Have you come across your grammar and language standards and thought…
HOLY COW! I have no idea where to even being with analogies. There’s no way in the world I could EVER teach analogies. Where do I even begin? Will the kids understand all of those little dots? Isn’t this something for high schoolers?
ME TOO. I vividly remember prepping for my SATs and cramming analogies. I remember learning about them in 8th grade, but honestly hadn’t really learned about them since.
Then I became a middle school English teacher and saw the standard: Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., cause/effect, part/whole, item/category) to better understand each other words.
That is the specific 6th grade common core language standard CCSS L.6.5b. Don’t worry; there is a 5th- 8th grade version too. And it all came flooding back to me. Ahh, analogies, my good old friend. I’ve gotta figure you out, AGAIN.
But here’s the thing.
- Analogies don’t have to take a ton of time.
- They don’t have to be complicated.
- You don’t need to have a degree in linguistics to do something REALLY stinkin’ cool with your students.
In fact, teaching analogies can be way easier than those lessons you probably remember cramming for before your college entrance exams!
In this blog post, I’m breaking down one of the most fun AND engaging analogies activities to incorporate with your middle schoolers today.
The best part?
-You don’t have to plan a thing! (The Powerpoint Lesson& Google Slides are included)
-Your students will be engaged with Doodle Notes.
– A purposeful activity designed specifically for middle schoolers.
Wait, you said no planning the lesson?
Yep, that’s correct. With this lesson, the Powerpoint and Google Slides lesson is included. The Mini-lesson is a quick no fluff slide deck. I heard that’s what all the cool kids are calling PowerPoints now. Please correct me if I didn’t use the term correctly.
The thing about middle schoolers is they have like no attention span. I know that you know that, and honestly, they probably know that. So we don’t have time for fluff. This lesson gets straight to the point before you lose their attention.
Okay, what about the Doodle Notes, that sounds complicated…
I know you might have a very specific way that your students take notes; I know they probably have notebooks with their names on them neatly placed in a bin somewhere safe.
But are they actually engaged during notetaking? Are your students actually remembering what you are teaching? Better yet, are they actually LEARNING from the notes?
There’s something really magical in letting your students use Doodle Notes. Doodle Notes are a unique visual note taking method with built-in features that increase focus and memory by taking advantage of a collection of brain research, including Dual Coding Theory. You can find out more about how I include Doodle Notes here.
Ok…I’m convinced. Now what about the activity?
The idea is to get your kids involved in actually practicing with the analogies in a hands-on. There are SO many studies that link play to learning. And middle schoolers aren’t exempt from that.
This activity incorporates puzzle pieces that students cut and match up to complete the analogies. It reinforces the idea that analogies are like puzzles. And it allows them to practice completing the analogies without a worksheet!
Sounds amazing?
Sounds amazing?
Check it out.
To really kick teaching analogies up a notch…
I have this all done for you in my product Analogies | Doodle Notes and Activity. Simply print off the Doodle Notes for students to complete during the lesson! Then reinforce the learning with the analogies activity puzzle.
Analogies | Doodle Notes and Activity Includes:
Lesson
An editable PowerPoint lesson (Google Slides version included)
15 slides
Reviews analogies
Discuss 9 different relationship types
- antonyms
- synonyms
- characteristics
- part/whole
- degree
- type
- action/object
- product/ worker
- function/ purpose
Examples of each type
Student-friendly language
Activity
Puzzle Activity
Instructions
Answer Key
Google Slides version included
1 Page-Doodle Notes
*Blank doodle notes for students to fill in and color as you cover the information on the handouts.
*Fill-in-the-blank guided notes version for students who have difficulty with notetaking (noneditable).
* Coloring page version. It is completely filled in. Students can color or doodle while you go over the lesson (noneditable).
*Teacher answer key that accompanies the fill-in-the-blank version.*Digital fill-in-the-blank guided notes version. Google slides with text boxes added in. Students type and fill in the information (noneditable). These notes look exactly the same, as the doodle notes, but they are not considered doodle notes since students cannot color or interact with the pages like they would in print.
Want to grab the awesome lesson to help you teach analogies?
Click here to get your copy for just $3.99.
A grammar and language activity your kids will love…and it’s CHEAP…and it’s EASY…and it makes your lesson more ENGAGING?! I know, I know. It’s pretty awesome.
If you’re still worried about giving the kids control of doodling while notetaking…I can relate. I was nervous too. There is so much power in giving kids purposeful doodling; it’s a powerful move. But it does require us to give up a little bit of control. (Eeeek. I know.)
Here’s what one teacher who tried the ANALOGIES Lesson had to say:
As a sped teacher one of the things I have noticed over the years are that my students all struggle with analogies. This packet was great for helping them gain a better understanding of the concept and to see the connections between words/concepts. !
Dawn S.
If you’d like to maintain a little bit more control over the notes, you could use the fill-in-the-blank notes that require students to fill in the blank and follow along with the lesson. It’s great because the students have access to the doodling aspect, with just a bit more structure.
If you are interested in trying out a FREE Parts of Speech Lesson that follows the same format and includes a lesson, doodle notes, and activity, CLICK HERE.
As always, friends, I’m rooting for you!
-Alisha- Mrs.A.Riley
