Creating a Literature Ladder

Creating a literature ladder is exciting yet easy proceess.  Just follow these easy steps.

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1.  Choose a book. 

2.  Cast a wide net! Begin exploring all the web has to offer as you look for connections for each rung of your ladder.  Decide how many rungs will be on your ladder, indentify your topics and resources, and evaluate the quality of each site. 

• Book connections

  • Book reviews

• Author and/or illustrator connections
• Connections to literary elements
  • plot
  • characterization
  • symbolism
  • theme
  • setting
• Genre connections
• Cross-disciplinary connections
• Multi-media connections
  • Movies
  • Web pages
• Historical connections
• Current event/societal connections
• Visual Connections

3.  Choose learning activites for each rung of your ladder. Â—Consider how much time students will spend completing the literature ladder and what percentage of  the grade you will allocate for their work.  Develop meaningful activities.  Make sure to include explicit instructions for each rung of the ladder.

• Find ways to make it personal!
• Offer choices for differentiation (cognitively, learning styles, multiple intelligences)
• Include multimedia interactives 

4. Implement and evaluate