Inside the ELA Classroom

These strategies can help students who are able to decode well but have difficulty understanding what they read—and they’re beneficial for all students.

By Nina Parrish (Published on February 3, 2020)

When we think of reading issues, we often imagine children who struggle to decode the letters in text and turn them into spoken language. This type of struggling reader has a very difficult time figuring out what many of the words are and has poor phonological (speech-sound) skills. However, there are also many students who sound like they’re reading beautifully but have difficulty with understanding vocabulary and figurative language, inferencing, verbal reasoning, grammatical development, and oral expression.

As children get older, if they are decoding text well, we assume they are reading well. Once a person learns to decode, reading comprehension becomes more about language comprehension and focus. Starting around third grade, teachers may begin to notice some students who decode text fluently are not understanding what was read.

Since this type of struggling reader is less noticeable than ones who have difficulty decoding, they often slip under the radar until they begin to fail standardized state comprehension tests. Even then, their issues may go undetected for a long time, resulting in middle and high school students who sound like they’re reading but understand nothing that they have read.

These struggling readers should be targeted for remediation—the earlier the better. However, remediation consisting of practice passages and questions may be ineffective as it focuses too narrowly on text-based skills.

SUPPORTING STUDENTS WHO STRUGGLE WITH COMPREHENSION

Here are five strategies to try out with students who read fluently but struggle to comprehend what they’re reading.

1. Target overall comprehension of language: Recent research reveals that reading comprehension difficulties may stem from an underlying oral language weakness that exists from early childhood, before reading is even taught. It turns out that students who have poor reading comprehension also often understand fewer spoken words and less of what they hear, and have worse spoken grammar. So, to address reading comprehension deficits effectively, educators may have to use an approach that teaches vocabulary, thinking skills, and comprehension first in spoken language and then in reading and written language.

2. Teach vocabulary: Because students with poor comprehension often have poor vocabulary skills and understand less of what they hear, it’s helpful to teach the meanings of new words through the use of multisensory strategies like graphic organizers, pictures, and mnemonics. Improving their overall language skills increases the likelihood that they will understand the words they encounter in written text. Since it is impossible to know every word one might encounter, students should be taught about the different types of context clues and how to use them to determine the meaning of unknown words.

3. Teach thinking strategies: Once students have the vocabulary to be able to make it through a text, they often struggle with the complex thinking or sustained attention required to keep up with all of the important details and to access information that is implied but not directly stated. Teachers can instruct students on cognitive strategies they can use. Many common text reading strategies—such as annotation, SQ3R, and the KWL chart—make use of these thinking strategies, including:

• Discussing or activating prior knowledge,
• Developing questions while reading,
• Connecting what they are reading to another text, something they have seen, or something they have experienced,
• Visualizing or picturing what they are reading,
• Making predictions about what will come next in the text,
• Looking back for keywords and rereading in order to clarify or answer questions, and
• Thinking aloud to model the strategies and thought processes needed for comprehension.

Students can learn and then use the strategies that work best for them depending on the text they’re reading. Pulling deeper meaning out of text through the use of thinking strategies can be beneficial not just to reading comprehension but also to writing.

4. Have students practice reciprocal teaching: Once taught, cognitive strategies can be consistently practiced and implemented through the use of reciprocal teaching, which encourages students to take a leadership role in their learning and begin to think about their thought process while listening or reading. Teachers can use reciprocal teaching during class discussions, with text that is read aloud, and later with text that is read in groups. The students should rotate between the following roles:

• Questioner, who poses questions about parts of the lesson, discussion, or text that are unclear or confusing, or to help make connections with previously learned material.
• Summarizer, who sums up each important point or detail from the lesson, discussion, or text.
• Clarifier, who tries to address the Questioner’s issues and make sure that parts they found confusing are clear to others.
• Predictor, who makes a prediction about what will happen next based on what was presented, discussed, or read,

5. Directly teach comprehension skills: Students should be directly taught comprehension skills such as sequencing, story structure using the plot mountain, how to make an inference and draw a conclusion, and the different types of figurative language. Students should have the opportunity to first use the skills with text that they hear the teacher read aloud, and then later with text that they read independently at their own level.

The comprehension skills and strategies listed above can be used with the whole class, as they closely align with reading and language arts standards for elementary and middle school students. Teachers can help students select reading material with vocabulary that matches their current ability levels so that within a classroom, students are reading text and working on vocabulary at levels that are accessible for each of them.

Phonemic awareness is an awareness of and the ability to manipulate the individual sounds (called phonemes) in spoken words. It is a subset of phonological awareness—the ability to manipulate oral language at the level of word, rhyme, or syllable. Phonemic awareness is essential to the development of word recognition and ultimately automatic word reading. A provides the basis for understanding that letters are represented by speech sounds, called phonemes.

Taken from Literacyhow

The alphabetic principle is the insight that the sounds in spoken words are represented by the letters of the alphabet. Phonics is the study and use of sound/spelling correspondences and syllable patterns to help students read written words. The ultimate goal of phonics instruction is to ensure that students can read each and every word accurately and automatically–that is, as a sight word.

Taken from Literacyhow

Morphology is the study of meaningful units of language, called morphemes, and how they are combined in forming words. For example, the word contradiction can be broken up as contra-dict-ion, with the prefix contra- (against), the root word dict (to speak), and the suffix –ion (a verbal action).

Taken from Literacyhow

Kristina Robertson and Colorín Colorado

Before reviewing these strategies, it is helpful to understand where the difficulty lies when teaching phonics to older students.

Challenges

Teaching phonics to middle and high school English language learners (ELLs) pose the following challenges:

Curriculum

Phonics becomes a minimal part of the Language Arts curriculum for students in intermediate grades and above — it is assumed that students have learned the sound/symbol correspondence necessary to read by the upper elementary grades.

For ELLs who start their education in the U.S. after 4th grade, this can be very problematic because the intensive phonetic instruction they need is unlikely to be a part of their daily curriculum.

Limited literacy skills in native language

Many educators believe that students only need to learn to read once. Once the concept of matching a symbol with a sound has been learned, it can be applied to new languages.

Students who have not learned to read in their native language or whose native language does not use a phonetic alphabet may struggle to grasp the concept of phonetic relationships between sound and letters.

Unfamiliar vocabulary words

Phonics instruction may also be tied to vocabulary words that are unfamiliar to ELLs.

Worksheets with "fat, cat, mat, hat" are not always effective with older learners because of the lack of context and meaning.

ELLs may not recognize all of the words listed in these drills, and they will not necessarily apply the sounds learned in the drills when they encounter new words in their reading text if they don't see a connection from one exercise to the other.

Age-appropriate instructional materials and strategies

Phonics instruction materials and strategies are often targeted towards much younger children. While some materials can be adapted for use by older students, most are unlikely to be engaging or appealing for middle and high school ELLs. They may feel embarrassed at using "childish" materials, and they will quickly get bored by the drill and repetition that younger students have a need for.

Older students want to engage in activities requiring the use of higher-order thinking skills, which early literacy materials don't usually offer.

Basic Strategies: Build a Foundation

Enlist extra support: ELLs in 4th grade and above who need further instruction on phonics will be most helped by intensive intervention. Ideally, they should attend a reading remediation class or receive special support to continue phonics instruction from a reading specialist. If such support is unavailable for your students, ask your school's reading specialist and principal for help finding a research-based supplemental or intervention program that you can use with the student.

Use hands-on activities to help teach letter-sound relationships: This can include using manipulatives such as counters, sound boxes, magnetic letters, or Scrabble tiles. Students may also be interested in creating their own materials on the computer or through an art project. Month-by-Month Phonics for Upper Grades: A Second Chance for Struggling Readers and Students Learning English also offers a number of ideas for incorporating phonics activities into the curriculum.

Provide targeted support for students whose native language is non-alphabetic: Language skills transfer from one language to another; students literate in their native language will already have background knowledge of how reading works.

If their native language is non-alphabetic, however, students may need extra practice in the following areas:

• Direction: Students may not be accustomed to reading from left to right and top to bottom.
• Letter-sound recognition: Students may need extra practice on matching sounds and letters, particularly if they are used to a system of characters that symbolize words rather than sounds.

Use an alphabet chant: If older students need to review their alphabetic skills, look for a jazz or hip-hop alphabet chant that students will find entertaining and engaging. There are many examples online and on YouTube.

Have students write for sound: Say a short sentence that includes one or more words that include the target phonics feature(s). Ask students to listen carefully and then write what they heard. This activity trains students to listen for the individual sounds in words and represent them phonetically in their writing.

Work in small groups: If students are past the age at which phonemic awareness and phonological skill-building have been addressed (typically kindergarten through first or second grade), attend to these skills one-on-one or in small groups with developmentally appropriate and engaging activities. Ask your school's reading specialist for help finding appropriate activities and materials.

Intermediate Strategies: Make It Relevant and Fun!

Help students make a connection between their first language and English: For students with stronger native language literacy skills (especially in languages related to English like Spanish), help them understand that the process of sounding out words is the same across languages. Explain some letters may make the same or similar sounds in both languages. Knowing this can help Spanish-dominant students, for example, as they learn to decode words in English.

Teach phonics in context: Use authentic text and/or vocabulary words that are known to the ELLs. Using relevant literature and content material you can introduce and reinforce:

• letter recognition
• beginning and ending sounds
• blends
• rhyming words
• silent letters
• homonyms

Integrate phonics and content instruction: When possible, collaborate with the reading specialist and content-area teachers to integrate phonics instruction into content and classroom lessons and texts, as well as into academic vocabulary instruction.

Make it a game: Try activities as simple as looking for a particular sound on the page, or reciting words and having students hold up a sign with the correct sound on it after each word. You may also want to try short games of Scrabble, Hangman, and Memory. These are quick activities but they can effectively reinforce the targeted phonetic concept.

Look for high-low reading materials: "High interest/low readability" texts are books that are written on a first to third grade reading level but treat themes and topics that are of interest to students of middle school or high school age. You can find a number of suggestions in the following resources; many of the books listed may be available in your school's library or in your local public library.

• Motivating ELL Student Readers: This article from Colorín Colorado offers strategies for engaging reluctant readers, as well as recommended booklists and publishers that offer "high-low" books and materials.
• Leveled Books for Readers Grades 3-6, by Fountas and Pinnell: This book lists over 6,000 books and gives the author, reading level, publisher, and genre of each. The genres that are included are: "traditional literature," "realistic fiction," "historical fiction," "science fiction," "fantasy," "biography," and "information book."

Use poetry, jazz chants, and songs: Find poems, chants, and songs that relate to students' interests, or ask them to bring some of their favorites in that can be included in the lesson. Recite the text aloud, and then give students time to practice reading aloud as well.

Integrate phonics instruction with word study: Teach students how to identify word parts, break words down into syllables, and use word families. Use content-area words for this exercise that students are likely to find in their academic work.

Try a mental exercise to build your students' stamina. Students should be taught to notice when their brains are wandering...One stamina building activity:

Set a timer as students read a book and select passages.

Week 1: 10 minutes

Week 2: 15 minutes

Week 3: 30 minutes

Week 4: 25 minutes​

Week 5: 30 minutes

The schedule can be further modified to increase at a slower rate if students need more time "grow the stamina." Make note when students get restless and wiggle. Encourage the students to take note when their brains wander or they loose focus. Make a big deal of the process and practice. Encourage students to set their own goals and track the growth. Bookmarks and reading logs would be a great tool. Allow students to share their progress.

December 1 (1955) (Rosa Parks was arrested)

December 3 (Persons with Disabilities Day)

December 5 (World Soil Day)

December 6 (Write to a Friend Month)

December 7 (Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day)

December 8 (Handwashing Awareness Week)

December 10 (Human Rights Day)

December 11 (International Mountain Day)

December 15 (Bill of Rights Day)

December 17 (Wright Brothers Day)

December 19 (Winter Holidays Worksheets)

December 19 (Winter HOlidays Reading Lists)

Polar Express (PreK-K, 1-2) Crafts, Printouts, Mini Units, etc.

Give your students the Dickens!

Holiday Activities

Winter First Letter Sounds (Kindergarten)

Winter Syllables (Kindergarten)

Comparing Seasons (Grade 1)

Christmas Rhymes (Grade 1)

A Christmas Story (Grade 2)

New Year's Day Context Clues (Grade 3)

Christmas Jokes (Grade 3)

Christmas in Brazil (Grade 4)

A Christmas Fairy (Grade 4)

Chinese New Year Research (Grade 5)

Kwanzaa Reading Passage (Grade 5)

Celebrate the Winter Holidays (Grades 6-8) - Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa

A Toast to Santa Claus (Grade 8)

The Legend of the Christmas Tree (Grade 9)

November 2020

October 2020

September 2020

August 2020

July 2020

Newsletter Archives (2018 - May 2020)

Polar Express has become a favorite for teachers and students during the holiday season. Take advantage of the "teachable moment" while connecting the book and move to your curriculum. share your ideas in our your grade level Learning Resource Folders!

Writing topic: Why do you think the author had the boy lose the bell?

Vocabulary

Chris Van Allsburg Author Spotlight

Countdown to Christmas games and activities.

Encourage your students to read by creating a train track reading log.

A Teacher's Guide to the Polar Express.

Polar Regions MapMaker Kit - National Geographic

The Artic Region - National Geographic

Polar Bear Territory - National Geographic

• The boy's friend told him that Santa doesn't exist, but the boy continues to believe. Think of a time in your own life that you have experienced this situation. How does it feel to keep firm when other people tell you you are wrong?
  
  
• Notice how Van Allsburg adds to his descriptions of the train ride to the North Pole by comparing one thing to another (give some examples). How does this kind of descriptive language add to the story for you?
  
  
• The boy can ask Santa Claus for anything in the world. Why do you think he chooses a simple bell?
  
  
• Why can the boy and his sister hear the bell while their parents cannot?
  
  
• Why can the boy still hear the bell as an adult, while his sister and friends cannot?
  
  
• What do you think Van Allsburg wants the bell to represent?

Chris Van Allsburg talks about his childhood, his artwork, and the creation of The Polar Express

Q) What was your childhood like?

A) I grew up just outside Grand Rapids, Michigan. There were open fields, trees, and unpaved roads. The houses weren't big — they were nice, small houses for families of four or maybe five. There were still places nearby where I could catch tadpoles. There were places to go sledding, and fields where you could play baseball — not someplace surrounded by a fence, just open fields. I rode my bike to school.

My father ran a dairy. Not the kind with cows, but one that converted milk into ice cream, butter, and cottage cheese. On Sundays, my father would take me along with him to the dairy to make the cottage cheese. There was a giant stainless-steel vat with milk heating up in it. My job was to push a floating thermometer around the big tank, using a stick, to see if the tank had a uniform temperature. Then my father would put bacteria in to start the process of turning milk to cheese. Then we’d lower the lids on the vat. A couple of days later, you’d come back, and there would be guys standing in the vat with boots on and big shovels, shoveling the cottage cheese.

Q) What were your favorite childhood pastimes?

A) I loved to build models: cars, planes, and boats. In fact, I built these models rather obsessively and even as a child had an unchildlike concern for craftsmanship.

Q) Did you always know that you wanted to be an artist?

A) I drew as a child but didn't take art classes in high school. I entered the University of Michigan with a vague idea of becoming a lawyer, but as a lark I took some art courses in figure drawing. I rediscovered the pleasure that drawing had given me as a child. When I studied three-dimensional art it reminded me of building models. I thought it was great that I was going to get a college degree for doing something I did when I was eight years old. Ultimately, I graduated with a degree in sculpture. By that time I'd forgotten about law school, and went to the Rhode Island School of Design to continue studying sculpture.

Q) How did the story for The Polar Express occur to you?

A) I had this idea, this mental image, of a young boy who, perhaps while visiting relatives or something, hears a strange sound in the middle of the night, and he goes outside. It is a very foggy, misty night. He walks through these woods and sees a train standing still, just sitting in this kind of fog. Where is it going to go? Well, there are a lot of places a train could go and take a child, but where would a child want to go more than anywhere else? As I reflected on this mysterious train, it occurred to me that it must be a cold night, because the engine's steam is heavy. It might even be winter. Maybe some snow is falling. Perhaps it's December, close to Christmas, or even Christmas Eve. Then I asked myself the question again: where would a child want to go more than anywhere else on Christmas Eve?

Q) Did the story take you long to write?

A) The Polar Express was the easiest of my picture book manuscripts to write. I created only one draft and had to make only a few changes to the text. Once I realized the train was going to the North Pole, finding the story seemed less like a creative effort than an act of recollection. I felt, like the story's narrator, that I was remembering something, not making it up.

Q) What is The Polar Express about?

A) The Polar Express is about faith, and the power of imagination to sustain faith. It's also about the desire to reside in a world where magic can happen, the kind of world we all believed in as children, but one that disappears as we grow older.

Q) How did you create the artwork for the book?

A) I was interested in seeing what I could do with oil pastels; I attempted to achieve the qualities of the light at night by mixing color complements (reds with greens, oranges with blues) to bring out the ambiguous hues of colors in low light.

Q) Did you use models to create your images for The Polar Express?

A) Yes. The children were neighbors of David Macaulay. And David himself posed as Santa. But for most of the book — the train interiors, the landscapes, the North Pole — I relied on my imagination.

Q) Was there a particular artistic inspiration for the artwork in The Polar Express?

A) The mood and palette for The Polar Express were inspired by the paintings of the 19th-century German artist, Caspar David Friedrich. He was a landscape artist who created wonderful panoramic views with single small figures in the composition. I wanted to use the tertiary colors, the browns and the violets, to get the somber atmosphere I sensed in Friedrich's work.

Q) Were you surprised by the success of The Polar Express?

A) It was a surprise for everyone, especially when it appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. Kit William's Masquerade had been on the list, but I don't think any other picture book had appeared there. Houghton initially printed 50,000 copies, certainly indicating support for the book. But yes, we all were surprised.

Q) How would you describe the kind of fantasy you create in your work?

A) The idea of the extraordinary happening in the context of the ordinary is what's fascinating to me. Alfred Hitchcock always explored the ordinary person who was visited by unaccountable sorts of events and was pulled out of the kind of reality that he could rely on. I think fantasy is more provocative when it happens in the context of ordinariness, or things that you recognize. That's why outer space fantasies, fantasies of the Middle Ages, pixies, dwarfs, giants — none of that is especially appealing to me as a writer. I prefer surreal elements within a realistic landscape.

Q) Who was the audience you had in mind when creating The Polar Express?

A) I write for what's left of the eight-year-old still rattling around inside my head. I think it's a mistake to try to create something for a particular audience. You end up spending more time wondering what they like and less time wondering about what's really important to you as an artist.

Q) Have you been surprised by activities inspired by the book?

A) Surprised and pleased. I've received many letters (and some photos) that describe reenactments of the book in auditoriums and classrooms around Christmastime. In North Conway, New Hampshire, they reenact the ride itself with an old steam engine that makes a trip to a nearby ski lodge. The passengers (which include quite a few kids in their pajamas and bathrobes) disembark there, where about a hundred citizens of North Conway, dressed as elves and carrying lanterns, greet them. At the lodge there's a presentation of the story, Santa appears, and as they leave, all the children are given a small sleigh bell.

Q) Do you often get interesting letters from your readers?

A) I have a favorite one, about Jumanji. "Dear Mr. Van Allsburg, I love the books you write. I am so glad your books are so weird because I am very weird. I think you are weird but great. I wish a volcano and a flood could be in my room when I am bored."

Q) What will you be doing in the next fifteen years?

A) I don't make plans. All my life, one artistic impulse has simply led me to another. I thought once that I was going to become a lawyer, but I became a sculptor. That led me to drawing, which led me to storytelling and, recently, I've been doing some writing for film. Following my muse has worked out pretty well so far. I can't see any reason to change the formula now.

An interview from 2000. Taken from http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/features/thepolarexpress/cvaconversation.shtm

Reading aloud is the foundation for literacy development. It is the single most important activity for reading success (Bredekamp, Copple, & Neuman, 2000). When students listen to books, it provides them with a demonstration of phrased, fluent reading (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996). Children can listen on a higher language level than they can read, so reading aloud makes complex ideas more accessible and exposes students to vocabulary and language patterns that are not part of everyday speech. Remember --- students of any age benefit from hearing an experienced reading of a wonderful book.

In this self-paced lesson, students explore how Shakespeare uses supernatural elements in Macbeth. The lesson begins with an exploration of beliefs about the supernatural and witchcraft in Shakespeare’s time as presented in a segment from Shakespeare Uncovered. Students turn to the text of Macbeth and analyze the action, imagery, characterization, and language of Act I, Scene iii (the scene in which Macbeth and Banquo first encounter the witches and hear their predictions). Then, students view another segment from Shakespeare Uncovered and explore key questions about the role of the witches in the action of Macbeth. Finally, they examine other supernatural episodes in the play and produce a paper exploring the impact and meaning of one of these episodes. This lesson is best used after a reading of Macbeth.

GPB PBS LearningMedia

This lesson explores the validity of a statement that Oscar-nominated actor Ethan Hawke (Boyhood, Training Day) makes in the Macbeth episode of Shakespeare Uncovered: "There's always a certain magic that happens when you start to say the lines [from a Shakespeare play] out loud that you can't anticipate. It feels like a spell." (This lesson is designed to be used as part of a unit on Macbeth. The Introductory Activity could be used as a prereading exercise to introduce performance at the beginning of the unit.)

GPB PBS LearningMedia

At a time when nationalism and extremism are on the rise, questions about the importance of understanding and acceptance raised in the “Hath not a Jew eyes?” speech from The Merchant of Venice are particularly relevant. In these videos from Shakespeare Uncovered, explore what it means to be an outsider and the impact of persecution. Support materials engage students with contemporary connections through discussion questions and a handout analyzing Shylock’s speech.

Shakespeare Uncovered combines history, biography, iconic performances, new analysis, and the personal passions of its celebrated hosts to tell the stories behind the stories of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. To learn more and view full episodes, visit the Shakespeare Uncovered website and collection page.

GPB PBS LearningMedia

In this lesson, students will explore the role of women in Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It. In the Introductory Activity, students will begin with an examination of beliefs about women from texts written during Shakespeare’s day, which will allow students to imagine what women’s lives were like. In the Learning Activity, students will view video segments from Shakespeare Uncovered to review the role of Rosalind in As You Like It and learn about the practice of disguise in Shakespearean theater. Students will then turn to Act III, Scene ii of the play and analyze the text to uncover the ways in which Rosalind is both empowered and restricted as a woman within this scene. Viewing additional segments from Shakespeare Uncovered, students will begin to consider how Shakespeare’s views on women compare with modern-day attitudes. In the Culminating Activity, students will produce a paper in which they tackle the question, “Was Shakespeare a feminist?” This lesson is best used during a reading of As You Like It.

GPB PBS LearningMedia

Use this strategy as a pre-reading activity. Probable Passage introduces students to vocabulary they will encounter in the text. As this strategy is introduced, it is important to model each stage. Remember to think aloud.

Use this strategy as a pre-reading activity. It introduces readers to vocabulary they will encounter, and provides a powerful incentive to read. When the strategy is introduced for the first time, it is important that the teacher model each stage, always thinking aloud.

Process:

1. Choose eight to fourteen words or phrases from the text. The words should include terms that reflect the characters, setting, problem, and outcomes, as well as some unknown words that are critical to the theme of the selection.
   
2. Divide class into groups of three and present with a Probable Passage sheet that includes boxes that are labeled "Characters," "Setting," "Problem," "Outcomes," and "Unknown Words." In addition to these boxes, there are lines designated for writing a gist or prediction statement. Finally, there is a "Question" section that encourages the group to write down what they hope to find out during the reading.
   
3. Working as a group, the students discuss all of the words and phrases and decide into which box to put each one. As many of these as possible should be used, but it is not necessary to place all of them in a box. It is important to remind the class that the "Unknown Words" are ones that the meanings are not known, not just those that the group can't decide into which box they should go.
   
4. The gist or prediction statement is written, as well as the questions.
   
5. When the worksheets are complete, each group shares the results and reads their gist statement aloud.
   
6. Brainstorm as a class what they want to discover when reading the selection.
   
7. Read the text.
   
8. After reading, compare the Probable Passages and discuss into what categories the author would have placed the words. Also, students can reflect how using this strategy helped in understanding the text
   

When Kid's Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do

Kylene Beers

1. On December 1st, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. This was a brave action by Mrs. Parks. What is the bravest thing you've ever done? Be sure to include details about the event and why you think it was brave.

2. December is "Read a New Book Month." Write a review for a book that you would like to recommend to someone else to read.

3. How can you practice gratitude?

4. December is "National Write to a Friend Month." Write a letter to one of your friends.

5. What does it feel like when someone thanks you for a gift?

6. On December 4th the phonograph was invented. This machine allowed people to listen to phonograph records. How do you think listening to these records was different than listening to CDs or streaming music online?

7. What does it mean to be thankful?

8. The weather is starting to get colder. What are some things you love about cold weather?

9. Walter Elias (Walt) Disney was born in Chicago on December 5, 1901. What is your favorite Walt Disney movie and why? If you have not seen any Disney movies, which movie would you like to see and why?

10. December 10th is "Human Rights Day." What do you consider to be the rights of every human? Do you think there are certain rights that are more or less important than others? If so, which rights? Make a list of your ideas and explain why some are more important than others.

11. What are some ways to stay warm in the fall and winter months?

12. December 13th is "National Cocoa Day." If you were able to curl up with a warm cup of cocoa (hot chocolate) and your favorite book, what book would you select and why?

13. Because it is cold the giant swimming pool is being filled up for the winter. What would you fill your swimming pool with and why?

14. On December 14, 1911, the South Pole was discovered. If you were able to travel to the South Pole,l who would you want to take along with you and why? You can choose from anyone - someone you know, someone famous, someone alive, or someone who is no longer living.

15. on December 17, 1903, the Wright Brothers made their first flight. Orville and Wilbur had to do a great deal of teamwork in order to be successful. think of a time that you were involved in teamwork. Explain the situation and why you feel teamwork was needed to be successful.

16. December 20th is "Games Day." Think about all the different games you play. Now think of your favorite two. How could you combine these two games into one new game? What would you call this game? What are the rules? How would you determine the winner?

17. December 21st is the first day of winter. What is your favorite winter activity? How would the game change to involve snow?

Please review your Professional Learning Schedule. Dates and meeting locations may changed based on pertinent information.

2021 Themed Writing Prompt

Some years can be described in a word, and the events of 2020 seem to have settled on one: change.

Reflecting back on the civil rights movement in America in the 1960s in Across That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change, leader and politician John Lewis wrote, “Take a long, hard look down the road you will have to travel once you have made a commitment to work for change. Know that this transformation will not happen right away. Change often takes time.”

In 2020, we have been simultaneously isolated and drawn together, by both the changes forced upon us, and the changes we see fit to bring upon our internal and external worlds. Amidst these challenges, youth are looking down their own roads. Many young voices are taking the lead, while others are effectively collaborating to build momentum through various social, political, and environmental movements. This year we also recognize anniversaries of historical change, their shortcomings, and their potential shapes in the future. Perhaps, youth will take these events as cues to continue their commitment to social, political, and personal change.

We invite you to write on the topic of change in a genre that best serves your message.

Possible questions that you might explore are provided below. You are not expected to respond to all (or any) of these questions. Rather, these questions may inspire you and your writing.

Agents for Change: The above introduction speaks of movements towards collective change. However, these often consist of individuals determined to make a personal change. What acts of change have you experienced or witnessed that has influenced who you are? What is the change trying to be brought about? Why is this work important? What are/were the costs and benefits of working for this change? If writing about another person, how and why does this person inspire you?

Change forced upon you: Many times, young people have felt harm from changes in multiple areas of their lives. When was a time where undesirable change entered your life? What was this unwanted change, and how did it cause issues in your life? What would you like to say to an individual who didn’t consider your views when making a change? How have you overcome this undesirable change?

Envisioning Change: Across the globe, people recognize many changes in our everyday lives. How do you recognize change? What is something that needs to be changed at the local, national or global level? Why does this need to be changed? How would this change improve your life and/or the lives of others? In turbulent, uncertain times, how can we envision a world where necessary change takes place? Why is this reimagining crucial?

Concept of change: How does change inspire hope? How does change help you to imagine what can be? Does all change result in external (visible) changes? Is it change if no one can observe it? When does change become necessary? When have you been challenged to make changes in your life that you resisted at first but ultimately understood it was time to do things differently? How did you encourage others to make similar changes? How can we support one another in a time of uncertainty?

Teachers, we invite you to incorporate the Promising Young Writers’ theme and writing prompt into your curriculum. In fact, we hope that the themed prompt is a topic that you will encourage all of your students to address in reading, writing, and discussion activities, as well as beyond the classroom. You may also find the literature and teaching resources presented on the NCTE Web site useful, as well as attending the ALAN (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English) held in conjunction with NCTE’s Annual convention each year.

DEADLINE for All Submissions: February 15, 2021*

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in grades 7–12. Through the Scholastic Awards, teens in grades 7–12 (ages 13 and up) from public, private, or home schools can apply in 29 categories of art and writing for their chance to earn scholarships and have their works exhibited and published. Beyond the Awards, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers produces a number of programs to support creative students and their educators, including the Art.Write.Now.Tour, the National Student Poets Program, the Scholastic Awards Summer Workshops and Scholastic Awards Summer Scholarships programs, the Golden Educators Residency, and much more.

Students may begin submitting work in September by uploading it to an online account.

The American Foreign Service Association’s national high school essay contest completed its twenty-first year with nearly 700 submissions from 41 states and five countries.

Age Group: 9th–12th grades

How to Enter: Each year a new prompt is published in September. Stay tuned to the contest web page so you can find it when school begins. Winners receive full tuition to the Semester at Sea program as well as a trip to Washington, DC, to meet with a leader at the Department of State.

Engineer Girl sponsors an essay contest with topics centered on the impact of engineering on the world. Students can win up to $500 in prize money. This contest is a nice bridge between ELA and STEM and allows teachers to incorporate an interdisciplinary project into the curriculum. The new contest prompt is published in October. Check out the educator’s page for more information about how to support this contest at your school.

Age Groups: 3rd–5th grades; 6th–8th grades; 9th–12th grades

How to Enter: Students submit their work electronically. Word limit varies by grade level. Check out the full list of rules and requirements here.

Contact Dr. Paula Baker, ELA/Literacy Content Specialist with any questions, comments, or concerns.

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." ~ James Baldwin

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

~Nelson Mandela

Nine-tenths of education is encouragement.

~Anatole France

The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.

~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Email: paula.baker@cowetaschools.net
Website: http://curriculum.cowetaschools.org/
Phone: 770-254-2810
Twitter: @PBakerEducates