Easy-to-Assign Digital ELA Lessons for the Secondary Classroom

Digital ELA Lessons and Activities that are Easy to Assign and Help During Remote Teaching

With the school year in full swing, teachers everywhere are exhausted. The 2020-2021 school year will be unlike any of the other school years. Whether you are teaching fully remote, in a hybrid setting, or back face-to-face, this year brings unique challenges.

My first six weeks of complete remote learning have been filled with ups, downs, highs, lows, and more continually changing information from the top down that makes my head spin!

With that said, I still want to provide my students with a rigorous and worthwhile learning experience in high school English while still maintaining my sanity. Here is a look at three digital and print resources for secondary ELA that are easy to assign and easy to teach.

Short Story Close Reading Unit

Easy-to-Assign Digital ELA Lessons for the Secondary Classroom

My short story close reading teaching unit includes the traditional print and Google digital options for the seven short stories. Each short story close reading unit lasts about a week. Students read the short story and then go back and read carefully selected excerpts that contain specific literary devices and figures of speech. Students closely read and analyze the passages and then complete a brief literary analysis writing response at the end of the week.

Why this unit is so great

This short story unit works because it provides students with focused literary analysis instruction that isn’t overwhelming. Rather than try to analyze the entire story, students focus on short passages. As they read the carefully selected passages, they collect quotes along the way for the final writing piece. It is scaffolded enough that kids can work on this project after a quick I do, we do, you do teaching moment.

Why this unit will save your sanity

This short story close reading teaching unit will save your sanity because it is an entire week planned -just like that! Students can read the story first, which is excellent for an asynchronous day. To make this even better, you can share a YouTube link with your students to listen to the story. Each short story that you include in your curriculum is another week planned! Plus, students will get used to the short story routine you are creating with them!

Digital and Print Academic Vocabulary

Easy-to-Assign Digital ELA Lessons for the Secondary Classroom

I just updated and revised this academic vocabulary teaching unit, and I really like the changes. Each Academic Vocabulary unit includes five weeks of structured and focused Academic Vocabulary instruction. Each new week students will be introduced to five new words relating to a central theme (informational text, fiction, research, poetry, and literary devices). As students work throughout the week, they will have a brief task each day, perfect for a bell ringer, transition activity, or exit ticket. Then, students will take a quiz on just five words at a time as they build up to mastering all 25 of the unit’s words.

Why this unit is so great

This academic vocabulary unit is excellent for students because it provides focused and concentrated academic vocabulary instruction to secondary ELA students without completely overwhelming the students. By dedicating just five minutes a class to vocabulary, students will be able to take their time to really learn the words.

Why this unit will save your sanity

Each Academic Vocabulary unit includes 25 words and five weeks of focused instruction. This unit will help you create a vocabulary routine in your middle school ELA or high school English classroom to help your students learn content-based instruction. Plus, all of the weekly quizzes and the final assessment are self-grading Google Forms that will help save you time!

Digital and Print Analysis Task Cards

Easy-to-Assign Digital ELA Lessons for the Secondary Classroom

Have you ever been in a planning predicament where you have your text but need an activity to go with it? I sure know that I have! That is why these digital and print analysis task cards come into play. This task card bundle includes task cards for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and each group includes two different sets.

Why this unit is so great

These task cards are great because they provide students with an opportunity for in-depth text analysis. While some of the questions are more surface level to help build student confidence, other questions are more in-depth to encourage high-level analysis. Plus, task cards offer teachers so much versatility. They can be a stand-alone classroom activity or used in conjunction with review stations.

Why this unit will save your sanity

I know I’ve been there before. I have a text I either need to or want to include in a unit, but I just don’t have an engaging activity to pair with it. Teachers can use these activities whenever they feel overwhelmed or overstressed as either a review activity or for quality, rigorous analysis. Students can work on these task cards individually or in small groups to review key content.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literature-Rhetoric-and-Poetry-Digital-Task-Cards-Google-Print-4469766

Christina

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