How to Get Students to Elaborate When They Write

We have all been handed the one sentence answer.  Some students have a flow of ideas and effortlessly explain their thinking.  Others read a passage and have little to say about what they have read.
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What can we do?  Sentence starters are a huge help.  They get students to elaborate about their ideas and get the creative juices flowing.

They are like crutches.  After a student writes more and more, they will no longer need it.

Words to Describe the Tone of a Text

Tone is an author's attitude about a topic. There are several words that are used to describe the tone of a reading passage.  Use this free chart to describe the tone of a passage.

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Click Here For Tone Of A Passage Game Cards

Literature Choice Boards

I love choice boards so much.  Not only are they fun, but they also appeal to different learning styles.  I created this choice board to use with my middle school students.  The great thing about it is that choice boards can be used with any book.

How to use them:
After assigning a chapter for students to read, ask them to select an activity to complete from the list.  Since there are multiple activities to choose from, students can use the same choice board over and over again.

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