When I teach skills like tone and characterization to name a few, I give students handouts with a list of words. Guess where those end up? They are left behind on their desks, tucked away and out sight in their folders, or worse forgotten or lost at home. Some students will use it if I remind them. I want to be more purposeful on how I disseminate this information in a more efficient way.
My solution to this dilemma is to create a class set of “tools” for our toolbox with a designated area ready for pick up when we discuss or write. So far, I printed a class set of 40 cards for character traits and Tone. I used card stock paper I bought from Staples, so they are sturdy and long-lasting. I foresee laminating in the near future.
Today, our journal writing was on the characterization of Romeo or Juliet using the cards as a guide for choices. We are working on micro writing as a scaffold for an essay later in the unit. Please comment below if this helps you in the classroom or if you have an idea for teaching academic language, I would love to hear about it. Happy Tinkering 🙂
Noemi Gonzalez 