Tag Archives: how to teach a novel
The Wind Beneath Their Wings
My corny and equally enigmatic title is meant to point out that even our most creative and original thinkers were in some way influenced by the work of others. How was Columbus influenced by the Bible? Who were Stephen King’s … Continue reading
Under What Rock Have I Been Living?
Under what rock have I been living? That’s a question I really need to ask myself if I’m just now discovering Tracie Vaughn Zimmer. Yes, she’s an author, and I do recognize a couple of her titles (and the others look … Continue reading
What Makes a Good Children’s Book?
What makes a good children’s book? I’d suppose that’s a tough question to answer, otherwise Microsoft would have already written Newbery Notebook 1.0 and Caldecott Creator for Windows. A good children’s book is far from formulaic. It seems, however, that … Continue reading
Novels as Mentor Texts
The Northern Nevada Writing Project’s Writing Fix site contains a terrific section of lesson plans on Using Chapter Book Excerpts as Mentor Texts. What does that mean? It means the terrific writing we admire in our favorite novels can be … Continue reading
Filed under Recommended Resources, Recommended Sites, Teaching Topics
60 Second Recap
If you haven’t checked out 60 Second Recap, you’re in for a treat. 60 Second Recap is a collection of video clips covering the plots, characters, symbolism, and more of favorite classic literature for teens. But it’s not a dry, overly-academic examination. It’s … Continue reading
Filed under Recommended Resources, Recommended Sites
Teaching Metaphorically
In response to my prior post about Metaphors & Analogies: Power Tools for Teaching Any Subject, I received an email from Adriana who asked, “Can you give an example of a metaphorical lesson? Not a lesson that teaches about metaphors, but a … Continue reading
Metaphorically Speaking
Stenhouse has put out a new book that I can’t recommend enthusiastically enough. Rick Wormeli’s Metaphors & Analogies: Power Tools for Teaching Any Subject adds to the canon of distinguished titles which deal with the topic of metaphor. His work, … Continue reading
The Hero Myth
One topic which I casually mention in my How to Teach a Novel workshop that stirs a lot of interest is the Hero Myth as described in Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces. According to Campbell’s introduction, A … Continue reading
Filed under Recommended Resources, Teaching Topics
In Search of the Novel
In Search of the Novel is a series of 8 one hour videos produced by Annenberg Media. From the series introduction: Discover creative strategies for bringing novels to life for middle and high school students with this workshop, featuring the words … Continue reading
Filed under Recommended Resources, Recommended Sites
How NOT to Teach a Novel
You’re reading this post at the old How to Teach a Novel site. Continue reading this post or the most recent post at the new site. Some teachers, with all the best intentions, treat novels like pinatas, beating them with … Continue reading
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