I am a High School World Language Teacher of Spanish, French, ESL and Bi-lingual education with 25 years of experience teaching all levels K-University level language classes. I love teaching and always ask for new responsibilities to broaden my knowledge. I am a documentary buff so I also write movie guides on a variety of Social Studies and Health related topics in addition to World Languages. I am excited to be able to share lessons with others and welcome your feedback.
I am a High School World Language Teacher of Spanish, French, ESL and Bi-lingual education with 25 years of experience teaching all levels K-University level language classes. I love teaching and always ask for new responsibilities to broaden my knowledge. I am a documentary buff so I also write movie guides on a variety of Social Studies and Health related topics in addition to World Languages. I am excited to be able to share lessons with others and welcome your feedback.
These open ended, closed ended, decoding and reflection questions accompany the book HOME OF THE BRAVE by Katherine Applegate. This book tells the story of Kek, a refugee from Dharfur who relocates to Minnesota. This beautiful book is written in free verse and is an easy read for anyone in middle or high school. The underlying themes are deep and strike personal connections with many students. The language is not difficult and would be excellent reading for an ELL class of students. Questions are in order by chapter and there is a list of additional resources at the end on Youtube so you can educate everyone on the complexities of the situation in Dharfur and cultivate an understanding of the loss the suffering these refugees bring with them to the US. This book is culturally sensitive and opens up a lot of great discussions, and while sad at times, has some great comical moments.
This lesson contains 82 guided reading questions in chronological order that accompany the book ONE CRAZY SUMMER by Rita Williams. One Crazy Summer is a delightful story written for middle school or early high school aged reader, that explores themes of Black identity in Oakland during the Civil Rights era. Students explore themes and reflect on quotes in addition to the questions and some "in your opinion" questions that help them to gain a deeper meaning of the text. Also included are some brainstorm topics for pre-search prior to reading with a video link and discussion questions for follow up. Book takes about two weeks to teach. This book would also work well in conjunction with a social studies unit on the Civil Rights movement at the middle school level.
One Crazy Summer Guided reading questions by Barbara Davis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
This 110 question reading guide accompanies the book The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez. Questions are chronologically ordered by chapter and provide many opportunities for Reflections, Connections, and sharing in partner and small groups. Also included is a glossary of terms for the Spanish vocabulary sprinkled throughout the text.
This is an excellent book for 9-10th grade readers, with lots of opportunities to discuss discrimination, family, and other challenges young people of color face in our country today. Be ready for some great discussions!
The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez : Reading Guide by Barbara Davis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
This book centers on the topic of name calling and fitting in at a small town middle school. Four students labeled by their peers on a repeated basis take a stand and run for Student Council on a platform of No Name Calling. The characters are all people who kids can relate to, this book is an excellent launch point for the topic of in-school bullying. Reading guide contains 79 questions organized by chapter and opportunities for students to REFLECT and share in small groups along the way on a variety of topics. REFLECT opportunities can be assigned as independent journal entries and help to facilitate discussions in class, and 8 discussion topics, with suggestions for interviews, independent research and large group discussion. Best suited for a middle school audience, alternates between narration/play format with good places for read alouds. It will prompt some excellent discussion around acceptance, difference, and hopefully some solutions to making middle school experience better.
This study guide follows the documentary Plastic Paradise about the garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean. Activity includes questions in chronological order for the film, discussion questions for small or large groups and a list of things students could do at home or school to take steps to reducing our plastic consumption. The movie is excellent, and is well suited for middle or high school environmental science students. Lesson takes 2-3 days to run depending on how much dialogue you want to incorporate.