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.

Now more than ever, it is essential that students understand the importance of digital citizenship. It’s part of being career-ready. It’s part of utilizing tools like the internet effectively for education. And it’s part of understanding the boundaries of recreational use.

What is digital citizenship?

Being a good digital citizen means understanding the responsibilities associated with technology, particularly the internet, but also how it all applies to computers and devices in general.

What does it cover?

I think our first thought is cyber safety. But digital citizenship is so much more than that. It’s also how students use the internet to find help for school. It’s how they interact when searching for a job or emailing professionally. It’s what they post to social media. It’s knowing when it is appropriate to use technology (digital wellness). And it’s knowing how to show empathy when behaving online. 

Why is it important?

We are absolutely in a world where access to technology is more of a need than a want. This was even more important in 2020. Our students do homework, turn in papers, look up resources, find the news, socialize, and seek entertainment via their technology access. Students will apply to jobs and colleges online. They’ll work jobs with Zoom calls and emails. They’ll comment on posts. Post photos. Technology is embedded in every aspect of our lives. 

Teaching digital citizenship.

Conversation Skills

This is multi-faceted. Students will exchange and be involved with so many digital conversations within a day. The text and comment and write and read all of these interactions. Students would do well to understand the empathy needed in these exchanges. Discuss how connotation isn’t always clear when reading. You can come up with examples of how students can respond to different types of posts (or discuss if one should respond, period). You can also point out the difference in recreational use vs professional use, and how the words you type are there forever. This would also be a good place to discuss cyberbullying, and where the line is between “expressing an opinion” and being outright hurtful.

Digital Literacy

Students need to know how to distinguish accurate information from misinformation. This often is covered when students first begin looking up sources for essays, but it is a skill they need to know how to use in their personal lives as well. Students should have frequent practice with digital literacy because it’s really quite tough to learn discernment skills. This includes knowing the basics of data information and scams to look for.

Digital Wellness

To me, this is a biggie. We basically have technology on our persons 24/7. Discuss with students the importance of “unplugging”. Find articles about brain development and screen times. Debate how social skills are affected by technology. Students would do well to understand we need to take a break and now over-indulge.

Digital Security

There can be a lot of over-sharing, especially on social media platforms. It isn’t just about understanding the importance of choosing secure passwords. The little quizzes on Facebook that basically mine for information that are used in security questions. Knowing that a video you just shared showed your street address, and you were wearing your school logo. Students also need to keep their smart-technolgoy secure. Teach them about the best sort of security for their phones (like how an online photo of their face can trick the facial recognition software on their phone). Look for VPN lessons to add extra layers of privacy. Teach students that the more “locks” they have on their information, the safer they are and the harder it is for others to steal it. 

Professionalism 

Lastly, students should know how to present themselves professionally. A lot of their online interactions will be recreational. There’s a lot of social media. A lot of texting. A lot of messages. Students might not spend a lot of time emailing or may not know how to write resumes and cover letters. Give students a crash course in professional etiquette. Show them the difference between colloquial speech that is okay to use with their friends and the professional writing when they request information from a professor, contact HR, or apply for a new position. I have an email etiquette unit that works perfect for discussing professionalism. My unit can be found here. Or, the digital bundle option can be found here.

There are so many resources available. There’s no one way to go about this, and a lot of your lessons will come from the class culture and what your students already understand about digital citizenship. Find articles that work best with where your students are at, and help them become well-rounded citizens in the digital world we live in. You can also consider Business&ITCenter21, a teacher-created digital curriculum. You can find information on their Digital Citizenship module here. ISTE also has resources listed in their article here. 

Shakespeare has been gone for 400 years and yet we still insist on keeping him in our classroom. Mention Shakespeare, and I can guarantee teens immediately put up a front. Breaking through that initial abrasiveness can sometimes become a hurdle – but pointing out Shakespeare’s relevancy is a great start to a study. Below are some quick thoughts you might consider sharing with students, as well as several resources you can use while teaching Shakespeare.

Shakespeare influenced our language.

You can find so many references in our English language directly from Shakespeare’s work. If your students have ever been tongue-tied or hoodwinked, they’re quoting Shakespeare. There is a definitive record of Shakespeare being identified as the sole user or the first user of many common words and phrases. Your students might enjoy focusing on phrases they do recognize instead of worrying about what seems confusing.

Shakespeare’s themes are timeless.

If you cut the language that feels outdated to students and get to the bare bones of the stories Shakespeare wrote, you’ll find emotional and masterful works. Romeo and Juliet is a prime example of a work that is showcased in pop culture over and over again. Give students the “bare bones” of some works and have them find cultural links to their favorite movies, shows, and books before getting started on a new work. I like to spark conversations with these Shakespeare Bell Ringers meant to work as discussion starters as we begin Shakespeare’s work.

Shakespeare’s characters are relatable.

We can all relate to the trouble that affects Shakespeare’s characters. The raw emotions of love, jealousy, anger, and hope are identifiable across the centuries. When you can help students read into character analysis and development, you can open up a new way of understanding the works and the relevancy of these classics. This is especially true if you’ve already done the above and had students identify relatable works from their era – they can extend to the specific characters from the work. Use an activity like my character analysis (this one is for Julius Ceasar) to help students organize their thoughts and connections.

Shakespeare is a conspiracy.

Even today there’s speculation on whether Shakespeare truly wrote all of his works. Was it really a one-man show? Was it a group of playwrights? Was it an aristocrat penning in secret? And, despite so many images of Shakespeare – we aren’t even sure we know what he looked like. Shakespeare’s printed portraits that we associate with his work actually didn’t debut during his lifetime. Students can work on their own interpretations of who he might have been or can read articles related to his life. You can use this informative flip-book activity to get started learning about the bard.

Despite the changes of the times, I still believe Shakespeare has a place in our English studies today. It rests on us to show students that there is a relevancy and help guide them to understanding the importance of understanding and connecting to universal themes and characters.

With distance learning in full swing, here’s a closer look at ten resources that English teachers can digitally assign their students. All of my SMARTePlans digital resources run on the Google platform and can be posted electronically on secured learning management platforms like Google Classroom and Canvas. With any SMARTePlans resource, students can access the files via the Google Suite and type directly in the file!

5 Digital Resources for Middle School ELA

SMARTePlans Digital Parts of Speech Unit

This digital parts of speech unit is optimized for digital learning. Utilizing Google Docs, Forms, and Slides, this unit includes direct instruction, practice, and assessments!

SMARTePlans Greek Mythology Digital Notebook

Engage students in Greek mythology with this digital Greek mythology notebook. Students will learn about various Greek Gods and Goddesses.

SMARTePlans Digital Grammar Task Cards

These digital grammar task cards are perfect for remote learning grammar practice! This bundle includes three sets of digital grammar task cards: parts of speech, pronouns, and coordinating conjunctions. Each set of digital task cards also comes with a digital recording sheet. 

SMARTePlans Digital Writing Bundle

This digital writing bundle covers the three strands of CCSS writing (argument, informational, and narrative). It provides students with the structure and scaffolding they need (including guided graphic organizers) to help them improve their writing skills during remote learning.

SMARTePlans Descriptive Writing Unit

This digital descriptive writing unit is designed to help your students grow as writers. With focused activities that center on descriptive words, strong verbs, and sensory details, these digital writing exercises will give students the confidence to write more descriptively. 

5 Digital Resources for High School English

SMARTePlans Future Career Research Paper

It is so important to provide students with meaningful and engaging activities right now. This digital future career research paper provides students with interactive research organizers that guide them through the research process of exploring a future career.

SMARTePlans Controversial Issue Argumentative Essay

Students love researching and learning more about high-interest topics. This digital controversial issue argument essay resource includes all of the digital brainstorming graphic organizers to help students as they work toward developing an argument. 

SMARTePlans Digital Analysis Task Cards

These digital analysis task cards work with any text of your choice, whether it be fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Using these digital literary analysis task cards, digital rhetorical analysis task cards, and digital poetry analysis task cards, your students will be thinking critically and engaging in high-level analysis.

SMARTePlans Digital Socratic Seminar

Engage your students in a digital Socratic Seminar using video conferencing apps and this digital Socratic Seminar resource. This digital Socratic Seminar unit works with any text and includes digitally-based resources for students to create questions and reflect on the discussion. 

SMARTePlans Digital Short Story Close Reading Activities

This digital close read bundle includes many short stories. Each short story resource includes a link to the story, carefully selected passages for close reading, and a short paragraph response. 

One of my favorite ways to deliver content to my students digitally (and also to save paper) is to use Google Forms in the classroom. If you haven’t used Forms before, or if you are new to using Google Forms, this blog post is for you!

Google Forms is a survey-like app included in the Google suite, and it works beautifully well with Google Classroom. If you’re interested in the many ways you can use Google Forms in the classroom, you can read my previous post: 10 Ways to Use Google Forms in the Classroom.

To start using Google Forms, you’ll want to open up a Google Form. To start, you’ll have your choice of starting a new form from scratch, or you can choose a template. I usually start one from scratch because it is easier for me. However, I also like to format my Works Cited pages manually… so, yeah. However, if you do choose to use a template, the Google Forms Template Gallery has an education category.

Once you are in a new Google Form, you will want to set it up so that the Form works for you. I always begin every single Google Form I use in my classroom with the same three questions: First Name, Last Name, and Class Period. I do this so that once I export the answers to Google Sheets (which is arguably my favorite benefit of using Forms), I can quickly sort my data to match my alphabetical grade book. If I have one option just for “name,” it won’t be as consistent. I use a separate question for first name and last name.

From there, you can set-up your Form. Using the “Customize Theme” button (the color palette in the upper-righthand corner of the Form, you can select a preloaded background image or illustration, change the Form colors, and even choose a different typeface. However, for ease of use, I prefer the standard typeface option. You can also upload your own image as the header for even more customization. To see what the Form will look like to your students, you can select the “Preview” icon, which is the eyeball icon. Finally, you can customize the settings of your Form using the icon that looks like a gear.

It is the gear icon that will allow you to limit students to only one response, you can shuffle the question order, and you can even turn the Form into a quiz.

Once your Form is set-up, you can start editing it and adding questions. I like to have the questions and student information placed into separate sections. To do this, after you enter in the class periods, you can select the icon on the right-hand side that looks like an equals sign. This is the “Add section” icon.

There are 11 different question types: short answer, paragraph, multiple choice, checkboxes, dropdown, file upload, linear scale, multiple choice grid, checkbox grid, date, and time. My favorites for self-grading forms are multiple-choice, checkboxes, and dropdown. Essentially, multiple-choice and dropdown are the same. Students select one answer. I use the checkboxes question type if there are multiple correct answers.

With the quiz mode enabled, you can also go in and assign a point value for each question and select the correct answers. By doing this, you will create a self-grading Google Form. I like using this option for classroom assignments and quizzes.

Once your Form is complete, it is time to send it to your students. The easiest way to do this is to place it on Google Classroom. When I assign a Google Form on Google Classroom, I usually add it as an assignment; that way, students will be able to see when it is due. To send the Form, you’ll click on the “SEND” button at the top right-hand corner of the Form. Select the link icon and copy the link to your clipboard. From there, that will be the link you share with your students.

Finally, once you’ve sent the Form and your students have completed the Form, it is time to see the data. I prefer to view the data in Google Sheets. For this, you’ll click on the “responses” tab and then click the green icon. This will create a new Google Sheet in your Drive where you can sort the data by last name and class period (which is why I always include those options at the beginning of every Form I create).

As with any new technology platform, you have to play with it. Most likely, you will make some mistakes as you learn how to use it, but the more you play around with Google Forms, and the more you use it, the easier the platform will be. For more info, you can watch this YouTube video!

My SMARTePlans Google Forms Resources

Growth Mindset Escape Room

Back to School Students Survey

End of the Year Class Survey

Parts of Speech Escape Room

All SMARTePlans Google Form Resources

Here’s a list of ten resources for middle school ELA and high school English that will help you teach digitally and remotely. I’ve been creating digital, Google-based lessons since 2015, but here is a look at ten of my favorite. To check out all of the resources, search SMARTePlans on my TPT store.

Sentence Combining Bell Ringers

These sentence-combining bell ringers are the perfect way to help students improve their writing skills. This unit includes an introductory lesson that shows students a step-by-step process for how to combine sentences. It also contains several example slides and plenty of daily warm-up slides for students to complete

Growth Mindset Digital Escape Room

One of the most important things we can be doing right now is helping our students with their social and emotional learning right now. This Growth Mindset Escape Room is the perfect way to introduce students to growth mindset and provide them with a fun, engaging, and challenging task to complete.

Activities for Any Novel

A great way to engage students with literature this time is to foster book clubs, literature circles, and even class novels. This SMARTePlans unit includes interactive, digital activities and assignments that are creative, engaging, and work with any piece of fiction. It includes activities for plot, literary analysis, and more!

Character Analysis Unit for Any Novel

Similar to the novel unit, this character analysis unit focuses on character development and analysis, and it works with any piece of fiction. With the activities in this unit, students can trace a character’s development throughout the story. It also includes fun and engaging activities that include character social media profiles and character want ads.

Digital Poetry Analysis Task Cards

April is National Poetry Month, and these digital poetry task cards are a great way to engage students in poetry analysis. There are 40 different task cards in this digital resource (the first set has eight and the second, more in-depth set includes 32 cards) that work with any poem.

The Most Dangerous Game Short Story Close Read and Literary Analysis

Students can still closely read and annotate text digitally with this close read and literary analysis unit. With this activity, students will first read the entire short story, and then go back and reread select passages as they look for certain literary elements, and then students write literary analysis paragraphs.

Love, Acceptance, Diversity, and Tolerance Daily Writing Prompts

One way to connect with students and establish a sense of classroom community is to have students respond to these daily writing prompts. Each writing prompt includes a quote about love, acceptance, diversity, or tolerance, and an accompanying CCSS-aligned writing prompt.

Future Career Research Paper

This future career research paper organizer is optimized for digital instruction and covers many parts of the writing process. With this writing unit, students will research and explore a career of their choice and write about their findings.

Digital Parts of Speech Task Cards

These digital parts of speech task cards are the perfect way to practice and review parts of speech skills digitally. This unit includes 80 different task cards broken up into two separate sets.

Growth Mindset Interactive Notebook

Help students develop a growth mindset as they work their way through a growth mindset interactive notebook. This resource includes self-reflection surveys, exit slips, activities, and more.

If you are wondering if you should be teaching email etiquette to your students, read on! As a high school English teacher, there are so many different skills and concepts I want to teach my students. Not only do I want them to be well-versed in literature so they can pick up on allusions in pop culture, but I also want them to be able to write across a variety of mediums proficiently. One of the most important skills I can teach them though, is email etiquette.

I want them to improve their vocabulary and have a commanding understanding of how language works so that they can effectively communicate in the world.

And while I want them to be able to do all of this, I also understand that the vast majority of my students are not going to be literature or English majors in college. And with that said, when my students leave my classroom, I want to be able to provide them with enough guidance and instruction so that they will succeed in the world after they leave high school.

As a high school English teacher, I have the opportunity to provide my students with real-world writing instruction. In my classroom, that comes in the form of teaching email etiquette at the very beginning of the school year.

By teaching email etiquette to my high school English students at the beginning of the school year, I help my students be successful all year round.

5 Steps to Teaching Email Etiquette

Direct Instruction

First, I use direct instruction strategies to teach about etiquette and email etiquette. I explain to my students what etiquette is, why it is essential to follow etiquette, and I also explain how in many cases an email might be the first impression.

Bad Examples

After a quick mini-lesson on email etiquette. I like to project some bad email examples on the board. I have my students read the emails and then volunteer to correct just one change about the email. Usually, each email has several. From no subject line to no greeting to improper grammar to being downright rude to a teacher, this is one of my favorite parts of the lesson. My students typically have a fun time with this part of the lesson as well.

Craft a Terrible Email

All too often, teachers tell students what not to do. Why not let them show us what not to do? Once students have seen some poor email example, I like to challenge them to work in small groups to write the worst email ever. I want them breaking all of the email etiquette rules (while still maintaining school-appropriate content). I usually have my student groups share their emails and explain why they are so terrible. It is also fun to have students vote on the winner of the worst email contest. To help students with this activity, it might be helpful to give them some sample topics to write about. Perhaps they can write asking for a letter of recommendation, or they could ask about an extension on their essay.

Make Email Corrections

Now that your students have a solid foundation about proper email etiquette, it is time for them to make some revisions to emails that do not follow standard etiquette rules. In my Email Etiquette mini-unit, there are several different sample emails students can revise and correct to demonstrate their understanding of the concept.

Write an Email

Once students finish the small group and individual activities, it is time for students to write their emails. A great way to wrap up this mini-unit, especially if you teach it at the beginning of the school year, is to have students write you an email. You can ask them to share something about themselves or to share their goals for the school year, or something along those lines.

Once I started teaching email etiquette to my students at the beginning of the school year, my email inbox is much more pleasant. You will appreciate your students’ new skill and other teachers will, too!

Ready to Begin Teaching Email Etiquette?

One of the best ways to help students succeed both in and out of a school setting is by teaching this email etiquette unit. By teaching students how to write an email, they will know how to write an email to a teacher, boss, or superior. Email etiquette is an essential skill that students need to know, and after teaching this email etiquette unit, you’ll receive much more pleasant emails. You and your students will love these email etiquette activities in this unit!

This digital and print email etiquette unit includes an instructional presentation and various email etiquette activities to help your students learn the art of proper email communication.

Here is what teachers are saying:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Extremely Satisfied

“I‘ve taught email etiquette with my students in practical writing for 3 years now, and always struggled with creating/finding resources that worked well & kept them engaged (my group is mostly non-college bound seniors & juniors). This resource was able to do both and the digital resources fit well into my existing material. I’m really looking forward to being able to incorporate more of this into my unit in the future, this year I was only able to utilize some of the digital activities due to time and finding this resource mid-unit, but next year I am planning on incorporating more of this into my teaching.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Extremely Satisfied

“I use this resource at the beginning of each semester as part of our “back to school” work. (We have block scheduling at my school). It’s a fantastic way to let students know the appropriate and acceptable way to email their instructors. I like that it is no prep for me.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Extremely Satisfied

“A must have lesson for students of all ages. Students are so used to texting friends and often use that same type of language and structure in emails to teachers and others. This was a complete resource on teaching students how to write a professional email and it was an engaging unit as well. My students were thankful for the direct instruction.”

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.