness, i.e., tenacity.

Here’s an opp to share the love and write about what you read. http://tinyurl.com/7xr976u via @miztrebor #amreading #amwriting

Fun Posts

Top Books to Read at the Beach #amreading #fridayreads #yalit http://bestsellers.about.com/od/readingrecommendations/tp/top_beach_book.htm


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Best of the Blogs in #amwriting #writetips #yalit #teaching

Posted on May 24, 2012 | Leave a comment
  • I’ve tweeted bunches of great posts for you this week from @suzannelilly. Here’s a listing in case you missed any of them.

Teaching Tips

The Craft of Writing

47 words and phrases that slow your reader down http://wp.me/pVquh-jW from BeKindRewrite #amwriting

What character, POV, and narrator tell your reader. via @Janice_Hardy blog.janicehardy.com/2012/05/whos-there-introducing-characters-in.html

Avoid Being Branded as an Amateur: Use These 7 POV Basics
http://shar.es/qWGVi via @jodyhedlund #amwriting #writetips

What every author needs to know before writing for Harlequin. From Jack Konrath’s blog. http://tinyurl.com/6v5uzok #amwriting

SEO and Social Media for Teachers and Writers

Book marketing dos and don’ts. http://tinyurl.com/c3hozcw via @WWMermaids #pubtips #socialmedia

Because we all need reminders sometimes. Dos & don’ts on Twitter. http://tinyurl.com/87dmquc via @dirtywhitecandy #socialmedia

Writing and Teaching Resources

RT @meg_allison: Fun activity for classes. MT @kidsmomo   Book Covers Redrawn in Five Minutes: http://bit.ly/L1got2 #mglit #teaching

Want a 50 page critique from @Lea_Nolan? Proceeds support diabetes research. http://tinyurl.com/6rhgvto #amediting #amwriting

Fun Posts

I was interviewed on Stephen Herfst’s blog yesterday. Please stop by & say hi! http://stephenherfst.blogspot.com/2012/05/interview-with-suzanne-lilly.html #amwriting #teaching

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Best of the Blogs in #amwriting #writetips #yalit #teaching

Posted on May 17, 2012 | 5 Comments

Here are some of the posts by remarkable writers I’ve found for you this week from @suzannelilly. Here’s a listing in case you missed any of them on Twitter.

The Craft of Writing

Here’s the thing about independent editors… http://wp.me/ppJnZ-1KK via @behlerpublish #amediting

The 21 Best Tips for Writing Your Opening Scene  http://wp.me/pVquh-jH Another good one to bookmark. #amwriting #amediting

26 Tricks to Keep Readers Reading http://wp.me/pVquh-jQ I bookmarked this one. #amwriting #amediting

SEO and Social Media for Teachers and Writers

Writer’s Cramp: In the E-Reader Era, a Book a Year Is Slacking http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/business/in-e-reader-age-of-writers-cramp-a-book-a-year-is-slacking.html #amwriting

Fun Posts

#MyPastRelationships Taught Me This.http://pic.twitter.com/fb4uTgXE

While cruising Youtube, mostly to watch the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, (love those!) I came across the cutest video I’ve ever seen about a puppy and kitty in love. The dog has the most endearing expressions! It’s only a minute. Check it out here at the Honey Creek Books blog.


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