#BannedBooksWeek Activities & Freebies

How are you celebrating your freedom to read this week? If you need ideas, there are several sites you can visit to incorporate Banned Books Week into your class discussions.

The official Banned Books Week website, in conjunction with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), offers resources for teachers, such as their anti-censorship website (with additional links/help), and their comprehensive list of challenged titles since 2004.

• Using the list, read the titles to your class. (Do not reveal that the books have been challenged.) While you do this, have students copy the titles of the books they have read. After you've gone through the list, reveal that all of those books have been banned or challenged in recent years. Begin a discussion about book banning and why parents (and others, though most of the challenges come from parents) object to the material.

• Have your students host a Virtual Read-Out. Record them reading a challenged/banned book and post to the site.

• Show this video of books that have been banned or challenged in the past year, then have a discussion with your students, asking them:
    - Which books surprised you the most?
    - Which books have you read?
    - Would a book banning increase your desire to read said book?
    (Video courtesy of Plainfield Public Library)

• Download these FREE bookmarks and distribute to your students:
    - "I Read Banned Books" Bookmarks
    - President Snow's Panem Bookmarks
    - I Love Harry Potter Bookmarks (The Harry Potter series is on the frequently banned or challenged lists each year)

For more information and ideas, check out my previous posts for Banned Books Week here and on my other blog:
Defending Your Choice to Teach The Hunger Games
Twilight? The Hunger Games? The Top 10 Challenged Books... (with Activities)
The Best Banned Book Pinterest Boards to Follow
The Best Book Boards to Follow on Pinterest
The Best Young Adult Book Boards to Follow on Pinterest
Banned Books Week 2012 (with Activities)
Celebrate Your Freedom to Read

The Hunger Games Teaching Unit Updates

Do you teach The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins? If so, you'll want to check out my newly-updated teaching unit!

My best-selling Hunger Games Teaching Unit digital download now includes the following files:
• Common Core Standards chart with alignment to my lessons
• Added even more to my discussion questions
• Updated my Settings, Theme, Symbolism, and Map of Panem file to include new information provided by TheCapitol.pn
• Included a separate Teacher's Guide to the Setting file
• New organization/structure and pages added to the Student Survival Pack
• Newly updated Teacher's Guide to the Student Survival Pack
• Included a sneak peek at some of my new Katniss Character Analysis handouts
• Added the Additional Symbolism file

Those who order the CD will automatically have these updates. Those who purchased my digital unit will want to re-download the file (free) by logging on to their TpT purchases page and reactivating the file. Then you have 24 hours to download it again.

I have appreciated everyone's feedback on my unit; your suggestions have helped me make some great improvements and I love hearing of your success stories! Remember to send me any links to stories, pictures, or websites that show your students/class/school (or student work) so I can showcase them on my page. :)

Thanks so much for your continued support of your fellow teachers on TeachersPayTeachers.com! It's such a wonderful way to help one another in a profession that gets more demanding each year.

Are You Ready for the First Day of School?

I still get nervous on the first day of school each year. Having twenty-five pairs of teenage eyes staring at you like you are the last person they want to listen to can be very intimidating. That's why icebreakers are so popular on the first day. It loosens the students up and takes a little of the focus off you and places it on them.

There are oodles of icebreaker ideas out on the web. Here are some sights with multiple ideas:
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson131.shtml
http://712educators.about.com/cs/icebreakers/a/icebreakers.htm
https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dhn2vcv5_650dvtj3dgk

The question is, which icebreaker do you use? Which ones have been most popular in your classroom?

I've used many different ones and have had the most success with using humor to break the ice. Because I teach English, it's common for me to start with some images of public grammar or spelling mistakes. The underlying message, of course, is how important English class is. (See link below for a presentation I use.)

Another activity is using the format of David Letterman's Top 10 lists to have students compose a "Top 10 reasons why it's great to be back in school" or the "Top 10 reasons why being a sophomore is better than being a freshman" (or switch it around for different groups). I try to give them positive choices so they think of the GOOD things about school. So if a student wants to write a top 10 list on why your class sucks, you might want to steer that person in another direction! You can download this free activity here.
Back to School Top 10 Lists Activity

I also have free BINGO templates for a "get-to-know-you" activity, which works to get the students moving around.

One assignment that I love giving is for them to create a collage mobile. I usually assign this on the second day, having it due by the end of the week or the following week, depending on whether we start on a Monday or mid-week. Since we begin on Thursday this year, I will assign it Friday and they will need to complete it by Wednesday. We only spend a little time in class on it, then they have to complete it on their own. It's now uploaded on the site, so you can click the "collage mobile" link above.

If you are looking for a presentation with a compilation of public mistakes that show the importance of English, here is a link to my Powerpoint: Using Humor in English.... I usually don't show all the slides the first day. I give them a tease of a few, then we come back to it later in the year, using specific examples for certain kinds of mistakes (whether it is punctuation, spelling, word usage, etc.). It never fails to make them laugh.

Updated Catching Fire Digital Download

To all of the teachers who purchased my Catching Fire digital download (and older CDs), I have updated the discussion questions file and added the tests and quizzes in Word formats. Make sure you download it (it is a free download).

Instructions to download the updated unit for free: 
1. Log on to the TeachersPayTeachers
2. Go to the "Manage My Account" page
3. Click on the "Download/See My Purchases" button
4. Click on the word "Expired"
5. You will have another 24 hours to download your materials for free

If you purchased the Catching Fire Unit on CD, I will be emailing you the updated files. If somehow I miss you, please email me and let me know!

Thank you!

SALE: 10% off all week on TeachersPayTeachers

TeachersPayTeachers is having a site-wide sale this week to celebrate their $2,000,000 in earnings! Don't miss out!! Sale ends Saturday, March 12th at midnight! And with Daylight Saving Time Change, you might want to buy early just to make sure you get the sale!
  Think of all the great products you can buy on sale--including my 3-CD Hunger Games Trilogy Teaching Units! That's almost $6 off the price!

Use promo code G2R2M at check out.
You can find the latest 10 FREE downloads here: TPTNewsletter

Have a great week, teachers!