October Resource Round-Up: Informational Writing Resources, Sub Plans, and Spooky Warm-Ups
October Resource Round-Up: Informational Writing Resources, Sub Plans, and Spooky Warm-Ups
Welcome to October!
The Teacher Collective materials this month are all fall-themed and will provide the perfect antidote for October burnout. Fall burnout is so real. October would always be the month that we finally really got into content, but teacher burnout would start to set in at the end of the first six weeks of school.
So, I am checking in.
How are you doing?
How is your school year going?
What are you doing to keep burnout away?
Writing Focus| Informational Writing / Compare and Contrast
GRAB THE INFORMATIONAL COMPARE AND CONTRAST ESSAY WRITING REFERENCE SHEET
Learn about the difference between BLOCK METHOD and POINT-BY-POINT METHOD when teaching Compare and Contrast Writing Assignments.
Grab the free Compare and Contrast Student Essay Packet (with space for directions)
Compare and Contrast Sentence Frames and Sentence Starters (Google Doc-make a copy and edit)
Essay Correction Codes for Compare/Contrast Writing Assignments (Based on the 6 Traits of Writing)
Compare and Contrast Paragraph Analysis Frame (Google Doc-make a copy and edit)
Watch Me Teach: Fears vs. Phobias Writing Assignment
See a lesson idea: Assignment #1: Is America turning into a dystopian society? (Based on the book Uglies by Scott Westerfeld)
Horror and Scary Book Recommendations | Middle Grade and Young Adult Books
Visit the book recommendation page for more must-read books!
October is the perfect time to check in on your classroom library. I love the Lee and Low Books Classroom Library Inventory to use as a ready-to-go checklist.
Using Mentor Texts in Your Classroom
Visit the Mentor Text Resource page here.
Try the Creepy Tales! books this month! They are the perfect picture books to jumpstart any writing lesson or quick write this month. There is also Creepy Crayon! and Creepy Carrots!
Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown
Using ellipsis to build suspense- “But as they headed for the checkout, Jasper spotted them…creepy underwear!” AND “And that’s when Jasper noticed…the underwear glowed.” AND “But when he got up the next day…He was wearing the creepy underwear!” (You really could use the whole book to teach ellipsis)
Using dialogue between characters- “Mom! Mom! Can we get these? Jasper pleaded. “I think they’re a little too creepy,” said Mom”
Reviewing sequence of events-
Grab Your Sub Plans: Personification Personal Narrative Assignment Using The Widow’s Broom
Visit the Sub Plans page here.
Great for October: Personification Personal Narrative Assignment Using The Widow’s Broom by Chris Van Allsburg
Spooky, Scary, and Haunted Visual Creative Writing Quick Writes
Grab a set of regular quick write screens here if you prefer non-spooky quick writes.
Need warm-ups for the month of October? This download includes 22 days (that’s the number of school days in October) of visual prompts with images. Teaching tips included.
Click here to download the PDF of the Visual Creative Writing Quick Writes or click on the image.
Manifestation Journaling Task Cards
Visit the Journaling for Teachers page.
Make time for self-care in your journal this month with manifestation journaling task cards. Words are powerful-especially the words that we are saying to ourselves on a daily basis.
The Manifestation Journaling Task Cards make manifestation easy. Using any journal or notebook, you can use the task cards to guide your journaling so that you can start to shift to a place of positivity by starting to live your dreams and reality. Manifestations are more than affirmations because they come from a place where you are giving yourself permission to live your dreams in the now.
This is the power of words in action.
How to Use the Cards:
Journaling with these manifestations can be a powerful way to focus your intentions and manifest the life you desire in various areas. When you use these statements in your journal, treat them like they are actually currently happening in your life. These are more than affirmations. They are powerful statements to help you alter how your mind views your present life. They are based on the following areas of life: Significant others/spouses, family and friends, career and business, finances, spirituality, mental health and mindfulness, fun and recreation, physical health and fitness, personal development, physical environment, and hobbies.
This stack includes 20 statements to get you on track to positivity. A duplicate set in black and white is available for easier printing.
Click here to download the PDF or click on the image. Visit the Journaling for Teachers page for more ideas.
October Writing and Journaling Calendar
Want to start a journaling habit? Prefer to have daily writing prompts? Grab the October Writing and Journaling Calendar.
Click here to download the October Writing Calendar PDF or click on the image.
Writing Teacher Self-Care: Consider doing a Nanowrimo Project
National Novel Writing Month is in November! You can spend some time thinking about your project and getting excited. The goal of National Novel Writing Month is to write everyday. The traditional way to complete the challenge is to set a certain number of words to hit each day. In theory, you could write an entire book in one month!
There are also other ways to challenge yourself as a writer: Book proposals, poems, journaling, start a blog, memoir work, sketchnotes, research projects, or even social media content. Writing counts as writing!
Nanowrimo is an excellent outlet for self-care as it creates a hobby. When teaching, I found myself not really allowing myself to have hobbies outside of teaching because I felt like there was no time. This hobby contributes to your teaching and is a fun outlet to practice your “teacher as a writer” skills.
