Quick Teaching Ideas

Bell Ringers

• Quickly detect genres with our Genre Sleuth matching game (appropriate for grades K-12). 

• Reflect on names and identity with these What’s in a Name? prompts for grades 1-5, 4-8, and 7-12.

Thematic Ideas

• Grab a quick activity from Timely Topics, which are curated to feature thematic ideas and resources each month. 

• Engage with Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, for example, by pairing a complete book reading of ‘Ohana Means Family with an activity kit, among other ideas.   

Monthly Lessons

• Find quick ideas that are scaffolded for grades PreK-8 in our full list of Monthly Lesson Ideas.

• May’s lesson ideas include, for example, prompts for Minh Lê and Dan Santat’s Drawn Together that take students from pre-reading activities through the complete book reading and on to post-reading reflection.  

Writing Activities

• Practice persuasion with letter writing like the crayons do in The Day The Crayons Quit. (1-5)

• Try personal and creative writing with Toys Go Out and The Skunk. (4-8) 

• Muse on the power of the arts to change the world with this activity featuring M.T. Anderson’s Symphony for the City of the Dead. (7-12) 

• Consider culture and identity after listening to the authors share background stories for If I Ever Get Out of Here and When Dimple Met Rishi. (7-12) 

Poetry Analysis

Think through a different poetry concept each day of the week with our One-a-Day Poetry Reflections.

• Grades 1-5 (Students explore sound, rhyme, visualization, alliteration, and creative writing.) 

• Grades 4-8 (Students explore sound, comparison, emotion, reading style, and simile.) 

• Grades 7-12 (Students explore onomatopoeia, parody, structure, repetition, and emotion.)  

What’s working for you?

We’d love to hear how you’re using TeachingBooks resources in your classrooms and libraries! Leave your ideas in a comment below.