Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is one of those powerful reads that, unfortunately, many students relate to. If not from personal experiences mirroring the main character, the reality of dealing with trauma and the fallout of PTSD, depression, and other ostracizing events. Teaching Speak, though, can be a challenging task. It becomes a deeply personal and empathetic read, so I make an effort to include it in my reading list throughout the year. Read on for activities and ideas to try in your own classroom.

Here are some lesson plans and teaching resources for Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel Speak!

10 Activities to Use when Teaching Speak

1. Bookmark Analysis

No one thinks about bookmarks. Make use of the usual strips of paper or bits of wrapper that are typically used and give students analysis bookmarks instead. Students will be able to participate in engaging analysis components as they read the novel. It’s fewer worksheets to print out, requires students to jot notes, and is easily accessible right in the book as they read. This bookmark idea is versatile, you can create whatever style and questions or requirements you’d like. If you’re not interested in starting from scratch, I have a novel analysis bookmark created for the Speak novel here.

2. Symbolism Stations

If you’re looking to spice up activities you’ve already created, why not rework them into stations? It gets students up and moving, and they can work collaboratively; you can also forgo worksheets and have students work on graffiti paper or whiteboards. I have a complete symbolism station activity already created for the novel here. It includes six stations, each focusing on a different symbol.

3. Sticky Note Activities

Use your typical office supplies to spin your analysis work differently. One benefit of using sticky notes is they are compact, leaving little space for students. It’s a great option for students to practice their note-taking and summarizing skills. They will have to think critically about what they will want to note or draw to get the information gathered.

I have an extensive literary analysis organizer resource that includes 11 sticky note organizers (6 even include built-in writing prompts). Even if these organizers aren’t your cup of tea, consider using sticky notes for note-taking. You can color-code areas of analysis, or students can leave their notes stuck in the book for quick reference. Students can take their sticky notes and reorganize them before writing an essay to keep their thoughts in order.

4. Socratic Seminar

This is an activity of open-ended discussion questions based on the text. Socratic seminars are a wonderful way to introduce students to formal discussions and critical thinking. It also requires articulating their thoughts and responses to others – a challenge if students are used to just writing essays. I think these seminars generate amazing classroom discussions and develop students’ listening, speaking, and critical-thinking skills. If you need help putting together an engaging alternative to your essays, you can find my Socratic Seminar Activity which was created to use with any fictional text.

5. Understanding Character

Students can develop many connections with the text if they take the time to understand the characters. With a novel like Speak, you will have students that can relate to Melinda more than others. Optimize student connections by helping students with character analysis. I have a digital interactive notebook set up for any novel that includes character analysis. You can pick and choose what fits best with your novel (I like the tracing of characters and social media pages for this novel in particular) and use it in print or as a digital resource.

6. Digital Notebook

If you love the digital notebook idea, expand that into the whole novel. I have really enjoyed converting my paper resources into SMARTePlans that are digital, Google-based, and interactive. It’s perfect for technology-driven classrooms. You can find my customizable digital interactive notebook here which is full of literary devices, creative writing assignments, story analysis assignments, and much more.

We are living in a digital age, and students need to be able to navigate safely and confidently. We also still have students working remotely, on a hybrid schedule, or working from laptops for most of their work. Also, I save so much time by not standing at the copying machine.

7. Story Cube

Check out my free story cube resource that can be used with any novel. This engages a student’s creative side by having them create a visual representation of each of the story cube’s elements after reading the novel. It reinforces literary elements while also providing differentiation. And as much as I love technology, It’s nice to get students away from their computers and give them an assignment different from what they usually do.

8. Artistic Activities

Along that same idea, art plays an important part to the storyline of Speak. There are several ways you can work the idea of artistic expression into your study. Find artistic works that convey emotional responses to view before reading and discuss how art makes us feel. Better yet, have students research art pieces in various forms and mediums and create a presentation or group assignment where they share their favorites or assign a feeling to research.

If you are so inclined, you might consider offering students the opportunity to create their own works of art as well, accompanied by an explanation of their work and inspiration. This is a perfect novel to really bring in the artistic side of things.

9. Classic Essays

There’s always a place for essays and improving writing skills. When I want students to focus on writing, I like them to select one or two goals they will then focus on during the essay assignment. If you have student conferences or peer editing, we will then focus on those areas of improvement before the final essay is turned in.

I have found that as far as writing goals go, students feel better equipped when they take on a couple of goals at a time rather than the entirety of “write an essay”. Be sure to take a look at this final literary analysis essay resource, complete with a writing prompt, outline and brainstorming organizers, peer editing and grading rubric. It’s as simple as print and go.

10. Other Art

Art takes on many forms, and the expressions and feelings we can convey through art when we don’t always have the means or energy to express it in conversation is a prominent themes in Speak. This is a great novel to include poetry, particularly contemporary poetry forms. Try setting up an independent study of spoken poetry or contemporary poets where students can explore a variety of poets. You can have them write a paper, research styles, select their favorites, write a book report, complete a poem analysis, or think more creatively and create their own collection. This novel really lends itself to exploring creative expression.

Looking for a whole bundle of goodies you can use for the entire novel? I have an entire unit for Speak available here. It includes bookmarks, analysis stations, quizzes, tests, and essays.

What powerful reads do you like to incorporate into your classroom? Let me know what has been worth adding to your curriculum and class library.

zRomeo and Juliet is one of those classic pieces of literature I think everyone has read. Even students who haven’t read the Shakespeare play have probably heard of the story or will relate to the plot as it has been retold in various films and literature. If you need some fresh ideas before you start this unit, read on. 

Here are 10 activities for teaching Romeo and Juliet

1. Teaching Romeo and Juliet: Relatable Bell Ringers

If you’re going to focus on a Shakespeare play, you must go all in. Immersing students into a unit from start to finish is such a perfect way to help students understand a topic in-depth. Start off each class with these Shakespeare Bell Ringers. Each one includes a famous Shakespearean quote and a quick writing prompt. Students will explore various writing styles based on the quote.

2. Teaching Romeo and Juliet: Character Focus

Help your students identify and organize characters with these graphic organizers. This resource has two sets for almost every character in the play. Students will identify characters as round or flat, static or dynamic, and other basic qualities. This will also require them to provide textual evidence.

The second organizer focuses on tracing emotions and motivations throughout the play. It’s a creative way for students to organize the play’s characters and is also a great resource for ESL students and struggling readers. 

3. Teaching Romeo and Juliet: Get Interactive

I can remember interactive notebooks becoming all the rage. And while the paper notebooks are creative, a motivator for some students, and it’s generally pretty easy to put an interactive spin on old ideas already at hand. Having a digital version is just one more layer to add something unique to the interactive notebook. My digital notebook resource can work as its own unit and includes analysis activities covering characters, symbols, major events, writing tasks, and response questions. Digital notebooks are great for classrooms trying to limit paper use, use more technology, prepare students for tech demands, and for any classes that need to work with mobile options.

4. Teaching Romeo and Juliet: Engaging Writing Tasks

Help students understand and analyze the play by giving them unique writing assignments. Have students explore different writing styles, analyze universal themes, and study character development. My Writing Tasks resource does all this and more. Each act has its own unique writing assignment, and I’ve included brainstorming organizers for each. You’ll be able to use this with differentiated instruction, and there are several additional resources and organizers included. 

5. Read “Cloze”ly

Prep passages for students to summarize to help them understand events from the play. This is an ideal activity for review, comprehension, or even assessment. Cloze reading is an ideal way to help students understand what is happening. Cut your prep time down by using this resource, with 6 passages ready to use AND written in modern-day English. Use as an individual assignment or collaborative activity. 

6. Use Office Supplies

Increase student engagement with hands-on activities using sticky notes. You can use various colors to coordinate different aspects of study (literary elements, major events, character development, etc). It’s an easy and quick way for students to organize thoughts and notes, and the bits of information can be manipulated and moved around for different assignments. Students can gather relevant information for various essays, or can organize their sticky notes in a way that makes sense to them (by topic, or chronologically, as an example). Check out my Sticky Note Literary Analysis activity that includes 12 sticky note organizers. 

7. Make Use of Bookmarks

There are many creative avenues when it comes to bookmarks. Have an activity where students pick a favorite quote, draw a scene, or draw what they know about the play prior to reading (they can use the back to draw after reading the play).

Consider a foldable version like this one where you can jam-pack a variety of questions, vocabulary, literary analysis and more. These are foldable, interactive, fun, engaging – and it saves you time passing out one activity to be used throughout the play. 

8. Plan an Escape 

Escape rooms live up to the hype. Challenge your students with a fun and engaging review escape challenge. Have students work together in groups to complete collaboratively and spark authentic discussion. This escape room activity includes 40 timeline events to sort from the play correctly.

9. Don’t Forget Vocabulary

Vocabulary is an important aspect of understanding any work, but Shakespeare is on a whole other level. In addition to reading an older version of English in poetic form, students must grasp key vocabulary to understand the play more deeply. Engage your students with hands-on activities to learn vocabulary, whether that be through graphic organizers, visual dictionaries, or word puzzles. Check out my ready-to-print vocabulary packet that includes word lists, puzzles, organizers and quizzes for the entire play. 

10. Practice Annotations

Start at the very beginning with an engaging activity for the prologue. This will allow students to explore the Shakespearean language and the set-up to the drama that is Romeo and Juliet’s tragedy. Using this resource, students will read and annotate the prologue, be introduced to Elizabethan English, and have context and background information before reading the play. Students then will rewrite the prologue in modern-day English following the same sonnet form. I love having students explore language, and this activity fits perfectly into the unit. 

Bonus

If you’re starting fresh with activities to fill a unit, or you’re looking to refresh your tried-and-true activities, check out my 5-week unit plan for Romeo and Juliet here. It’s full of goodies including a pacing guide, pre-reading activities, bookmarks, vocabulary, passages, writing tasks, essays, review activities, and more. 

Put a new spin on the classic tragedy by refreshing your activities and finding new ways to present to students. Just a few simple updates and changes can keep students engaged and help them relate to the material. I love seeing what others do in their classrooms, so please share your favorite ideas in the comments below. 

Is Teaching Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet Still Revelant?

In an earlier blog post, I discuss if teaching Shakespeare is still relevant.

It’s not the most popular activity in my classroom, but I believe teaching close reading is a vital skill for my students to feel comfortable and confident in their ability to closely read, understand, and analyze a text. If you’re looking to bring your students to the next level in reading comprehension and analysis, read on for tips and tricks.

What is close reading?

First, it’s important to know that close reading is not a summary of the main points and it’s not a personal response. It’s actually more in-depth than that. When you close read, you should be focused on analysis and interpretation. Students should pick apart the work. This is the time to uncover layers, make inferences, and look for specific textual evidence.

It’s more than a reader response. It is understanding what the author is doing. Why were these words chosen? Why described in this way? Why is this interesting (or not)? Notice that, while it is important that students acknowledge the need for tapping into prior knowledge and their own interests, they should not be focused on just their personal responses.

Why learn about close reading?

Our brains are muscles that need flexing and a bit of a challenge. Close reading helps students learn to find deeper meanings in a text. I honestly believe it is one of those “life-long skills” that students can use post-graduation. It is important to read with a critical eye. Close reading allows students to develop precise interpretations and deeper understanding. It also comes in handy for college readiness (though it certainly isn’t the only reason to learn).

How to teach close reading?

When we go about a workout for the first time, it can be tough. There’s resistance. It probably doesn’t look pretty. Students will need to practice, practice, practice with close reading. Since close reading as a whole really means looking at so many different parts of the whole, you can begin by looking at specific close reading questions.

For example, focus on vocab and diction. Look for the most important words and how they relate to each other. Ask your students to find what phrases appear repeatedly. What words seem odd or out-of-place? Are there double meanings? Are there different ways to read and interpret the text?

You can also look for patterns. Are there symbols repeated? Is a pattern established? Did the author build on one overall idea or is the structure more inferred? You can establish if the author seems valid, or they can identify in what areas they should have improved the writing.

I think the best bit of advice is to know you need to make close reading a habit so students learn through exposure. Always model and set a purpose for reading. Have students focus on connections and not worry about mistakes (in fact, I think “mistakes” are great for teaching students to explain their reasoning, interpretations and discuss finding textual evidence).

I have several close reading activities available in my store that are perfect for introducing close reading, practicing, or setting up as sub plans. This bundle has 14 resources (including distance learning options) which can also be purchased separately.

A great way to include close reading in the classroom is to incorporate the gradual release method. First, complete a small passage together as whole class, then release students in small groups to work together on this task, and after several rounds of collaborative close reading, students should then be ready to tackle the challenge on their own.

You probably won’t get very far in teaching without hearing about a plethora of sticky note activities. It might even seem overwhelming because you can use sticky notes for just about anything. What are the best practices for using sticky notes, especially when you’re teaching older students? Read on to see my suggestions.

1. Use them conscientiously

There are two points to consider – how to get ahold of them, and what to do with them when you’re done. Buy in bulk for the best bang for your buck. But if you are tight in the supply budget and it’s part of your school culture to provide supply lists to students, consider having students contribute to a class stock of sticky notes or have them bring their own supply.

The other thing to consider is how to dispose of sticky notes. There’s a myth that sticky notes can’t be recycled. While some types of sticky notes are harder to recycle (like those with fluorescent dyes), and not all recycling centers take “mixed paper”, I recommend considering alternatives to just tossing them in the trash. Check with your state and local recyclers if they accept mixed paper and consider starting a recycling program at your school if there isn’t one already. You can also keep sticky notes on a display wall for students to refer to later or keep an empty photo album as a collection of class notes and assignments to review as needed.

2. Use them consistently

I’m all for offering a variety of notetaking skills and options for organizing thoughts. But I also think students

thrive when they have a consistent style of notetaking. Consider practicing various forms of notetaking and letting students decide what works best for them – including sticky notes. If you want to use sticky notes for all close reading passages, then use them for all close reading passages. It will become second nature for students and they will know what to expect from the assignment when you create a habit.

3. Use them meaningfully

Ultimately, using sticky notes should focus on student retention. You could probably find a “sticky notes” version for just about any type of assignment – but that doesn’t mean you should. Your tried and true lessons don’t need a makeover. Remember these are just a tool. Assignments with in-depth organization needs, introducing any type of close reading work, preparing for debates, and working with new text are great ways to see increased productivity in student work. Think about how you will be productive and efficient. Don’t forget to include yourself! Think of your sticky notes as a vessel to guide students to whatever assessment you have ready. I.e. don’t fret trying to grade individual sticky notes for an assignment. Tie it together with what you really want students to get out of the work and focus on the meaning.

So where do I start with sticky notes in the classroom?

You can find so many ideas on Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers (see my sticky notes resources here). But take a look at your own lessons and see where they might be a good fit.

• Print exit tickets on sticky notes to take a quick assessment of how the class is doing with assignments.
• Have students jot notes and questions and place them in their textbooks as they read, or turn in to you after a lecture so you can see what needs to be reviewed.
• Encourage more productive reading by having students use sticky notes to mark questions, or use for close reading.
• Build up to class discussions or debates by using sticky notes. Students can jot notes individually, and build their discussion points with groups until they have a comprehensive list made from everyone’s thoughts.
• When dealing with tough subjects, ask students to use sticky notes to put their personal thoughts down in the moment, and they can revisit them later to journal or just have a space to get their thoughts out.
• If you have lengthy assignments like those related to research, students can compile their notes with sticky notes and then organize them into like-minded categories or topics without sifting through pages and pages of notes in different places.

If you’re looking for a good list of resources to start using sticky notes in tried and true methods, visit my store and find some great options such as

• Sticky Note Analysis Bundle: Literary, Rhetoric, Poetry 
  
• Long Way Down: Literary Analysis with Sticky Notes
• Literary Analysis Sticky Note Organizer for Any Text
• Analysis Mini Flip Book Bundle: Literary, Rhetorical, and Poetry

When it comes to reading nonfiction, my students tend to get bleary-eyed and hard-of-hearing. It’s like they instantly think of their history textbooks and informational articles and they decide before they even know the topic that they aren’t going to like it. And that is one of the big hurdles when it comes to teaching nonfiction texts at the middle school and high school level.

For many students, nonfiction is like the vegetable of literature, but it doesn’t have to be this way. This is why I work hard to make sure I have a variety of activities to engage my students. Read about some of my favorites below.

1. Teaching Nonfiction: Fact vs Opinion

This super easy activity simply involves you presenting the topic of study and having students create a class list of information. Students share what they know (or think) they know about the subject. You can then assign a pre-reading activity separating fact from fiction, or have students revisit the list after reading.

2. Teaching Nonfiction: Learn to Annotate

Annotating is such an important skill because your students learn to engage with the text. It also has shown to improve retention, and helps increase critical thinking. My annotating fiction task cards is a great nonfiction annotation that you can use for any nonfiction text. The task cards and activities will help students grow more confident in their annotating skills as they explore a variety of nonfiction articles. There’s also a full annotation bundle that includes fiction and poetry annotation. You can find that here in my Annotating Task Cards Bundle.

3. Teaching Nonfiction: Connect to Real Life

It truly is important for readers to connect to text in order to retain information and stay engaged.

Have students keep a journal during the reading to jot down connections that they see either to themselves, or to society as a whole. While not every subject will necessarily personally resonate with students, they can learn to look at the “bigger picture” and see the connections to the world around them.

4. Teaching Nonfiction: Mix Nonfiction and Fiction

Sometimes choosing nonfiction study feels like we are making a sacrifice in the literature category. It seems hard to fit everything in, so why not combine? Teaching nonfiction works very well when you pair it with the literature you are already reading in class. When you have fictional literature to study, take time to showcase the nonfiction connections with your students. For example, a contemporary novels class reading The Hunger Games might choose to make connections to works like Diary of Anne Frank or Elie Wiesel’s Night. You can also work with your librarian to showcase fiction/nonfiction pairings to encourage students to read a variety of different types of texts.

5. Teaching Nonfiction: Artistic Vocabulary

Another turn-off for nonfiction is that it also comes with vocabulary. Instead of a vocabulary list paired with a quiz, consider tapping into creative and artistic activities instead. Students can create a visual word wall on the bulletin board, digitally create slides or images (a great alternative for those working virtually), or have students create Wordles after reading the text to show their understanding.

6. Teaching Nonfiction: Sticky Note Questions

Sticky notes are so versatile. Give your students a small stack before reading and have them write questions, connections, or thoughts and stick them right on the page. Students can then turn to their sticky notes rather than leafing through their notebooks for their questions and figuring out where in the reading their thought came from. You might have students read individually with their sticky notes and then come together as a class or group to answer. This also can pair nicely with annotation activities.

7. Teaching Nonfiction: Tweet About It

Another way to have students practice critical thinking and summarizing skills is to have students “tweet” about the nonfiction work. You can provide prompts about specific events or people, or simply have students jot down their tweet as you check for understanding. This is a great way to break up long texts into manageable “chunks” by tweeting about independent events, people, or chapters. The tweets can later serve as a class review in manageable bits.

8. Teaching Nonfiction: …or TikTok

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but there’s no doubt that viral video trends are a major influence in students’ lives. Use that to your advantage and let students create short videos to showcase information. Find school-appropriate challenges or songs that are trending and let students use their creativity. Even if you’re virtual, students can use their video features to film. Have them think about how they would recreate an event in a modern way, and make it bite-size to fit the one-minute time limit. Have them pretend to be a person you’re studying – what challenges would they attempt?

9. Teaching Nonfiction: Play to Interests

It can seem overwhelming trying to fit in all of the topics of study during the year, but it is worth the time to squeeze in the opportunity for your students to choose their own topics. Why not make it nonfiction study to help encourage engagement? Alternatively, you can have the class make a list together of their interests and then you select at your discretion.

10. Teaching Nonfiction: Make it Interactive

Rather than a go-to research paper, or simply studying from autobiographies, make a more interactive assignment. There are many different types of escape rooms for a variety of subjects. There are even escape room templates so you can design your own with the puzzles already created – you just need to fill in the information. If you’re not looking for a full scale escape room, start with smaller puzzles, riddles, or decoding and apply it to a scavenger hunt style of assignment. Your students will still read the same nonfiction, but might be more invested in solving brain teasers like these.

For more reading about teaching nonfiction, check out this blog post about 5 ways to analyze nonfiction!

If you are looking for more nonfiction teaching materials, you might be interested in these resources:
Annotating Made Easy
Paraphrasing, Summarizing, and Quoting

Teaching students how to annotate text can be an intimidating task. Likewise, for our students, annotating text can be equally as daunting, especially if they don’t have a process of their own that works or steps to follow. However, teaching text annotation can be a simple and straightforward task if you follow these five steps.

When I teach my students how to annotate text, I use these simple steps to break down the process into a manageable task for my students. There are also a variety of strategies that I use when I teach and model students how to annotate text.

Teaching Text Annotation Step 1: Preview the Text

Before I have my students annotate text, I want them to get an overall feel for the text. I have them look at and read headlines, subheads, pictures, captions, headings, graphs, and pull-out quotes. It is also helpful to have a classroom discussion to activate prior knowledge about the topic of the text.

Teaching Text Annotation Step 2: Read a Small Section of Text

Since close reading and text annotation can be a daunting task, I have my students only focus on a small portion of it at a time. This makes the task less intimidating for students. It also enables them to focus more closely on a section of text rather than get lost in the entirety of the text. When we first begin annotating at the start of a new school year, we typically just focus on one paragraph at a time. By doing so, this helps build student confidence.

Teaching Text Annotation Step 3: Annotate the Section You Read

Once they’ve read the small section, I provide my students with (or encourage them to) go back and annotate the section they’ve just read. As they become more confident in their close reading and text annotation skills, students will incorporate steps 2 and 3 together, but as they are learning and practicing the skill, I’ve found that students annotate more thoroughly when they read and then annotate.

Teaching Text Annotation Step 4: Review Your Annotations

It is essential to have students go back and review their annotations. This reinforces the process that the students are completing, as well as gives them an opportunity to review their annotations and margin notes so that they gain a better understanding of the text. One way that I like to review annotations in class is to have students partner up after completing individual annotations. In partner groups, they share their notes with one another. This is especially helpful if you have students partner up two different times. They will get to see annotations from two other students.

Teaching Text Annotation Step 5: Repeat Steps 2-4

As students work through the text, they will complete steps 2-4 until they finish annotating the entire document. As students near the end of the document, they will become more confident in their annotating abilities.

While annotating all different types of text generally follows these steps, there are a few different things that I do when I teach my students how to annotate fiction, annotate nonfiction, and annotate poetry. I’ve included all of these lessons and resources in an Annotating Made Simple Bundle.

Annotating Text Made Easy Teaching Resource

Annotating Text, Annotating Fiction, Annotating Poetry: Teach your students how to efficiently annotate any kid of text with these step-by-step, guided, text annotation lessons and class exercises! Now includes print and digital options!

Begin your unit with a presentation for direct instruction. Students will use the included guided notes to follow along with the lesson. Then, work together in a whole-class setting to annotate a piece of text together using guided instructions and step-by-step pacing.

What Teachers Say:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Extremely satisfied

“This really helped my students who were struggling with the concept of annotation. Following the suggested annotation styles for the different types of text (fictional, informational, and poetry) made it easier for me to review their annotations and determine where a student may need some extra help. I really liked this bundle.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Extremely satisfied

“This annotating toolkit is a 5-star win for teaching your students how to mark up texts, fiction, or poetry. With cool step-by-step lessons and both print and digital options, setting up an engaging class is a breeze. Want to make annotating fun and easy? This is your go-to resource!”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Extremely satisfied

“This was a great resource to help students understand how to properly annotate. I appreciated the bundle for students to compare different texts. I did find the power points to be very similar though.”

If you are looking for a new rhetorical analysis activity, I’ve got just the thing for you: a collaborative rhetorical analysis poster project!

One of the things I love the most about teaching nonfiction texts is teaching rhetorical analysis and watching students get it. After teaching my students about ethos, pathos, logos, and a variety of rhetorical devices in two different speeches, I wanted to see if they got it on their own, so I assigned a collaborative rhetorical analysis project.

Getting Started: The Collaborative Rhetorical Analysis Poster Project

To set up the project, I printed copies of historical and political speeches that we had not reviewed yet: The Space Shuttle Challenger Address, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream, President George W. Bush’s 9/11 Address to the Nation, and JFK’s Ich bin in Berliner. With the exception of I Have a Dream, all of the speeches are about the same length.

I printed out enough copies for each group to have one speech each, and then I collated the speeches so that I could hand them out at random. The students did not have a say in which speech they were given.

I gave each student group a piece of chart paper, markers, and a copy of the speech to annotate.

Using my whiteboard, I drew a mock-up, sample poster for the students with my requirements, and explained my expectations. In groups of three, students were to annotate the speeches, for literal and figurative meaning as well as rhetorical devices; identify the speech’s subject, purpose, author, context, and tone; write a 5-8 sentence summary of the speech, and include at least three rhetorical devices on the poster, with explanation.

The project took two and a half days, and it went better than I could have asked for. I heard dynamic conversations about the various authors’ use of ethos, pathos, logos, repetition, anaphora, alliteration, and allusion. I saw my students annotating their speeches and truly dissecting the text to gain a deeper understanding. I witnessed authentic learning take place.

On the third day of this project, we took half a day to display the posters and complete a gallery walk. For the gallery walk, I asked each student to write down the title and speaker of each speech and then identify one rhetorical device that the speaker used and explain its significance and overall impact on the speech.

Why The Collaborative Rhetorical Analysis Poster Project Works

One reason why I think the activity exceeded my expectations is that my students were ready to demonstrate their understanding. Prior to this activity, I taught my students this lesson: It covers the three rhetorical appeals and various rhetorical and persuasive strategies. We used Lou Gehrig’s Farewell to Baseball speech as an introductory text.

Another reason why I believe my students did so well with this activity is that I also taught them how to annotate text. Using my Annotating Made Easy lesson, I taught my students how to annotate text in a step-by-step manner. As a class, we broke down the Gettysburg Address and annotated it.

After students annotated small chunks of the text, I had them share their annotations with their table partners and then I showed them some of my annotations. This helps build up their confidence in annotating text. We then spent another day analyzing this speech for rhetorical appeals and devices in the same manner.

I definitely suggest walking through two to three speeches as a class before completing this collaborative rhetorical analysis poster project.

This was a new activity in my classroom, and it will be one I continue to use and tweak throughout the years.

Resources for Teaching Rhetorical Analysis

Annotating Text Made Easy
Ethos, Pathos, Logos, and Argumentative and Persuasive Strategies
Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream” Close Read and Rhetorical Analysis

As an English teacher, I believe that every single high school student needs to know how to annotate text meaningfully and effectively in order to gain a deeper understanding. Close reading is an essential part of the English language arts, and it is also essential to many other academic disciples as well. Teaching students to properly annotate text is something can be challenging, but my step-by-step text annotation lesson makes this process much more manageable for students and teachers. Check this lesson out HERE or at the bottom of the post.

As we step into the digital world and as schools slowly transition to 1:1, teachers have to find new ways to have students demonstrate their mastery of a skill.

Recently, I stumbled upon a Google Chrome app that makes annotating text on an electronic device easy peasy: Xodo.

Xodo is a free Google Chrome app that allows students to annotate directly on the screen. They can draw arrows and type in comments. It is a dream!

Simply instruct students to find the Xodo app in the Chrome Web Store. It is completely free and very easy to install. To do this, students can Google the “Chrome Web Store.” From there, have them search for “Xodo” and install the app onto their Chromebooks. You district administrator might need to install the app or grant permission to do so.

Once the extension is installed, students are ready to annotate any PDF text on their device. To do this, send students a PDF file of the text you would like them to annotate and have the students save it in their Google Drive. The easiest way to do this is to distribute it through Google Classroom. Instruct students to access their Google Chrome apps and open the Xodo app. Once this app is open, students will then be able to access and open the PDF file from their Google Drive.

From there the possibilities are endless. Students can annotate any text you share with them. I’ve found that it is easiest if the file is a PDF. This will make annotating text online with Chromebooks easy, fun, and interactive.

When I teach my students how to annotate text, I use my Annotating Made Easy lesson series to get them started. These text annotation lessons include step-by-step directions that teach students how to annotate non fiction, fiction, and poetry. Each lesson includes a PowerPoint presentation that is editable, and a PDF resource that includes helpful student handouts and resources. Each lesson even includes an in-class example that breaks down the process to make it manageable and easy for students.

If you are looking for more digital annotation activities, check out my SMARTePlans Digital Poetry Annotation activity. This resource includes a Google Slides activity for students to annotate a poem.

Once the ice-breakers and getting to know you activities of the first week back to school are over, I like to teach my students a quick lesson on annotating text before diving into our short story unit.

There are two reasons why I start the school year with teaching annotation: one, I find it to be a very useful skill that helps students in all areas of the school; two, I want all of my students on the same page (or at least the same chapter) when it comes to reading text; and three, knowing how to annotate text is part of the common core curriculum. Also, I like to teach this in the beginning so that students don’t highlight an entire document.

One of the most important aspects of teaching annotating text to middle school and high school students is to emphasize tackling just a small section of text at a time. All too often high school students will dive right into too much of a challenging text at a time. That only creates frustration. With teaching annotating text, you want to make sure that students only work with a small portion of text at a time. This allows the students to really look at and understand what the text means. Don’t be afraid to ask students to read just 1-3 sentences at a time. The goal as you annotate is to read the text closely, not in its entirety at once.

Another thing I emphasize when teaching text annotation to my students is to go back and reread all of your notes and annotations to make sure that they still make sense and to see if there is anything else that can be added. For example, as you read through more of the text, you might find that the meaning has changed, or that, perhaps, you have a deeper understanding of the first few paragraphs now that you’ve read the entire document!

Helpful resources for teaching annotating:

Annotating Text Made Easy

Annotating Fiction Made Easy

Annotating Poetry Made Easy

Annotation Bookmarks

Annotation Bundle