Interactive Notebook- Adjectives

Adjectives are the icing on the cake. But, most students struggle with their parts of speech because (let's face it, it's kinda true) grammar is (sometimes), (okay, a lot of times)*ahem*  boring. (okay, okay, it's all the time.) The problem with my admitting that fact is the unfortunate truth that language and literature are the only thing standing in the way of many people getting a good job. We have to know how to use language. It is the only connection that we have to other people. And that is why it is so painful, but so necessary at the same time.

Back to my first sentence... An adjective is one of those small things that go along way. I've had bad cake before. (Occasionally, I have even been responsible for baking that bad cake.) We all have. But, sometimes you eat a piece of cake and you can't really tell if its over baked or maybe even tasteless-- and the reason is the icing. Icing takes a mediocre cake and makes it interesting. A writer like F.Scott Fitzgerald would just be a random paper in the stack if it weren't for his descriptive language. I can picture the wedding cake of a ceiling so vividly. Tolkien's descriptions led to some of the most vivid films ever created. Adjectives are often overlooked, often underestimated. Nevertheless, their importance is clear. So, here is a cutesy and simple adjective chart for our interactive notebook.

Maybe this notebook will be the icing on the cake for the students.

Interactive Notebook- THEME

Theme is one of many topics in literature that is taught in elementary and continued to be taught throughout higher education. Theme is the core message that connects the reader with the writer, with the character, with the world. Teaching about theme was difficult this year. Many students either got it instantly or never seemed to completely understand it. I am hoping this interactive notebook chart changes that next year.
I based this on several I have seen floating around the internet, and the only thing I really changed was the look of it.

I am going to show the students my version and then let them make their own charts based on the information. My thought with the interactive notebooks is that if they are drawing and coloring, the information will stick better than if it is straight off of a Power point.