Taylor Swift or a Tortured Poet?

Is it lyrics from a Taylor Swift song or lines by a tortured poet? 

Your students will love trying to figure out the answers on my latest interactive activities and bulletin board! It shows students that poetry comes in a variety of packages, such as their favorite song lyrics. It is a great way for them to buy into your poetry unit. 

You can use this resource in a variety of ways, such as:

1. Student Handout: Distribute the student handouts right away and have them guess the answers. They can work in groups, partners, or individually. Let them know it's NOT for a grade, but just for fun! The handout has 44 questions for students. Give them 10 (or more) minutes to guess the answers. After they have all had enough time to guess, either show the presentation (#2) or go over the answers orally (answer sheet included; however, the presentation identifies which song and the name of the poet & poem for each line).

2. Presentation: After (or while) students have filled out the handout, show the presentation. It includes 134 slides with the lines and the answers on separate slides. I offer it in PPT and PDF formats (you may transfer the PPT to Google Slides if you prefer that format). They can follow along with their handouts and you can discuss whether they were surprised by the answers or not. You can take it a step further and have them look up the poems afterward. All of the poems are readily available and in the public domain on Project Gutenberg or popular sites like Poets.org. 

This display only uses 26 of the 44 display cards.

3. Bulletin Board: You can display the bulletin board as a stand-alone activity or in combination with the previous two activities. The bulletin board includes 44 display cards (2 per piece of paper that you will cut in half and fold). Students love to keep looking at the lyrics and lines of poetry even after they've seen the answers. You can also display them in the hallway for students from other classes. It is a great way to promote poetry while having some fun! @MHS_MediaCenter on Instagram shared photos of how they created a display in their library. It was a huge hit!

No matter how you use this resource, your students are sure to be engaged! ALL of the lyrics in this bundle are from Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department Anthology double album.

I never use the same poetry quote or lyric quote twice, so even if you have my other packs, they will all be original! I offer numerous additional poetry/musician packs in my bundle, found here:

It will always be 20% off OR MORE! I will continue to add new titles to it each year. Drop me a message on my TPT page, on Instagram, or on Facebook with any suggestions for new packs!

Thanks for reading!

-Tracee

 

New Year Resolutions & Goals Activities

If you are looking for some activities to use with your students when you return to school, you're in the right place. My 2017 New Year Activities are appropriate for middle and high school students, though I've had some upper-elementary teachers tell me they love using them with their students, as well.

The bundle comes with eight activities, paper-saver options, and four interactive-notebook activities. The activities vary, but practice critical-thinking and writing skills. There's also an outlet for your creative students.

SET GOALS
Have your students set goals for the remainder of the school year (or the year in general) with these visual-appealing 2017 prompts. Students love to decorate them and they make great bulletin-board displays.

Examples of classroom displays from previous years:

Tag me on social media (@MrsOrman on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest; Mrs. Orman's Classroom on Facebook) if you display your class goals!

MAKE LISTS
My Top 20/Bottom 17 Activity forces students to dig deep and analyze their actions that can be helpful or harmful in achieving their goals and resolutions.

SCAVENGER HUNT
Have some fun with a classroom scavenger hunt. Students have to find items that fit the 2017 clues. Then, they get to create their own scavenger hunt. This is a great activity to get your students up and moving around the room. It's perfect for a bell-ringer or exit slip activity, too.

WRITING POETRY
Use the numbers in 2017 to write an acrostic poem. This can be challenging for younger students, though it seems simple. Some students like to choose just one word per line, but others will be more creative and use more than one word per line. However they wish to complete their poem is always fine with me. I never like to place limits on their creativity.

CLOSE READING POETRY ANALYSIS

Students read the song lyrics to "Auld Lang Syne" and analyze it for meaning, figurative language, and vocabulary in context. This is an activity that can be used year after year (is not specific to 2017 or any other year). The answer key is included.

AND MORE...

The pack also includes additional writing prompts and a back-to-school activity (great for my Aussie friends or anyone wanting to use it for the 2017-2018 school year). 

FOLDABLE ACTIVITIES

Four of the activities are included for interactive notebooks.

DOODLE IT!

Do you have students who love to doodle or create zentangle designs and patterns? I included blank 2017 images just for that purpose. 

Yes, ALL of these activities are included in my one 2017 New Year bundle:

I hope you and your students have a wonderful New Year! I'd love to see examples of your students' work, so don't forget to tag me if you post them. :) Thanks for sharing.