Category: Middle School Lessons

There are so many elements to a written work. A story has plot structure, characters, setting, main ideas and themes that might draw a reader in. A poem is concerned with images and metaphor to express an emotion or idea. But the most important part are the words themselves. If the author didn’t choose the right words, they might not get their ideas across to the reader. For instance, would you describe the Arctic as cold? Or would you describe it as a frigid? Which word is more effective?

This is a question we tackled with Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air. Before reading an excerpt, we talked with students at Jefferson Traditional about word choice. Why is it important to use accurate and descriptive words?

From there, we gave students an edited excerpt from Krakauer’s book. These excerpts contained words not found in the original text. Instead the students were tasked with changing the words to be more effective, descriptive, and accurate. Once they came up with their changes, we gave the students the original text to compare.

By the end of the lesson, the students better appreciated the difference between the altered text and the original version. Students made comparisons between “bad” and “severe” and the appropriate context of each.

Poetry can be difficult for students to read out loud. Some poems have structure. Others are free to move as they please. With so many varieties, students find they might trip over the words because they just can’t find the flow. 

That’s why paying close attention to punctuation is important.

One of our lessons at Jefferson Traditional involved a close look at Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.”

We began the lesson having students read the poem without regard for punctuation. Then we had them read again, paying close attention. This time the students stood up, walking around the classroom as they read. At each punctuation mark, they changed direction. Combining movement with the act of reading, allowed the students to physicalize the poem. More importantly, it allowed them to recognize that punctuation is an important element of a poem or any written work.

We consistently teach at Jefferson Intermediate Traditional School, integrating drama to sneakily teach our students valuable lessons. During one class period, the teacher was interested in teaching his students argumentative writing.

His initial lesson focused on the basics of writing an argumentative paper: introduction, thesis, argument and supporting evidence, counterargument, restatement of thesis, and a closing. Then he had the students brainstorm ideas for new technologies or tweaks to existing technologies that would improve the world on a large scale. From there the students were to conduct research and write an essay to present their invention/tweak. So what does this have to do with Romeo and Juliet?

In order to get the students to understand what it means to defend an argument, we decided to bring to them a familiar tale. Most students are familiar with Romeo and Juliet. They know that Juliet chooses to love a boy from a rival family. They know that Friar Lawrence is completely on board, despite knowing the possible repercussions of such a union. These two characters make bold decisions and they have to be able to defend them.

So we had the students break into groups. In each group there was a Juliet and a Friar Lawrence. The rest of the students were instructed to argue with Juliet and Friar Lawrence about their choices and their actions. Why did Juliet pursue a relationship with Romeo? Why did Friar Lawrence help the couple deceive their parents? Through this process, the students were encouraged to develop and refine their arguments. We then brought up one Juliet and one Friar Lawrence to the front of the class to respond to the arguments of the whole class.

In the end, the lesson was effective. By taking on a character and learning about that character’s actions and motivations, the students were able to improve their abilities to make an argument and defend it. It made the argumentative essay they had to write a little more tangible.