Learning is light.
“There is no darkness, but ignorance.”
This website is under construction as a repository for teachers looking for fun and challenging material that helps students reach ELA Common Core standards. It is also a venue for my readers and my colleagues to share their experiences, thoughts and suggestions.
I write instructional materials for teachers
The resources to download are available for those who care about kids, who want them to experience challenging and enjoyable learning opportunities, choose happy and healthy lives, and engage in deep thinking and discussion. They are also a catalyst for encouraging writing.
Recent updates
December 22th, 2017
We are working on Midsummer Night’s Dream. I am looking forward to determining this year’s setting and focus. So many possibilities. The students liked seeing the movie version set during the early 1900’s. We spent several weeks examining the first act and scene where Hermia’s father takes her to Theseus in hopes that she can be forces to marry Demetrius instead of her true love, Lysander. Students wrote their own versions of a modernized father/daughter relationship gone wrong over a bad boyfriend. They were a lot of fun to read. I’m posting some student work with the assignment suggestions in the Teaching Shakespeare section of my website.
May 18th, 2017
We performed As You Like It tonight. We set it in the late 60’s, early 70’s and used a lot of music from that era to help develop the idea that love often makes people act a little crazy. We also wanted to play with the idea that family members can overcome their conflicts with each other and we can create our own circle of love/caring with friends.
I was so proud of my students. They worked extremely hard. Some of them had a tremendous line loud to memorize, but they did a great job. Also, in the midst of our final performances, it became clear that my mother was going to die soon. I had to leave my kids several times and travel to Utah to be with my wonderful mother. It was a hard time for me, but the students were supportive and responsible. Family and Friends. ❤
February 6th, 2017
A letter from a student:
I loved the book! I cried several times. I loved how by knowing Ms. Smith I could see how she weaved bits and parts of her own self and other people whom she loves and the things she does for other people in the book. I also loved by myself living in Yakima and that being where the setting is, I could imagine Franklin Park, the school, the neighborhoods, and the river. I also feel that, that’s a special connection that people from Yakima can feel like I do when they read the book.
But overall, I feel very privileged to know Mrs. Smith and being able to read her wonderful book before the rest of the world does. My favorite line from the book would have to be when Ceria says, “Fed up with fighting. Let’s form an army against war, band ourselves together, stop the barrage of words that wound, bind up the damage and heal each other, find the good in everyone and discover we’re all family, bury our anger and hurt in the ground, deep, forever abandoned. It’s time for change.”
Good luck Mrs. Smith and thank you for sharing this with me. May you succeed in publishing.
Sincerely,
Maya
December 6th, 2016
An agent recently suggested that Found's protagonist, Edgar, is too articulate, has too high a vocabulary, and is too oddly "adult-like" to be relevant to today's youth. My response it that I have known many a quirky, thoughtful, fiercely independent, book-loving kid. I have also had many opportunities to see how the challenges one faces as an adolescent can shape them into strong, resilient, and amazing adults.
November 23rd, 2016
Found is finished, and I am currently seeking a publication source, so that individuals may acquire a hard copy of the book, and so teachers can purchase class sets for use when they study The Tempest.
A PDF copy is available upon request.
May 20, 2016
Discovery students studied The Tempest and performed the play for the public and for other students, including West Valley Junior High School. Students read Found in conjuntion with The Tempest and were able to make comparisons and interpret how a story written so long ago has relevance today.
Isolation and prejudice, revenge and forgiveness, are themes important to young people.
Discovery students also made suggestions as to how the story could be improved. They only got to read the first half of the first draft. Their ideas included relationship confusion between Sebastian and Antonio. They also thought that the ending should have relationship revelations that would surprise the audience.
He that converses not, knows nothing. — English Proverb
Comparing
Students said,
"I thought it was cool the way the Ariels were Native American. I felt like Shakespeare meant Propero's island on The Tempest to be like one of those undiscovered places in the world with aboriginal people who were greatly impacted and whose lives were disrupted by the arrival of newcomers, like Native Americans."
"Cal was really evil in Found, but I liked Caliban better in the Tempest."
"I liked that it was all notes and journal writing. We pass notes in class too. It made me relate to the story. The play allowed me to get into it too by being a character."
"When we watched the movie, The Most Dangerous Game, I thought it was strange how someone could be powerful on their own island. I want one. I wouldn't do bad stuff like he did, though." Prospero was both bad and good. Bad to Caliban, who maybe deserved it, but good because he forgave his enemies when they were sorry.
Downloads
Listed here are the downloadable documents that accompany the reading.
Click the links to view in your browser or download a permanent copy to your computer. Materials are provided under © IreneSmith 2017. Send me an email to discuss usage rights.