So, how do I use it? I use commonlit.org for all of my non-fiction Tuesdays. My non-fiction Tuesday texts most often connect to what we are reading for our literature unit (e.g. Medea, Frankenstein, Fahrenheit, etc.). When we read Othello, I use non-fiction texts from Common Lit such as Who Was the Bard?; What Makes Good People Do Bad Things?; Teaching Shakespeare in a Maximum Security Prison; Shakespeare Had Fewer Words but Doper Rhymes, than Rappers; and Why Do We Hate Love? . Each of these articles directly relates to Othello, and we make this connection each time we read. I usually have students read the article, answer the multiple choice questions, and a few of the open-ended questions. I also created a vocab./connection activity to go along with each of these non-fiction texts that the students must complete too. The vocab. activities I created for each of these texts cover three of the languages standards under the CCSS:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.4.A
Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word's position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word's position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.4.B
Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different meanings or parts of speech (e.g., analyze, analysis, analytical; advocate, advocacy).
Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different meanings or parts of speech (e.g., analyze, analysis, analytical; advocate, advocacy).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.4.D
Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).
Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).
At the end of the vocab. lesson, students are asked to make a connection from the non-fiction text to the text we are currently reading in class. Because there are so many steps in this lesson, I really break it apart, so we can have discussions after each section: multiple choice, vocab., then the connection activity. I love non-fiction Tuesdays because I'm able to do so many things with just one article. Thanks to Commonlit!
Keep on stressin' on,
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