“This website is my sub plans.” ~ a teacher describing Byrdseed.TV

CCSS ELA Standard: 8.RL.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

Improving Shakespeare’s Repetition
Improving Shakespeare’s Repetition
Let’s help William Shakespeare with his use of repetition.
Getting Specific With St. Patrick’s Day Writing
Getting Specific With St. Patrick’s Day Writing
Let’s take a starting phrase about St. Patrick’s Day and get specific. No, even more specific!
Super Specific Similes – Strong Uncle
Super Specific Similes – Strong Uncle
Let’s make this simile about a strong uncle even more specific.
Super Specific Similes – Slimy Broccoli
Super Specific Similes – Slimy Broccoli
Start with a basic simile. Now make it more specific. Now even more. Watch how much better writing gets with each round.
Super Specific Similes: Quick Baby
Super Specific Similes: Quick Baby
Let’s make this simile about a quick baby even more specific.
Super Specific Similes: Loud Class
Super Specific Similes: Loud Class
Let’s make this simile about a loud class super specific!
Super Specific Similes: Stinky Seaweed
Super Specific Similes: Stinky Seaweed
Start with a basic simile. Now make it more specific. Now even more. Watch how much better writing gets with each round.
Think Like An Author: Hemingway vs Dickens
Think Like An Author: Hemingway vs Dickens
What if your students rewrote Dickens in the style of Hemingway and vice versa?
Identifying Author’s Voice
Identifying Author’s Voice
What if… Edgar Allen Poe wrote Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland?
Jabberwocky and Context Clues
Jabberwocky and Context Clues
Context clues lessons can be a disaster. Here, we expose students to a delightful classic packed with nonsense words (“Jabberwocky”) and ask them to decipher the meanings and parts of speech. Then, it’s only natural for students to write their own nonsense poems.
Studying and Remixing “The Raven”
Studying and Remixing “The Raven”
Ready to push kids beyond the boring, old ABAB rhyme scheme and into something a bit more complex?