Daily goal cards

I believe setting and working towards goals is an important skill in life. Sometimes those goals are HUGE and need to be broken down into smaller chunks. Other times, those goals might be small but feel huge. Regardless of the size of your goal, I want you to achieve the goal and to feel accomplished.

Lately, I've been overwhelmed by my to-do list. As a result, I decided to choose one goal for each day that must be accomplished. To help myself to be accountable and to actually achieve my daily goal, I created goal cards. I wanted the cards to be attractive so I would be more likely to actually use them too!

I love how they turned out so I'm sharing them with you for FREE! Scroll down to download one, two, or all three sets.

It would be ideal to print your goal cards on a heavy paper or card stock, but if you only have regular paper, that will work! Choose your color, print your cards, and cut them out. Each day, list the date and your goal at the top. On the subsequent lines, list the steps you need to complete in order to complete your goal. Mark off each one with the check boxes as you go.

To add to your sense of accomplishment, set aside a box, a drawer, a small basket, or some other spot in which to collect your completed cards. Periodically, go back through your cards and savor the feeling of achieving!

Please remember that this is my original work. Feel free to print as many copies as you would like, but please don't profit from my work. Please print them for your own private use. Thanks!

Goal cards

Goal cards

Goal cards

Major and minor characters in literature

I once had a student in a literature class ask why the minor characters were part of the story. This question turned into a discussion that lasted for several days, and it was one that we returned to with every new short story that we read for the remainder of the semester.

While not all stories and characters are created equally, the majority of the time the minor characters serve to teach us something about the major character. Maybe the minor character has a secret to tell us about the major character's background. Perhaps the minor character is present to serve as a comparative device to help us understand the major character. Or, maybe the minor character is pivotal to a turn of events in the story.

The minor characters typically serve a purpose that moves the story along. Without the minor characters the story might not be as interesting.

With that in mind, I'd like to share a worksheet with you. Whether your teach literature in a school, are a student yourself, or use it in your homeschool, I hope you will find this worksheet of value.  Please feel free to make multiple copies for your personal use or for your own classroom use. This is my own creation, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would give credit where due should you share this with others. Please refrain from using this for your own profit. Thanks!

Major and Minor Character Comparison

Also, check out my worksheet for short story analysis HERE.

New projects - Literary analysis guides

I am embarking on a new project, and I could use a little help. I would be ever so appreciative if you would leave a comment in which you answer the following questions:

• What books, articles, poems, or other material did you have to read in middle school, high school, or college English classes which left you either confused or bored to pieces?
• If you are a homeschooling parent or a teacher, what do you look for in a good literary analysis study guide?
• Do your students or kids like to incorporate artistic expression in their work? 

You see, I love to read. And, I love to discuss what I read. Of all the subjects I tutor, I love tutoring literature the most. A year or so ago, I had the idea to develop literary analysis study guides, but I didn't do anything beyond dream about it. Then, over the spring, I began making notes in my copy of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald while helping a student through the book. Those notes morphed into ideas for study guides, and I finally committed to making my dream into reality.

I've got my first few books, blank notebooks, sticky notes, and pens all ready to go. I started making notes in my books using sticky notes, and have begun to outline guides, vocabulary, thematic questions, and project ideas in the notebooks. I'm starting with:

• William Shakespeare's Macbeth
• On the Road by Jack Kerouac
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Homer's The Odyssey translated by Robert Fagles

There are just SO MANY GOOD BOOKS out there though! The ones I'm starting with just happen to be the ones I've used most recently in tutoring. When I'm done with these, what should I tackle next? It could be a book, an article, a poem, or something else related to literature.  Thoughts?  I'd love your feedback both as answers to the questions above, but also just general thoughts, concerns, and ideas.  Thank you so much for taking the time to read and respond!

While I get working on the next steps of my study guides, feel free to make use of these literature related posts:

• Beverly Cleary fun
• Frederick Douglass
• Shakespeare's Macbeth
• Story elements worksheet

This post is cross-posted at http://ursamajorconsulting.blogspot.com/.

Literary analysis worksheet for short stories...

When I was teaching adult ESL students, I found that many had difficulty sorting out different aspects of short stories in my Contemporary American Short Story class.  As a result, I made up a worksheet for them to fill out.  This worksheet helped them to sort the aspects of the stories into categories and to see how different elements related to one another. During class discussion, the students could use the charts to help them discuss the stories.  This was also a good study aide prior to midterms and final exams.  I hope you will find it useful with your own students whether they be homeschooled, in public school, or in college.

Literature Short Story Elements Worksheet

Also, check  out my Major and Minor Characters in Literature worksheet HERE.

Amazing FREE online art gallery...

I am not feeling well today, so this post will be short and to the point! I am enrolled in a class called "Art and Inquiry: Museum Teaching Strategies for Your Classroom" via Coursera, and another participant shared this amazing resource: Google Cultural Institute's Google Art Project. If you love art, are teaching art history, can't get to a museum, or whatever else the case might by, check out this project!  It brings art and major museums right to your computer.

Interesting college application requirement...

The take away? Although the admissions officer interviewed says to relax, you might want to think carefully before you submit your short answer.  25 words isn't a whole lot.  Be sure that every word is necessary.  Can you say the same thing in fewer words, thus giving you more room to say something additional? 

Geography - Landforms Notebook

As part of his Social Studies curriculum this year, I decided to have JP create a Landforms Notebook. When I was in the 3rd grade, we did a huge project on landforms. We learned about peninsulas, archipelagos, isthmuses, and more. Somehow, my son didn't get all of those lessons. I don't recall what land form he didn't know, but I was recently shocked when he asked for a definition. Since I learned all of those things in the 3rd grade, I assumed my son had to. Wrong! So, we are filling in a gap! Feel free to use this landforms notebook page for your own students. All I ask is that you not sell, or distribute the page, and please give credit where credit is due. This is my own creation, and I retain copyright. Feel free to refer people back to this page to print out the notebooking page themselves. Thanks! Clicking on the link will take you to Scribd.com where you can download and print the worksheet.

Landforms Notebook

On to other things...do you enjoy popcorn? Do you buy those prepackaged microwave things to pop your own? Don't do it! Instead, grab a clean paper bag and popcorn kernels. Measure out 1/4 to 1/2 cup of kernels, and pour them into the bag. Fold the top over tightly several times, and put it in the microwave. Hit your "popcorn" button, if you have one, or set the time, and push start! Stay nearby so you can listen (and smell) for the popcorn to be done popping. I used a paper bag that was a bit bigger than a lunch bag size and 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels. I had to pop my popcorn an extra minute (our "popcorn" button is 3 minutes), but it turned out terrifically! Light, and fluffy! I sprinkled nutritional yeast (gives a cheesy flavor and is perfect for those of us with a dairy allergy) over a bowlful, and JP melted some margarine and put that plus a bit of salt over his popcorn.

I have read that you can do the same thing with a bowl instead of a paperbag.  We don't happen to have any bowls the right size, with lids.  Forget those contraptions that are purposely for popping popcorn in the microwave too.  They are nice, but why bother when a paper bag or regular (microwave safe) bowl will do the job?

Sprinkled with nutritional yeast.

Did you catch my post on my crazy reading spree? If not, I'll briefly fill you in. I counted all of the books I have been reading, plus my haul from the library, and have 37 books on my reading list! As of today, I am done with three and have 34 more to go! My goal is to read them all (or at least the vast majority) by December 1st. As I finish books, I am putting a line through them, and adding the finish date in the original post. I'll periodically be posting my thoughts on what I've read...expect a post in a day or two about Suzanne Collins's Catching Fire, Jack Kerouac's Heaven and Other Poems, Nick Hornby's The Polysyllabic Spree, Ian McEwan's black dogs (lack of caps intended...), Jill Smolinski's The Last Thing on My List, and perhaps a few others...  What are you reading?