Short description:

Spark student interest with rich literature presented within the context of LaCroix's powerful and dynamic instructional plans, and watch as achievement levels soar!

Long description:

"The author introduces new pedagogical approaches in teaching language arts, using fiction and poetry to enhance the student's critical thinking. This is a thoughtful, practical, and innovative book that will foster academic success."
Maggie Yadegar, Associate Dean
National University, Los Angeles Campus

"A 'must have' publication for the beginning teacher of English. The author gives explicit discussions, providing directions for formulating, presenting, and evaluating each phase of the lesson being taught."
Lois Gibson, Associate Professor Education (Retired)
Southeastern Louisiana University

Lessons that spark the imagination and fuel academic success!

Teachers of English at the high-school and middle-school level face greater and greater challenges as the pressures of standardized testing collide with the realities of declining literacy and unmotivated students. This manual-written by a teacher for teachers of all experience levels-is the perfect companion for those looking to reinvigorate their language arts curriculum and fully engage and inspire all students.

LaCroix shows teachers how they can use poetry and fiction to generate student interest and promote higher-level thinking skills through analysis and interpretation of great works. Arming teachers with all the necessary tools to plan and prepare effective lessons, this user-friendly guide ensures that even the most reluctant students can share in the joy of literature while becoming better readers, writers, and test-takers.

Features that will aid new and veteran teachers alike include:

• Twenty proven, ready-to-use lessons complete with rubrics, reproducibles, and reteach ideas
• Straightforward descriptions of three effective lesson plan types, including the LaCroix Model
• Concrete examples of how to supercharge students' vocabulary, critical thinking, rhetorical writing and public speaking skills for higher test scores and lifelong success

Spark student interest with rich literature presented within the context of LaCroix's powerful and dynamic instructional plans, and watch as their achievement levels soar!

Table of Contents:

Preface
About the Author
Opening Letter to Reader
1. The Plan
The Hunter Model
The Generalist Model
The LaCroix Model
Key Resource 1.1 The LaCroix Model
2. The Design
The Purpose
The Objective
The Crucial Setup
The Critical Materials
Key Resource 2.1 Sample Syllabus
Key Resource 2.2 Teaching Poems
Key Resource 2.3 Chaser Poem Rubric (4 Point)
Key Resource 2.4 Bio Poem Rubric (6 Point)
3. The Preparation
Skills to Be Taught
Procedural Lesson 1: The Poetry Notebook
Procedural Lesson 2: The Dramatic Reading
Key Resource 3.1: Poetry Book Requirement
Key Resource 3.2: Dramatic Reading Rubric
Key Resource 3.3: Poetry Circle Grade
4. The Lessons
Lesson 1: Understanding Character Through Tragedy
Key Resource 4.1: Ladder of Responsibility
Key Resource 4.2: Summary of Characters in Shakespeare's Hamlet
Key Resource 4.3: Essay Scoring Guide for Student Response to Literature
Key Resource 4.4: Literary Report Card
Lesson 2: Conflict and the Heroic Journey
Key Resource 4.5: Miracle on the Bayou
Key Resource 4.6: The Heroic Journey
Lesson 3: Finding Themes in Literature Through Art
Key Resource 4.7: Boarding Flight 64
Key Resource 4.8: Broad-Based Themes
Key Resource 4.9: Paired Themes in Short Fiction
Lesson 4: The Important Questions
Key Resource 4.10: Blue Velvet
Lesson 5: In Search of Poetry--Found Poems
Key Resource 4.11: Young Chief Joseph's Speech to Congress (1879)
Key Resource 4.12: Sample Found Poem: Chief Joseph Speaks to Congress
Lesson 6: "Poetry Is..."--An Introduction
Key Resource 4.13: Poetry Is...
Lesson 7: The Power of Words--Interpreting Poetry
Key Resource 4.14: Changing Impressions
Key Resource 4.15: "The Day is Done"
Key Resource 4.16: "The Psalm of Life"
Lesson 8: "I'm Nobody! Who are you?"--The Poetry of Emily Dickinson
Key Resource 4.17: The Poems of Emily Dickinson
Key Resource 4.18: Summation of Emily Dickinson's Life
Lesson 9: A Self-Portrait--The Bio Poem
Key Resource 4.19: Bio Poem Formula & Example
Key Resource 4.20: Matt's Bio Poem
Key Resource 4.21: Bio Poem Worksheet
Key Resource 4.22: Character Traits
Key Resource 4.23: Bio Poem Rubric (Six Point)
Lesson 10: "All the world's a stage"--Shakespeare and Figurative Language
Key Resource 4.24: Similes, Metaphors and Personification
Key Resource 4.25: Shakespeare Poems
Key Resource 4.26: "A Split Tree Still Grows"
Lesson 11: "Once Upon a Midnight Dreary"--Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Works
Key Resource 4.27: Lecture Notes on Edgar Allan Poe
Key Resource 4.28: Edgar Allan Poe
Key Resource 4.29: "Annabel Lee"
Key Resource 4.30: "To Helen"
Key Resource 4.31: "A Dream Within a Dream"
Key Resource 4.32: Excerpt from "The Raven"
Lesson 12: Life's Lessons in Verse
Key Resource 4.33: Teaching Poems
Key Resource 4.34: "The Village Blacksmith"
Key Resource 4.35: "To thine own self be true"
Key Resource 4.36: "If Tomorrow Never Comes"
Key Resource 4.37: "O Great Spirit"
Key Resource 4.38: "To be, or not to be"
Lesson 13: A Poetry Potpourri
5. The Final Touches
Suggestions for a Successful Poetry Recital
Key Resource 5.1: Poetic License
Closing Letter to Reader
Index