The Joy of Teaching

John Steinbeck stamp – circa 1979

This month is the birthday anniversary of a favorite author and local legend, John Steinbeck (born February 27, 1902). Learning about a Nobel Laureate such as John Steinbeck—or another favorite author—is one way to get students excited about literature, about another era, or about a different part of the world. This post includes downloadable book report forms for grades PreK–4 to help students write a report about a favorite author.

 Evan-Moor’s corporate office sits in “Steinbeck Country,” between the Salinas Valley and Monterey Bay, which John Steinbeck depicted so vividly in his novels and stories: “The Salinas Valley is in Northern California. It is a long narrow swale between two ranges of mountains, and the Salinas River winds and twists up the center until it falls at last into Monterey Bay.” (East of Eden, Chapter 1)

If John Steinbeck is one of your favorite authors, you may enjoy gathering information from one of these sites to share with your students:

• National Steinbeck Center
• The Center for Steinbeck Studies

Literature skill focus: learning about an author

To help guide students in reporting on a favorite author, use one of these simple book report forms, which include book lists and report templates:

• “Authors” book report form, grades PreK–K
• “Introducing…the Author” book report form, grades 1–2
• “My Favorite Author” book report form, grades 3–4

Reporting on a favorite author can also include activities such as:

• Writing interview questions or “staging” a mock interview of the author
• Creating a bookmark with the author’s picture, fun facts, and book titles
• Creating an oral presentation about the author’s life
• Making a diorama or collage that depicts the author’s hometown

Steinbeck lesson plans for middle school

To celebrate Steinbeck’s birthday anniversary, use these resources, which provide extensive lesson plans for middle school students for The Pearl and The Red Pony:

• Lesson ideas for The Pearl from the Alabama Learning Exchange
• Lesson ideas for The Red Pony from Steinbeck in the Schools

Contributing Writer

Theresa Wooler has more than 10 years’ experience in K–6 classrooms as a parent volunteer, has taught high school English, and is currently involved in education through Evan-Moor’s marketing communications team.

When the school year ends, the “What Is It?” lesson may prove to have been your favorite for integrating standards across the ELA and SL curriculum. The “What Is It?” weekly lesson asks students to turn a doodle (such as a shape or line) into a drawing that corresponds with a particular theme or unit, and then explain their drawing orally or in writing.

For example, for an immigration unit, a student might turn a wavy line into the walkway where all of the immigrants waited in line at Ellis Island. For a holiday or thematic unit such as Earth Day, a student might turn a circle into a drawing such as this:

Students then explain their drawing in a short writing sample or by sharing it in small groups or with the whole class.

Benefits of this lesson:

• “What Is It?” can teach point of view, perspective, interpretation, critical- and creative-thinking skills, and speaking and listening skills. In Common Core language, that could be CCSS.ELA-SL 4.1, 4.4, or 4.5.
• You can integrate this lesson into a theme, holiday, school event, or any subject—the possibilities are endless!
• “What Is It?” is the fastest weekly lesson you’ll ever create—maybe 45 seconds a week!

What you need to do to get started:

• Get a piece of 8 ½ x 11 paper and a black marking pen
• Draw a simple line(s), shape(s), or dot(s) in the middle of the page

• Next, make copies for each student in class.

Guidelines for students:

As for any new project, establish ground rules for students, such as:

1)  Turn the shape into anything—with these guidelines:

• The drawing must be presentable to the class, your parents at open house, or the hallway bulletin board. (You get the idea!)
• Be prepared to explain your picture.
• Color the whole page with marking pens, colored pencils, or crayons.
• You can add anything else to the picture—make it tell us a story!

2)  A new “What Is It?” will be given each Monday. Your finished picture is due on Friday.

3)  You are not graded by how well you draw/color.

4)  The focus each week may change. (You might need to turn it into something from the novel we are reading or a social studies passage.)

Ideas for teachers:

Keep student submissions, making them into a spiral-bound book. Present the book to students on the last day of the year—a complete surprise. They’ll love it!

We hope you’ll give the “What Is It?” lesson a try, and share how you integrated this fun lesson into your curriculum!

Contributing Writer

Patty Clark has been a classroom teacher for grades K-6, and District Librarian for grades K-8 for the past 25 years.  She is passionate about helping others find and use information.  Her philosophy is, “It’s not about the amount or the subject matter learned, it’s about the learner discovering the joy in the process that led them to it.”

Vocabulary is an essential focus of current standards, with emphasis placed on teaching vocabulary through meaningful engagement, not memorization. We know this is ideal, but how do we give students meaningful experiences with words? Our veteran teachers on staff have a few ideas to share, and we’d love to hear your ideas, too.

Common Core State Standards recommend:

Sample vocabulary lesson: “Music to Their Ears”

This simple but effective lesson can be adapted across grade levels, and incorporates Common Core methodology in developing students’ vocabulary acquisition.

What You Need:

Content vocabulary words from a reading selection, a science unit, or any lesson in your curriculum, or academic vocabulary words.

What You Do:

1. Provide students with the list of vocabulary words and define the words as a class, in small groups, or individually. This vocabulary chart may help your students keep track of new vocabulary words and definitions.
2. Have students work in small groups to create a jingle or song using the new words. To help them get started, give them ideas of how to make a parody of a simple tune, rhyme, or current song. Just for fun and inspiration, you may want to show students an educational song parody, such as this Solar System song based on the Sound of Music.
3. Students sing the jingle or song in front of an audience.
4. Students test their audience to see if they can recite the words and their definitions!

How do you encourage your students to use vocabulary words in context? We’d love to hear your ideas!

Contributing Writer

Lisa Vitarisi Mathews is Evan-Moor’s executive editor. She has over 20 years’ experience in PreK–8 education, and has worked closely with teachers across the United States through Evan-Moor product training and workshops.