designed to support teachers with 6th ELA-specific stretch activities
This site is designed for 6th ELA teachers who need stretch enrichment, sponge activities, or who want to dig more deeply into ELA topics.
Overview
Teachers, please let the Smith GES know if you want extra support with these items. They are organized to be a resource for advanced opening, closing, or questioning activities. You will find represented here vocabulary, flash writing, reading, socio-emotional journaling, and engagement with grammar stuff that's actually fun.
Vocabulary building 🛎📫 This is the Sadler "Vocabuary for Success," program, and covers grades 6-10. Start at grade 8 or 9 to really stretch students.
How to use this resource
Start with the "Word List with iWords and Videos" to introduce the words. You can display this on your board.
I then like the "Practice Quiz," because it can be done online and gives students instant scores. This can be a quick, guided activity.
Then, here are some fun, active, creative ideas to apply the vocabulary:
Vocabulary charades. (As part of a team, act out the words. Can others guess?)
Vocabulary pictionary. (Same as above, but can you draw the word so that others know it?)
Vo-Po. Who can write an original poem or short-short story that accurately uses each word? This often turns out hilarious, thoughtful work, and allows extroverted students to share of themselves.
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Sadlier Connect has free, easy-to-use grammar lessons that you can use to re-teach (or teach for the first time) parts of speech. If a learning sheet is PDF, have students open it in Kami to fully engage.
To start, I recommend the following to formatively assess whether students know these parts of grammar:
Once students have a working knowledge of grammar, the following activities allow them to play with language by breaking those rules:
Write a micro-story that uses no adjectives or adverbs.
Write a love poem in the voice of a Neanderthal (no offense to Neanderthals, of course.) Meaning, write a poem without using a, an, the, or...proper nouns.
Write a flash action story in which nouns are used as verbs. Example: I marshmallow my body through the keyhole so that I floof on the other side.
Write a description of yourself (or someone else) using no prepositions.
Don't forget BREAKOUTEDU.COM! There are some fantastic games in the "language" portal that explore grammar, word usage, and other adventures! Make sure that students set up accounts before using.
By having students omit certain parts of speech, and by messing with the rules of grammar, they become aware of how various parts of speech add depth to their writing.
You may be familiar with Ernest Hemingway's six-word story, "For sale. Baby Shoes. Never worn." This is an example of micro-writing or "flash fiction."
Flash writing is a great way for students to write with few or no constraints--to simply focus on creativity and expression for its own sake.
How to engage students with micro- or flash-writing
Set parameters. Examples:
Stories must have a beginning, middle, and end.
Word limit of ______ (for micro, from 6-50; for flash, from 1-00-500)
Invite them to engage with a genre.
Fables are a good start for students who are new to this.
Science fiction and sports writing are inviting to many students who enjoy fast action.
If needed, give students a choice of prompts. Here are some ideas:
Write a piece of flash fiction set inside your favorite video game.
Write a micro story that introduces and solves a mystery.
Write a flash romance in which the characters meet, fall in love, and break up in 100 words.
Share their work!
This is a great application of Jamboard, Padlet, and other visual sharing platforms.
EBinders are also perfect for sharing this sort of work.
The Smith GES is happy to provide teachers with a list of creative writing prompts that suit this activity.
Many advancing students, especially in the 2021-22 school year, carry heavy burdens of anxiety, perfectionism, disinterest, and intensity (among other "big" emotions that can arise from trauma.) Writing to help them self-manage, build emotional intelligence, and self-validate is a healthy way for students to understand themselves through biography.
Some of these activities explore self-perceptions of giftedness. In some cases, it's important to name that, and have students walk through what it means for them.
Each item is a separate Google Doc. Are you interested in exploring other socio-emotional writing prompts? GES is happy to collaborate on other needs; just ask!
Am I Afraid? (Group Collab/Performance)
(Good follow-up to "Overloaded") A Stroll through My Stress