By Molly Adams, for NSTWP 2013

Try Six Word Memoirs, Why We Write,

or Bridget Jones’ Diary.

Read some graphic novels.

You might find something you can use.

You might even laugh.

Many of his “activities” or “tasks” can be “reformatted”

for meaningful, engaging learning in the classroom.

(Try Thank You Notes, The History of Rap,

Celebrities w/ Classroom Instruments. YouTube them.)

Stand in the shower and mull them

over until you make a connection.

It will come to you eventually.

Use excerpts, and lots of them.

Slip in good ones NOT in the curriculum. It will be ok.

Shorter helps non-readers.

Leonard Pitts, Jr., is perfect for this.

Make a Common Craft –type video of your own, teach yourself

Google SketchUp, or learn to play the guitar.

Work it into a lesson.

They’ll think you’re either awesome or trying –

either perception benefits you.

Then have them teach the class

instead of you.

Become a facilitator instead of a

keeper of all information.

Acting or not acting!

Let the kids tell you how they can do it.

Then let them go.

Give them the list of skills they need to show

mastery of and release the hounds.

They will surprise you.

You might even learn something new yourself.

Make them return to non-technological

ways to interpret text and concepts.

Let them make a mess.

Help them clean it up.

Let them have a lot of ownership in how

they represent it as long as they can

demonstrate the skill(s) you have to teach.

Created for the North Star of Texas Writing Project by Molly Adams © 2013.

http://www.northstaroftexaswritingproject.org/

Follow us on Twitter @NorthStarTxWP and on Facebook!

Initial project created by © Molly Adams – Aug. 2013, using

SlideShare.com.

Original written content created by Molly Adams with links to

resources, created for © North Star of Texas Writing Project –

2013.

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