English Teacher's Great Books Activities Kit: 60 Ready-to-Use Activity Packets Featuring Classic, Popular & Current Literature

By Gary Robert Muschla

Book Overview

Contains scores of practical management techniques plus more than 180 reproducible student activities for teaching reading and writing skills through a selection of great literature covering various genres, themes, and cultures.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0876288549
• ISBN13: 9780876288542
• Release Date: May 1994
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 0.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.3" x 1.0" x 8.5"
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Activities Galore!

This is a great manual filled with easy to use English activities for kids. This book will save a teacher a LOT of time when searching for book strategies and activities. The book helps a English teacher manage their classes better. Reproducibles are included and the book is easily to print! Good one! A+*****

Super resource for Homeschooling

I'm a trained English/Writing instructor, and also a homeschooling mom. This book gives me much of what I need for an intensive literature-and-composition program for my kids. The first part of the book is focused on managing a normal English class (although a teacher who followed this suggestions would have a SUPER class, I'm sure!). But homeschoolers shouldn't entirely skip this part, because if offers valuable (but wonderfully brief and clear) suggestions on the writing process, grading methods, and other tips. Part II is the treasure-trove. The has provided brief, practical plans for studying twenty different books appropriate for students in a given age group (7th and 8th grade; 9th and 10th grade; and 11th and 12th grade). For each recommended book, the author provides: - A synopsis of the story - Ideas and concepts to highlight in discussion - A "Writing Connection" - a paragraph or two to orient the teacher to core themes in the book - A reproducible pre-writing activity - Eight to ten well-thought-out essay questions - Four to six "projects and activities" related to the book - Four or five "Curriculum Connections" that suggest ways to connect the book study with other subject areas (science, history, and even math). Amazingly, all this is presented in the space of only four pages -- with plenty of white space left over! With all these resources you could easily spend 2-3 weeks per book while still picking and choosing to suit yourself and your student. One word of caution: parents may want to go through the synopses (or read the books) before they put them in their child's hands. The subject matter in the recommended books is challenging. Muschla's recommendations are not 'easy' books, and have powerful themes that deserve to be discussed. An advantage to homeschooling is that the teacher knows the student intimately, and knows which subject matter might not be appropriate for that child. However, I would encourage homeschooling parents to give some of these books a try, even if they seem a bit edgy and raw. If you read the book with your child and restrain yourself from speaking too quickly, you may learn a great deal about your child's growing and changing thoughts.