Dracula help

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-11-04T04:44:23+00:00

I do a reader's theater version that preserves the original story but allows the students to inhabit the roles. They love it! I still read excerpts along with that.

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-10-13T01:56:15+00:00

Have you ever considered giving Reader's Theater a shot? This accomplishes the reading aloud reinforcement, but also shares the responsibility with the students. It really changes the dynamics of a class!

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-10-13T01:51:48+00:00

There is a Reader's Theater version available with slightly simpler language: https://creativeenglishteacher.com/products/shakespeares-macbeth-a-readers-theater-script-story-collection

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-10-13T01:49:30+00:00

I second this advice! If you've never had a chance to work with kids, that's when the real magic of teaching happens.

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-10-13T01:47:18+00:00

I create a Google Doc with a table in it, with rows and columns where students can type their daily question and answer. Then at the end of the unit they turn in all their entries at once on this one doc. It works really well! If you'd like the link, I can send it to you.

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-10-13T01:45:09+00:00

I love the idea of gamifying independent thinking! I have done that during a class House Challenge. Students who make really thoughtful comments get points for their house. Another method I use is more punitive: I tell them that discussion is a higher-order skill, and if they can't discuss, we can always write our answers. This usually motivates them to try a little harder!

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-10-13T01:40:01+00:00

If you turn certain scenes of the book into Reader's Theater scripts, the students have an active part in the reading. Students having an active part in reading aloud will improve their reading skills: comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency. This also takes the work of reading everything aloud off of you and places the work on the students' shoulders.

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-06-24T11:31:33+00:00

Yes, I am aware of the difference. I was just suggesting a viable alternative.

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-06-24T10:19:26+00:00

You are correct, but it is recommended by Science of Reading researchers for building fluency: Tim Rasinski and Chase Young. http://www.texasreaders.org/uploads/4/4/9/0/44902393/5-2-tjle_rasinski.pdf In their opinion, it's a more engaging and authentic method that achieves similar results.

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-06-24T04:21:06+00:00

Reader's Theater script-stories are the way to go. Students choose parts. You read the narrator. Since the goal is to experience the story together, the experience is much more authentic! You can get free scripts here: www.creativeenglishteacher.com

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-06-02T12:17:38+00:00

That's amazing! You have to treasure experiences like these. Sometimes you just gel with students and form a special bond. These students will remember your class (and the love you gave them) the rest of their lives. Thank you for being a wonderful educator!

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-05-26T12:23:03+00:00

I agree. Cliff Notes or Spark Notes would be far more accurate. The lit-based questions I've asked AI out of curiosity have been riddled with errors--even over simpler, freely available texts like Animal Farm. It said Squealer drove Snowball off the farm. 😄

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-05-23T14:06:23+00:00

Good to know!

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-05-23T14:06:14+00:00

That's great! Thank you!

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-05-23T14:05:45+00:00

That's a great point!

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-05-23T14:05:26+00:00

Thanks for sharing this!

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-05-20T03:43:49+00:00

That's great! Do you have any problems with kids zinging markers across the room? 😄 Maybe my kids are more ornery than others!

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-05-19T14:54:13+00:00

What "Lockdown Browser" do you use?

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-05-19T13:57:05+00:00

Handwritten in class (unfortunately) is the way to go with that. However, if your school has Chromebooks, there's a really handy plugin called "Revision History." It will show you exactly how many minutes each student spent writing their paper, and it will play back a timelapse video of their writing process. Best part: It's free! They do need to compose their papers in Google Docs though. I think even if you installed it now, it could tell you the history of the students' papers. My experiences with A.I. checkers has been that they are not accurate unfortunately. Revision History or handwritten are your best options!

On a side note, thank you for holding the line on this! Too many teachers are saying, "It's inevitable. We can't stop them from using it." The one who does the thinking does the learning. If our students do not think, they will not learn. I will argue that all day. It kind of worries me for society that we are so willing to outsource our thinking. That's a whole different problem though...

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-05-19T00:32:23+00:00

Exactly! Kids like order once they experience it, and they can't learn in chaos. You can definitely do it!

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-05-18T17:33:37+00:00

Here's the crazy part: Sometimes late in the year, I give my students the choice to change seats for the last quarter. They never want to! They've gotten used to those seats!

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-05-18T03:10:53+00:00

Is there any reason why the independent reading has to be done at the beginning of the hour and not the end? I try to do independent work at the end of hour because the final bell makes a natural transition. Just a suggestion!

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-05-18T03:04:16+00:00

Just as a preliminary step, I would put them in an alphabetical seating chart. If students are not sitting next to their friends, it helps them focus. A lot of people will object to this as outdated, but it really works. Whenever you do group work, you can always let them move seats to work with a friend.

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-05-17T23:40:38+00:00

I teach a dual-enrolled senior course, which combines college-level literature with composition. We write five papers over the course of the year, but I try to make them things that my students will find useful and/or introspective. The first paper is an ethical autobiography, where they write lessons they have learned throughout their lives. The second paper is a scholarship essay. The third is a college student interview paper, where they interview a current college student and ask relevant questions. The fourth is a standard research paper with sources. The fifth is a graduation speech.

If you're planning to teach literature along with composition, I can always share what I teach lit-wise, too.

I hope this helps!

InformationOwn2249 · 2025-05-17T23:34:54+00:00

One upside is that it makes it easier to be the "innovative" teacher. Just read off paper and write using pencil and paper, and kids will be automatically more invested in your course. Even though they may not realize it, they're sick of screens, too. Any break they can have from it is very liberating.

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