Posts Tagged ‘poetry’

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Free K-12 Literature Lessons & Activities

May 29th, 2013

Hi!  It’s Wednesday, May 29, 2014 and time for Language Arts at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

EDSITEMent

Age Range: 5-18 (grades K-12 with parental supervision)

This website sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, offers free, high-quality online lesson plans integrated with resources to promote active learning in literature and language arts (as well as other subjects such as art, foreign language, history and social studies).

When you get to the site, you’ll see a featured lesson plan.  Below that is a sorting tool where you can select the grade level you want (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12) and other features including subtopics such as:

  • Biography
  • Drama
  • Essay
  • Fables, Fairy Tales, and Folklore
  • Novels
  • Poetry
  • Short Stories

Submit your parameters and a menu of lesson plans will appear below the sorting tool.  Click on any lesson title and a new page opens displaying the lesson including:

  • Guiding Questions
  • Learning Objectives
  • Preparation Instructions
  • Lesson Activities
  • Extending the Lesson

You’ll find links to free, carefully screened educational websites where you can read the literature online and find resources to extend the learning. In some cases you’ll find free, printable worksheets as well.

The content is so extensive that a description here simply doesn’t do it justice. This is a remarkable resource for the home educator – so bookmark it to return often. 

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Mnemonic Times Tables Poems & Math Worksheets!

May 20th, 2013

Hi!  It’s Monday, May 20, 2013 and time for Math at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

SuperTeacherWorksheets: Multiplication Poems

Age Range: 6-14 (about grades 1-8, with parental supervision)

A Maryland ClickScholar suggested this website that offers some silly poems as mnemonic devices to help kids memorize multiplication times tables. You’ll see the display of math poems when you get to the site. It inspired her children to write their own math poetry and she graciously provided some samples:

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  • Kevin got sick and turned horribly blue. 7×6=42
  • My sister’s late for a date. 6×8=48
  • Heaven oh heaven is for the divine. 7×7=49

And my personal favorite…

  • Kevin hates these nifty tricks. 7×8=56

Obviously, somebody in her family has a sassy sense of humor! LOL!

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Once you’re through giggling at the poetry, use the menu on the left side of the screen to find the worksheets. While there are numerous worksheets, there are about 1-3 FREE, printable worksheets for most of the subject categories including:

  • Addition
  • Algebra
  • Counting Money
  • Decimals
  • Division
  • Fractions
  • Geometry
  • Graphing
  • Measurement
  • Multiplication
  • Place Value
  • Percents
  • Subtraction
  • Telling Time
  • Word Problems

Just click on a menu item and a new page opens displaying a menu of worksheets on that topic.  Look for the word “Free” highlighted in yellow to find the worksheets that are available without membership/registration.

When you’re done with math, you can explore the assortment of reading, spelling, grammar, writing, and social sciences worksheets as well. Again, look for the word “Free” (highlighted in yellow) to print/download worksheets free of charge.

 

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Poetry Videos for K-12!

May 8th, 2013

Hi!  It’s Wednesday, May 8, 2013 and time for Language Arts at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

Favorite Poem Project

Age Range: All (Grades K-12, with parental supervision.)

This website was designed to enhance and improve the teaching of poetry in K-12 classrooms through a collection of 50 short video documentaries showcasing individual Americans reading and talking about poems they love.

The Favorite Poem Project was founded by Robert Pinsky, the 39th Poet Laureate of the United States, and is dedicated to “celebrating, documenting and encouraging poetry’s role in Americans’ lives.”

The videos are a permanent part of the Library of Congress archive of recorded poetry and literature. While the videos were conceived as a teaching and learning tool for schools, they can be used in the homeschool environment as well.

When you get to the site you’ll see a brief introduction and a menu of the poetry videos. Turn on your speakers, click on any poetry video title, and a new page opens that launches the video. In addition to watching an individual read the poem, you’ll learn a little about the reader including their thoughts about why they like the poem. The words of the poem are displayed so you can follow along as it’s being read.

Because there are no age/grade ranges mentioned on the individual videos, parents AS ALWAYS should preview the poems to determine suitability of content for their own children.

Of the poetry videos I watched, most were geared to Middle and High School age students and beyond. If you want a suggestion for a poem that younger children may enjoy, try “Block City” by Robert Louis Stevenson, read in a very child-like, sing-song voice by an elementary grade student. After he reads the poem, he talks about why he likes it – and it’s utterly charming.  :)

 

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Free Tips for Young Writers!

May 1st, 2013

Hi!  It’s Wednesday, May 1, 2013 and time for Language Arts at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

Blue Zoo Writers: Young Writers Tips

Age Range: 10 and up (approximately, with parental supervision)

This website is a free online learning center to help writers of all ages learn to write better without taking up a lot of your time. As explained at the site:

“As W. Somerset Maugham said: ‘There are three rules for writing. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.’ This is not a place for rules. On the other hand, it’s not a place for endless advice. …My promise here: no fluff. Just help.”

When you click on the link above it will take you to the “Young Writers – Tips” page. While the entire site offers helpful information for writers of all ages, this particular page is a good jumping off point – with lots of short writing tips especially useful for young writers.  You’ll see a menu of articles that include guidelines and suggestions for writing:

  • Poetry
  • Brainstorming Ideas for Stories
  • The Difference Between an Idea and a Story
  • Good First Lines to Start a Great Story
  • How to Make a Story Map of Your Neighborhood
  • Are you a Rock or a Feather (writing exercise)
  • A Zillion Story Starters

The articles include advice and examples from well-known writers such as Barbara Kingsolver, Sid Fleischman, Jan Yolen, Dr. Seuss, and more. You’ll find links to resources within the articles as well.

When you’re through exploring the “Young Writers Tips,” click on “Core Advice for Your Writing Craft and Career” on the menu. There, you’ll find more articles on becoming a better writer, including the “Blue Zoo Curriculum – An Outline.” It’s a set of core articles on 10 skills “a professional writer would do well to master” and are grouped into three categories:

*Being a Writer – Get advice on becoming a better writer along with some motivational techniques.

*The Craft of Writing – Find out how to spin an appealing story and  how to create a sense of place.

*Career Development – Discover how to build your writer’s brand.

This site is a work in progress and new material is continuously added. You can sign up to receive an email notifying you whenever new content is posted to the site.

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Listen to “Paul Revere’s Ride!”

April 17th, 2013

Hi!  It’s Wednesday, April 17, 2013 and time for Language Arts at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

NPR: Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Age Range: 10 and up (approximately, with parental supervision)

April 18th is the anniversary of Paul Revere’s Ride. In 1775, Revere rode by horseback to warn Sam Adams and John Hancock that British troops were marching to arrest them. A quintessential moment in the American Revolution, it was depicted in the poem, Paul Revere’s Ride, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

At this website, National Public Radio offers a free audio recording of the poem that includes a discussion of the background of Revere’s ride, including the historical inaccuracies in the poem. 

It may be helpful to read the poem as you listen to it recited. Read the poem online or print it out to read offline here: 

http://poetry.eserver.org/paul-revere.html

Then, take a “Virtual Midnight Ride” with this interactive map:

http://www.paulreverehouse.org/ride/virtual.html

 

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Free Spring Poems w/ Activities!

March 20th, 2013

Hi!  It’s Wednesday, March 20, 2013 and time for Language Arts at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

DLTK:  Spring Poetry

Age Range: 4-11 (approximately, with parental supervision)

Spring has sprung! The return of longer and warmer days, and the rebirth of flora and fauna has inspired poets for ages. This website offers a selection of over 35 poems about spring by a variety of authors including Mother Goose, A.A. Milne, William Wordsworth, and Robert Frost. Each poem is accompanied by an audio recording so you can hear the poem being read aloud.  And every poem has a free printable activity page to go with it.

When you get to the site, you’ll see a menu of poem titles and a couple of featured poems including:

  • Daffodowndilly by A.A. Milne
  • Little Seeds by Else Holmelund Minarik
  • A Prayer in Spring by Robert Frost

Simply click on a title of interest and a new page opens with the poem printed out. Below the poem, you’ll see a box that says, “Play.” Click on it to hear the poem being recited.  You’ll also find a sample of the activity sheet to the right of the poem. You can print out the full sheet in color, or print it in black and white and use it as a coloring page.

BONUS!  The first day of spring is called the vernal equinox— when day and night are each approximately 12 hours long. Did you know that the word equinox is derived from the Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night), meaning “equal night”?  To learn more, watch National Geographic’s scientific video explanation of the equinox here:  http://www.homefires.com/click?equinox

 

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