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Using digital texts in the classroom promotes connected reading among students. Students are able to virtually interact with the text as well as each other (Turner, 2015)

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Welcome to Feedly — the platform where businesses and curious minds stay ahead of the curve! We’re passionate about helping teams track competitors, discover new trends, and research emerging security threats. Feedly AI is a collection of machine learning models that automatically collect, analyze,…

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Lessons >> Browse Articles >> English Language Arts

Featured Author:

Kelly Tenkely

Kelly Tenkely graduated from Colorado Christian University with a Liberal Arts degree in Elementary Education. She started teaching in 2003 as a second grade teacher in a public school. In 2004 she made the switch to private school and took the only available opening as the technology teacher. Educational technology has since become her passion. She started a web site for her classroom and soon discovered that other teachers were using the site to aid technology in their classrooms.
Add Kelly as a friend.
Kelly also trains teaching staff on integrating and implementing technology into the classroom. Training teachers on the use of technology in the classroom led to her blog, ilearntechnology.com, where she blogs daily about integrating technology into the classroom simply and effectively. When she is not blogging, searching for and playing with new technology, or on teaching.monster.com Kelly enjoys scrapbooking, cooking, and spending time with her husband and dog (Aya).

More articles from this author:

What it is: Crocodoc is a new online tool that is quickly becoming a go-to application in my technology toolbox. Crocodoc lets you easily share and review documents online including pdfs, Word documents, and PowerPoint slides.
It is as easy as 1-2-3
1. Upload the document from your computer or a URL (no registration required!).

2. Mark up the document using the built in highlighter, sticky notes, strike out, and text.

3. Share the unique URL of your Crocodoc with others.

This is an easy way to collaborate on projects, edit student work, and critique written works. Since Crocodoc was released last week, I have used it to share numerous documents with my students, edit a technology grant, send a lesson plans to teachers with notes about how to use them, and added my suggestions to a PowerPoint presentation. It is SO easy to use, and since it doesn't require registration, it is perfect for the classroom.

How to integrate Crocodoc into the classroom: Crocodoc is sure to become a favorite in the classroom setting. Students can submit their work to you using Crocodoc. You can add notes, highlight, and edit the document and "send" the revisions back to the students. Share documents with your colleagues using Crocodoc, this is an easy way to collaborate on lesson plans, educational articles, and presentations. Students can use Crocodoc to collaborate on group projects. It is simple to go back and forth on a document adding notes, text suggestions, highlight, and strikeout. Many free e-books can be viewed as PDF files, upload the e-book to Crocodoc and share the URL with students. Students can highlight and add virtual sticky notes to the text as they read. If you teach using PowerPoint slides, upload the presenations to Crocodoc to share with students who were absent. The absent student can review the presentation, add notes, and type questions that they may have about the learning.

Tips: Crocodoc is free to use, there is no registration or sign up required. Each document is stored securely and given a unique URL that you choose to share. Crocodoc also offers premium pro accounts for documents that need to be password protected, priority tech support, and searchable document histories. The paid option has some nice features, but the free option should handle everything that students and teachers need it to.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Crocodoc in your classroom.

Related Reads:

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Lessons >> Browse Articles >> English Language Arts Featured Author: Kelly Tenkely Kelly Tenkely graduated from Colorado Christian University with a Liberal Arts degree in Elementary Education. She started teaching in 2003 as a second grade teacher in a public school.

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Basic search and annotation: highlighter, selected passages
Readability features: students can search for words and passages
External computing functions: access to dictionary, Web-browsing functions
(Turner, 2015)

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Engage in social networks for the purposes of reading (Turner, 2015)

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Very few adolescents "use social networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ to share their thoughts about reading." (Turner, 2015)

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The focus of the writer's workshop learning activity is not just the final product, but the process of getting to that final product the student feels confident to share. (Kang, 2018)

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Multimediating is not just juggling tasks, it is "constructing and reconstructing the community we live in" (O'Brien, 2011)

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Multimediating is not just juggling tasks, it is "constructing and reconstructing the community we live in" (O'Brien, 2011)

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Student planned composition, digital and print texts, synthesizing information, and putting it all together into one presentation.

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Google Slides: Online Slideshow Maker | Google Workspace

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Use Google Slides to create online slideshows. Make beautiful presentations together with secure sharing in real-time and from any device.

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Students need to see success in themselves as a reader and a writer. One way teacher can spark this engagement is providing students choices in regards to topics and tasks using popular media tools (O'Brien, 2011).

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"Mentor texts are essential in the writers' workshop structure, they serve as the foundation in the digital writers' workshop to demonstrate well crafted examples and to invite exploration and imagination" (Kang, 2018). 

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"Mentor texts are essential in the writers' workshop structure, they serve as the foundation in the digital writers' workshop to demonstrate well crafted examples and to invite exploration and imagination" (Kang, 2018). 

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As a follow-up to our November 2017 #NCTEchat, Using Mentor Texts, we asked our social media community to share some of their favorite mentor texts with us. So far, we've shared our community's recommendations for mentor texts to teach argument writing and chapter books to teach narrative writing.

In the second part of this blog on mentor texts for narrative writing, we'll be focusing on picture books, short stories, and more. To see the original messages this list is based on, click here.

Did we miss one? Please let us know on Twitter!
Picture Books
The Harmonica by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Ron Mazellan

When the Nazis invade Poland, a family is split apart. A harmonica keeps a boy's hope alive. The story is inspired by the life of a Holocaust survivor.
Good for use with middle grade students
Night Driving by John Coy, illustrated by Peter McCarty

A father and son drive into the night. As the sky turns shades of deep blue and purple, they watch for night animals, swap baseball stories, and keep a lookout for eighteen-wheelers. But they have miles to go before they can sleep, and it's a real challenge to stay awake for a whole night of driving.

The Memory String by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Ted Rand

Each button on Laura's memory string represents a piece of her family history. The buttons Laura cherishes the most belonged to her mother.
Good for use with middle grade students
Smoky Night by Eve Bunting, illustrated by David Díaz

A young boy and his mother are forced to flee their apartment during a night of rioting in Los Angeles. Fires and looting force neighbors-who have always avoided one another-to come together in the face of danger and concern for their missing pets.

Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Ronald Himler

A homeless boy who lives in an airport with his father, moving from terminal to terminal trying not to be noticed, is given hope when a trapped bird finally finds its freedom.
Good for use with middle grade students
Rollercoaster by Marla Frazee
The roller coaster car is going up, up, up to the highest spot. And at least one of the people in the car has never ridden on a roller coaster before . . . ever. Wheeeeeeee!

Saturday and Teacakes by Lester L. Laminack, illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet

Every Saturday, the narrator, a young boy, rides his bicycle up and down country roads past farms, a graveyard, and a filling station, until he reaches his beloved Mammaw's house.

by Jane Yoon, illustrated by John Schoenherr

Late one winter night a little girl and her father go owling. The trees stand still as statues and the world is silent as a dream. Whoo-whoo-whoo, the father calls to the mysterious nighttime bird. But there is no answer.

Ralph Tells a Story by Abby Hanlon
Although his teacher insists there are stories everywhere, Ralph cannot think of any to write.

Our Very Own Dog by Amanda McCardie

There's nothing more exciting than getting a dog! Join Sophie's new human family as they prepare their home for her and introduce her to life as a beloved pet.

by Rebecca Young, illustrated by Matt Ottley

A boy must leave his home and find another. He brings with him a teacup full of earth from the place where he grew up, and sets off to sea.

We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past by Jacqueline Woodson

Teeka's family had a picnic this Sunday past. Everyone was there, from mean old cousin Terrance who put fake flies on the sweet corn, to Bible-toting Reverend Luke to Auntie Kim (Teeka's all-time favorite).

Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki, illustrated by Dom Lee

Shorty and his family, along with thousands of Japanese Americans, are sent to an internment camp after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Fighting the heat and dust of the desert, Shorty and his father decide to build a baseball diamond and form a league in order to boost the spirits of the internees.

Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama, illustrated by Loren Long

In this tender, beautiful letter to his daughters, President Barack Obama has written a moving tribute to thirteen groundbreaking Americans and the ideals that have shaped our nation.

One hot summer night in the city, all the power goes out. The TV shuts off and a boy wails, "Mommm!" His sister can no longer use the phone, Mom can't work on her computer, and Dad can't finish cooking dinner. What's a family to do?

Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall

Working up the courage to take a big, important leap is hard, but Jabari is almost absolutely ready to make a giant splash.

by Derek Munson, illustrated by Tara Calahan King

It was the perfect summer. That is, until Jeremy Ross moved into the house down the street and became neighborhood enemy number one. Luckily Dad had a surefire way to get rid of enemies: Enemy Pie.

Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts, illustrated by Noah Z. Jones

All Jeremy wants is a pair of those shoes, the ones everyone at school seems to be wearing. But Jeremy's grandma tells him they don't have room for "want," just "need," and what Jeremy needs are new boots for winter.

The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant

In a rainbow-colored station wagon that smelled like a real car, the relatives came.

Come On, Rain! by Karen Hesse, illustrated by Jon J. Muth

"Newbery Medalist Karen Hesse recreates the body and soul-renewing experience of a summer downpour after a sweltering city heat wave. Lyrically written and lovingly illustrated." - School Library Journal

All the Places to Love by Patricia McLaughlin

Within the sanctuary of a loving family, baby Eli is born and, as he grows, learns to cherish the people and places around him, eventually passing on what he has discovered to his new baby sister, Sylvie.

Why should you teach this book? The text-to-self connections students make to the text and vivid word choice and voice of the text make it a classic for personal narrative for all students from K to 12.

by Alice McLerran, illustrated by Barbara Cooney

Marian called it Roxboxen. There across the road, it looked like any rocky hill-nothing but sand and rocks, and some old wooden boxes. But it was a special place. And all children needed to go there was a long stick and a soaring imagination.

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis

Clover's mom says it isn't safe to cross the fence that segregates their African-American side of town from the White side where Anna lives. But the two girls strike up a friendship, and get around the grown-ups' rules by sitting on top of the fence together.
Short Stories and Essays
"Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros

"Salvador, Late or Early" by Sandra Cisneros, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories
Recommended to teach imagery
"Fish Cheeks" by Amy Tan
Recommended to teach m etaphor
"The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie, Los Angeles Times, April 19, 1998

"My Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

"Salvation" by Langston Hughes, The Big Sea

"Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell, Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays

"Memento Mori" by Jonathan Nolan, Esquire, March 2001

"Black Men and Public Space" by Brent Staples, Harper's Magazine, December 1986

"Learning to Read" by Malcom X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X

"A Plate of Peas" by Rick Beyer, NPR's "All Things Considered"
Poems
"So What Are You, Anyway?" by Lawrence Hill

"Mississippi Mud" by Jessica Piper

" Annabel Lee " by Edgar Allan Poe
Other
" In the Waiting Room " by Elizabeth Bishop

"I was a Skinny Tomboy Kid" by Alma Luz Villanueva
2013 Apple Christmas Commercial Authors
Humans of New York
Photos, interviews, and videos of residents of New York City, plus stories from twenty different countries

Former Students' Narratives

Sandra Cisneros

Jacqueline Woodson

David Sedaris

Patricia Polacco
Book descriptions are taken from the Goodreads website.
Eve Bunting

Tobias Wolf

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Mentor Texts for Teaching Narrative Writing: Picture Books, Short Stories, and More - NCTE

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As a follow-up to our November 2017 #NCTEchat, Using Mentor Texts, we asked our social media community to share some of their favorite mentor texts with us. So far, we've shared our community's recommendations for mentor texts to teach argument writing and chapter books to teach narrative writing.

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Digital literacy should not be a privilege but a mandated academic skill. With digital literacy and technological skills, "languages and literacies and people and their doings and other materials accompany one another, and are entangled in socio-material assemblages that rub up against one another in complex and as yet unpredictable ways." (Toohey, 2015)

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Guiding Practices for Introducing the Digital Writers’ Workshop (Kang, 2017)

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Guiding Practices for Introducing the Digital Writers’ Workshop (Kang, 2017)

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1. Start with the literacy curriculum
2. Build onto the curriculum
3. Consider various scaffolds
4. Remember to play

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Log in to your account to start creating videos.

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https://www.piclits.com/compose_dragdrop.aspx

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"Similar to the writers’ workshop, where students need ample time to write, in the digital writers’ workshop, students need time to play with the digital tools." (Kang, 2018)