387: A Summer Reading Lesson with Clear Creative Purpose

A summer reading lesson is a nice chance to start off the year with a creative tone, while creating some of the norms you want to establish. For today's "Plan my Lesson" series episode, I'm answering requests from two different teachers in search of a back-to-school lesson on summer reading. One teacher's class will have read Scythe, another's The Hunger Games. Both are interested in reviewing the basics of literature as a springboard into the year. So how can we capture students' interest, review some key basics, like symbol, theme, and the hero's journey, give students a chance to show their understanding of the text, and establish a positive, creative tone for the year in a class period? Let's give it a shot together. One of my teacher requesters today is teaching on a block schedule, so we're going to go ahead and plan a longer period. If you're NOT teaching on a block schedule, feel free to split this plan over two class periods. Go Further:  Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast. Launch your choice reading program with all my favorite tools and recs, and grab the free toolkit. Join our community, Creative High School English, on Facebook. Come hang out on Instagram. Enjoying the podcast? Please consider sharing it with a friend, snagging a screenshot to share on the 'gram, or tapping those ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to help others discover the show. Thank you!