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Literary Sherri Goes Back to School

After a bit of a summer hiatus, I’m blog hopping today with The Literary League – some pretty fabulous secondary ELA teacher-authors. You should definitely know these teachers and their resources, as they create some of the highest-quality resources you will find anywhere. It’s a privilege to be collaborating with them, and I’m excite to introduce you to them!

First, a bit about me . . . I was the kid who loved school and everything about it. In early elementary grades, I cried on the last day of school before holiday breaks and summer vacation. Literally. I spent summers setting up a classroom on a blanket in the corner of the living room and creating schoolwork for stuffed animals – and later for siblings and neighborhood friends. In 4th grade, I announced that I would be a teacher when I grew up . . . and I never considered anything else.


I started teaching in 1992. After a brief stint in 6th grade, I settled into 7th and 8th grade English Language Arts and I love it! Middle schoolers are both fun and funny. They are curious about the world and their role in it; they exaggerate nearly every experience and emotion, and they are wildly optimistic about their possibilities and futures. They keep me on my toes and I thoroughly enjoy working with them!

In life outside of school, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, traveling, theatre and museums, weekend getaways, photography, and getting lost in good books.


Speaking of good books, one of my favorite books to teach is The Giver by Lois Lowry. I can read it over and over again and never tire of the story and the many meaningful discussions it lends itself to, and I always appreciate students’ thoughts about diversity, individuality, freedom of choice, wisdom, the importance of preserving memories and learning from the past, the possibility of creating a utopian society, and the advantages and disadvantages of sacrificing personal freedom to gain a more peaceful society. Middle schoolers have a lot to say about these thought-provoking topics and their insights never fail to amaze me! The Giver is an absolute must in middle school!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Giver-by-Lois-Lowry-Complete-Unit-Grades-6-7-8-827371

Speaking of school, it’s that time again . . . time to plan and prepare for a new year! I love the excitement and anticipation of a brand new school year! One of my favorite back-to-school activities is having students work in teams to design and build a new toy! Though you'd probably never hear them say it aloud, middle schoolers still love playing with interlocking building bricks! Ask them to get busy creating with a few friends, and they think they've just had the best school day of their entire lives! They think this activity is the bomb!

I also think it's the bomb because it fosters team-building, critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, communication, and social skills amongst students. It's collaborative and hands-on, it integrates other disciplines, and it allows me to start understanding students' learning and communication styles right away. While this is not your typical "get to know you" activity, it truly helps students get to know one another and connect with one another right away -- and it helps me get to know a lot about the students in my classes, as well! In fact, I'm so crazy about this back-to-school activity, that I've made it free! Grab it here and enjoy your first week back with students!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Design-and-Build-a-New-Toy-Grades-5-6-7-8-395270

I know you’ll enjoy hopping through these blog posts and getting to know a few other super-amazing secondary ELA teachers as much as I have!

30 comments:

  1. I love basically any dystopic fiction but The Giver is definitely at the top of my list! I love getting into those deeper conversations with middle schoolers who have unique way of looking at things! :)

    -Lisa
    Mrs. Spangler in the Middle

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  2. I must admit that I have never read The Giver, but I keep hearing about it on this blog hop, so it's going on my must read list!

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  3. I am a sucker for Dystopias in literature! It is by far one of my favorite concepts to cover with my students. I always enjoyed reading "The Giver" with my students a pairing it with other short stories like "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut. My students always had such engaging and thought provoking conversations while reading this literature.

    Stephanie

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  4. Love the back to school activity! Engaging...educational...and free! What's better than that?! Thanks for sharing!

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  5. I love The Giver but I've never taught it because I teach high school.

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  6. My students did your build a toy activity in another class! They enjoyed it! :-)

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  7. Your back-to-school activity is BRILLIANT! It is such a great way to see how your students work together on the first day of school. Thank you for sharing!

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  8. Sherri, it is great to read a little more about you and get to know you as a teacher a little bit better. I love the idea of building a toy; what a fun concept. All too often we forget that even secondary students love to do something creative and have fun! Thanks for the reminder - I hope you have a fabulous back-to-school season.

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  9. I guess I better add The Giver to my list of books to read!! Your build a toy assignment sounds like so much fun!!

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  10. I probably have at least 4 copies of The Giver in my house from my kids reading it several times throughout their school years. I guess I need to grab it and read it myself sometime.

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  11. Last summer I planted myself on my deck and decided it was time to finally read The Giver. It is a very memorable book that makes you think. My third graders love the Gooney Bird Greene series by Lois Lowry. Gooney Bird sure is a crazy and lovable character. This series is such a different mood than The Giver.

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  12. I can't believe school is only weeks away. I am going to miss summer but learning is a good thing.

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  13. I still can't believe summer is over. Where did it go?

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  14. I love The Giver! Such a good book. I can't believe summer is over though!

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  15. I have never heard of the Giver, but it sounds like a great book!

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  16. My son is starting 5th grade before and he loves playing with the brick blocks / Lego's. I know adults who play with them!

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  17. Just bought books for my 6th grader and the giver is one of them. WE just watched the movie last weekend he had read the book in 5th grade too.

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  18. Sounds like a great school year. Love the Giver.

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  19. I was also that child who loved school and learning though I didn't cry on the last day ..lol. I've never heard about these Teachers but i will definitely do some research about them

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  20. I was a Lit major, and I'd love to be a language arts teacher! (My husband would argue that I am...to everyone! haha)

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  21. This is one of those books I have heard a lot about. I majored in English as an adult in college and loved it. Cute background on your blog, btw.

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  22. Yup the Giver is a book I could read over and over again. I loved it in high school

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  23. I don't think I've read the Giver. I may have to take some time and take a look.

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  24. I am a science teacher with a degree in english too! Cant believe we head back to school

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  25. Middle Schooler are optimistic, that is very true. I worked in a school for behaviorally challenged middle schoolers, and boy did they keep me on my toes. ;)

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  26. The Giver by Lois Lowry was one of my favorite reads (and still is). My girls are always sad when school ends and are over the top excited for it to start back up. I hope that sentiment lasts!

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  27. Love love love "The Giver". I just gotta say, you teachers are amazing! THANK YOU for all your hard work!

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  28. My Mom is an ELA teacher! She loves it! I will have to check out The Giver!

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  29. Ive been thinking a lot about going to school to become a teacher. I would love to teach k-5th. Its only a thought right now though. My daughter (going into 8th) came home RAVING about "The Giver" Her teacher had been reading it to the class and my daughter loved the story. She loved telling me all about it.

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