ELA
**On this page are enrichment activities to use in the classroom to increase depth and complexity.
Leading Book Discussions with Complexity - Vanderbilt
You Have a List of Culturally Diverse Texts. Now What?: Teacher Keenan Lee used social media to crowdsource educators' recommendations for culturally diverse texts for pre-k--higher ed. Learn more about how he integrates them into his existing curriculum in this blog post.
K-12
Doing "Ted Talk" styled speeches/presentations guide
Connections - games sharing words with a common thread
Mensa for Kids Excellence in Reading Students can earn t-shirts for completing all the reading for their grade span
Mensa Book Parade - Students review books for possible posting on national websites
The Writers’ Toolbox - lesson plan for teachers or help for students
Mensa Lesson Plans and Activities - Many feature authentic learning PBLs - scroll ⅔ of the way down the page to find the plans and activities - all subject areas
Websters word puzzles and quizzes
Library of Congress Author Webcasts
Free E-books Gutenberg Project
12 Stories - series to help students with the Envision program
Short Story Fair Enrichment Activities
Cox Campus Resource Center for Teachers
2-9
Readers Theater - many different scripts
K-6
Wacky Web Tales - insert a part of speech to make a story
Storyline Online - read aloud books
K-1
Six-Hat Thinking and Cinderella (can be modified for distance learning)
Storytelling through Time and Culture (video stories w/ discussion)
K-2
Independent Activity Room, share with students in “present mode”, check out this video.
Star Fall: www.starfall.com free public service to teach children to read. Since then it has expanded to include language arts and mathematics for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and third grade.
Seussville: www.seussville.com
1-2
Fairy Tales Unit (New and improved version specifically for virtual learning!): I’ve edited this unit to make it even more online friendly! Every story is linked to a Youtube read aloud and all the Google Docs will automatically create a copy for students. You could potentially even do collaborative activities if you send home engineering bags or ask students to use all recycled materials. (Sarah Young)
2-3
Daily Word Games from MENSA for KIDS
Pun and Games, (can bedone orally for distance learning)
World of Words Virtual Museum(with scavenger hunt)
The Great Kapok Tree Gifted Plans
3-5
ELA Activity Room, share with students in “present mode”, check out this video.
4-5
Daily Word Games from MENSA for KIDS
Word Winks (sample)
Analogy Challenges(sample)
Greek Roots(lesson resources)
Create a Logic Puzzle(Template for Kids)
World of Words Virtual Museum(with scavenger hunt)
Creating Comics in the Classroom
5-9
MS High Five Unit B Be a Journalists Lesson Plans
I like to see it lap the miles gifted lesson plan
5+
6-8
Amplify - Middle School ELA Resources
ELA Activity Room, share with students in “present mode”, check out this video.
7-12
Journalism Mass Media Curriculum
Short Story Project ideas and lesson
Levels to be determined
Video interviews with authors A variety of interviews with children’s book authors, courtesy of Reading Rockets.
Reading Lists for Guys At Guys Read, author John Sczieska encourages guys to, well, read. The site features reading lists, author interviews, activities, and more.
KidsReads Book reviews for kids, by kids.
GetEpic Digital library for kids. First month free; $7.99/mo thereafter.
Brightly Book lists, activities, and more for avid readers of all ages.
Bookopolis Bookopolis is a community for young readers, almost a GoodReads for kids. Children can set up an account, create book lists, review books, and interact with other readers.
25 Books Your Child Should Read After Harry Potter A fantastic list from my friend Erin at Nourishing My Scholar.
20 Books for Kids Not Ready for Harry Potter Another great list from Erin.
Book Club for Kids Podcast “The free podcast where kids talk about books!”
Read Aloud Revival PodcastRead aloud reviews, author interviews, and more, all from homeschooling mom and blogger Sarah Mackenzie.
Read Brightly.com. Features the best reading books for students at a variety of age levels
WRITING
NaNoWriMo The official site of National Novel Writing Month, which takes place each November. Includes writing tips, motivation, and a variety of calendars to help writers stay on task.
This I Believe NPR’s storied radio program was discontinued in 2005, but the essays remain in archive format for reading, reflection, and analysis. While submissions are no longer accepted, the site offers parents and young writers tips for writing their own personal statements.
Teen Ink A literary magazine for teens, by teens.
NewPages Young Authors Guide A collection of publications accepting submissions from young authors.
Journal Buddies Get your creative juices flowing with journal prompts, story starters, and other inspiration.
Writing Contests for Kids A collection of writing contests for kids from Imagination Soup.
NobelPrize.org Visit the online home of the Nobel Prize and read the acceptance speeches of Nobel laureates. Among my favorites are those of Elie Wiesel, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malala Yousafzai.
Story Jumper Create, share, and read books by other young authors, all free of charge. Hardcover publishing options begin at $24.95.
Visuwords A visually stunning interactive dictionary. Budding lexicographers can delve the depths of word origins, meanings, and families to their heart’s content.
From the Gifted Guru:
Teaching Ideas for Storyline:
Have students listen to two stories and sketch out a three-oval Venn diagram comparing the stories’ narrators, illustrations, and plots.
Students could record themselves reading a favorite book in Flipgrid and create a class equivalent of Storyline. Other students could then listen/watch. To strengthen this, have students do it once, have the teacher or other students give three tips to make it even better, and have the student re-record it. I’d create a separate grid for the redo.
The Year of Living Poetically program I created while I was the Youth and Education Ambassador for Mensa has a number of poems that are explicated and have helps for memorizing them. Some are not appropriate for littles, so choose with care, but even young children can memorize poetry. I’ve written about why they should.
The Library of Congress has recorded the authors who have spoken at the National Book Festival and made those recordings available. Students can choose an author, watch the recording and then respond to the recording in writing. Some possible prompts include:
How did your view of the author shift as you watched the webcast?
Think about whether you were more or less interested in reading the author’s work after watching the webcast and explain what you think influenced that feeling.
Describe the similarities and differences between the author’s voice and the narrator of works you’ve read by the author.
Poetry 180 is another terrific offering of the Library of Congress. Students can read info on how to read a poem out loud, choose a poem, and then record themselves reading it.
Individual instruction plan menu for the gifted child - just recommendations (Davidson Academy)
Language Arts, Reading
Use an inquiry-based study of appropriate children's literature (e.g., Junior Great Books).
Select biographies and books in the content areas (including subjects dealing with multicultural issues) for supplementary reading.
Encourage and provide time to pursue free reading based on student interests.
Individualize a reading program that diagnoses reading level and prescribes reading material based on that level.
Form a literary group of students with similar interests for discussion.
Provide literature that is broad-based in form (myths, non-fiction, biography, poetry, etc.) rich in language and provides role models for emulation.
Utilize children's literature that involves finding solutions to scientific, environmental, and mathematical problems or mysteries.
Encourage participation in library-based programs.
Introduce student to new genre of books (e.g., science fiction).
Provide the opportunity for author study by having the child read several books by the same author.
Provide the opportunity for topic study by having the child read several books on the same topic and contrasting authors and writing styles.
Writing
Use a writing program that encourages elaboration and incorporation of ideas from literature into stories.
Develop expository writing skills.
Encourage extra-curricular experiences that are language-based such as school paper or yearbook.
Encourage personal journal writing.
Encourage use of a wide variety of words in writing through use of thesaurus and dictionary.
Suggest keeping a journal for "word of the day" or "word of the week". 18. Encourage parents to transcribe child's stories at home.
Have students draw pictures to illustrate their stories and develop titles for them.
Use tape recorders to initially record a story and transcribe it later.
Encourage free story building; provide students with a set of givens (character, plot pieces, a setting)
Have students respond in writing to a piece of music, a picture, or a poem presented in class.
Allow young students the freedom to write without requiring accurate spelling and grammar.
Provide opportunities for students to read written work out loud to individuals or to small groups of students.
Encourage child to submit written work for publication to children's magazines.
Attend available creative writing opportunities (e.g., special courses or writing camps).
Teach the writing process: prewriting, organizing, writing, editing and rewriting.
Use writing skills across the curriculum.
Teach word processing.
Verbal Expression
Include experiences in foreign language in the curriculum.
Use storytelling techniques.
Teach debating skills.
Focus on vocabulary building.
Develop word relationship skills (e.g., analogies, antonyms, homonyms).
Allow for oral reports before the class.
Encourage child to join debate team.
Provide opportunities for student to speak in public settings.
Encourage theater club participation.
Provide the opportunity for the child to act out what is read.
Teach oral presentation skills.
7th Grade Eco Writers
Students partner with children in K–2 G&T classrooms to write children’s books about environmental issues. Students work with a buddy in that class to identify that child’s favorite animal and children’s book. Students then work to develop a fictional children’s book about the animal and its ecosystem using ecological concepts to drive the plot. Through this project, students will learn about the specific ecosystem that is the focus of the book, food webs, ecosystem interactions, resources, and human impact on the environment. Harrison G&T - WMS,
Titantic Story Telling (use in conjunction with SS)
In 1912, popular media headlined the sinking of the world’s largest luxury passenger ocean liner while on its maiden voyage. Newspapers captivated the world’s attention with stories from survivors and about victims who did not survive. Students will examine responses to the disaster and evaluate bias and different ways information is presented, and then apply what they learn to interpreting a political cartoon about the sinking of the Titanic. This unit will show students that studying history enables us to develop a better understanding of the world in which we live. They’ll learn that building knowledge and understanding of historical events and trends, especially over the past century, enables us to develop a much greater appreciation for current events today. (source: Library of Congress) Harrison G&T - WMS,
General
Have students write a children's book with illustrations or photos. This could be an interdisciplinary activity with another class. This book could be fiction or non-fiction. If the students choose fiction they would include a bibliography at the end of the book. Students could also include a bibliography. There are many sites that have a step-by-step process. This is one from Read Write Think
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