The Pairing Move: Literary Analysis Without Announcing It
Put the Grim Grizzly page next to the Shelley page. Walk through it once together. Now your students are doing literary analysis without being told that’s what this is. This is one of the most underused tools in ELA. Here’s how I use it. Why pairing works when compare-and-contrast worksheets don’t A compare-and-contrast worksheet asks…
We Hand Kids a Graphic Novel and Call It Accessible
If you teach with the curriculum that rhymes with ramplify, you’ve likely met the Grim Grizzly version of Frankenstein. It is a doozy to read. It involves reading cursive. It involves the conventions of a graphic novel. It involves understanding visual and layout significance, plus the direction and pace in which to read. Then we’re…
Frankenstein at Twelve Isn’t a Stretch. It’s a First Pass.
Somebody at a very large curriculum company (one that shall remain nameless, but rhymes with ramplify) decided seventh graders could read Frankenstein. Then they left the “how” up to you. My first reaction when I saw it in the curriculum was relief. Someone other than me thinks this is doable for a middle school audience.…