Light Up Literature Curriculum with Debra Shepherd

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Light Up Literature Curriculum with Debra Shepherd ๐Ÿ’ก ADHD-friendly ELA for grades 6โ€“8! I'm an ADHD educator creating fun, focused reading, grammar & writing resources for homeschool families & teachers. Engaging.

Designed for ADHD learners, but built to help every student thrive. Effective. Ready-to-use!

Seventh graders can find one reasonable central idea and still miss the grade-level skill.RI.7.2 asks students to determ...
09/28/2026

Seventh graders can find one reasonable central idea and still miss the grade-level skill.

RI.7.2 asks students to determine two or more central ideas, trace how each develops, and include both in an objective summary.

That is a much bigger thinking job than simply answering, โ€œWhat is this text mostly about?โ€

I created these free interactive notebook notes to make the steps visible. Students read and match the instructional cards before cutting, folding, and gluing the flaps into their notebooks. The activity becomes part of the learningโ€”not just assembly time.

The resource is black-and-white print friendly, includes a teacher key, and features Leia doing a little central-idea detective work.

Get the free 7th-grade notes here: https://www.lightupliterature.com/en/product-detail/free-7th-grade-central-ideas-interactive-notes-ri72/15041

Have you ever watched a student nod along with a video lesson, then get stuck on the first question?I want students to d...
09/27/2026

Have you ever watched a student nod along with a video lesson, then get stuck on the first question?

I want students to do some of their thinking *during* the lesson.

I made a short interactive video so parents and teachers can try that experience for themselves. Youโ€™ll see a complex sentence explained, pause to answer a question, and get feedback that helps you think through your choice.

Parents, let your middle schooler take the lead when you try it together. Teachers, try it from the studentโ€™s seat and imagine your class working through a lesson this way.

**Try the interactive video:**
https://puzzel.org/en/interactive-video/play?p=-P2ZvxjocZjGa4obEqI8

Iโ€™m building this kind of experience into my student courses. After you try it, tell me: What ELA skill would you love to see taught this way?

Burnette Light Up Literature Curriculum with Debra Shepherd Big Easy Homeschooling Mom Homeschool Show and Share Great Homeschool Conventions

So true!!!
09/24/2026

So true!!!

Shirley Jackson, Suzanne Collins, and J.R.R. Tolkien all use the same techniqueโ€”and many students never notice it happen...
09/24/2026

Shirley Jackson, Suzanne Collins, and J.R.R. Tolkien all use the same techniqueโ€”and many students never notice it happening.

โ€œ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐‹๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒโ€ hides its horror behind warm, ordinary language.

๐“๐ก๐ž ๐‡๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ซ ๐†๐š๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ uses pleasant-sounding words such as โ€œreapingโ€ and โ€œtributeโ€ to disguise violence.

Even ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐›๐จโ€™๐ฌ ๐ง๐š๐ฆ๐ž ๐›๐ž๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐š๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค before the plot starts. โ€œBagginsโ€ sounds safe and settled. โ€œTookโ€ carries a sense of risk and unpredictability.

That is connotation doing real literary workโ€”not sitting in a vocabulary list.
This weekโ€™s free mini-lesson uses five familiar literary texts to help students see how carefully chosen words shape tone, character, and reader expectations.

It is standards-aligned for grades 6โ€“8 and ready to teach:
https://www.lightupliterature.com/blog/how-to-teach-connotation-and-word-relationships-in-middle-school-grades-68-using-books-kids-are-already-reading

Cut. Match. Glue. Remember.These FREE 6th-grade interactive notebook notes give students something more meaningful than ...
09/24/2026

Cut. Match. Glue. Remember.

These FREE 6th-grade interactive notebook notes give students something more meaningful than definitions to copy.

Students must read each tip, decide which concept it explains, and match it to the correct cover flap before gluing the notes into their notebooks.

The completed page becomes a student-friendly reference for:
โ€ข Topic
โ€ข Central idea
โ€ข Repeated ideas
โ€ข Supporting details
โ€ข The detail test
โ€ข Objective summary

It is black-and-white, low-ink, and aligned with CCSS RI.6.2.

Download the free activity:
https://www.lightupliterature.com/checkout/?product_id=15035&product_type=digital_product

โ€œโ€˜๐ˆ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐โ€™ ๐๐จ๐ž๐ฌ๐งโ€™๐ญ ๐š๐ฅ๐ฐ๐š๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ž๐š๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐š๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐ž๐ฐ ๐š ๐ฉ๐ข๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž.โ€That is a real line from this mini-lesson because it addre...
09/23/2026

โ€œโ€˜๐ˆ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐โ€™ ๐๐จ๐ž๐ฌ๐งโ€™๐ญ ๐š๐ฅ๐ฐ๐š๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ž๐š๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐š๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐ž๐ฐ ๐š ๐ฉ๐ข๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž.โ€
That is a real line from this mini-lesson because it addresses a real misconception I have corrected in the classroom. Standards such as connotation and word relationships are often taught so abstractly that students can define the terms but still miss them when they encounter the words in an actual sentence.

๐“๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐ž๐ž ๐ฅ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง ๐ฆ๐š๐ค๐ž๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ข๐ง๐  ๐œ๐จ๐ง๐œ๐ซ๐ž๐ญ๐ž ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก:
โ€ข A 15-minute diagnostic
โ€ข A physical word sort that does not require writing
โ€ข Five examples from familiar literary texts
โ€ข Grade-level adjustments for grades 6โ€“8
โ€ข Questions that move students from identifying meaning to analyzing an authorโ€™s choices

Itโ€™s especially useful for reluctant readers and writers who understand more than they may be ready to put on paper.

๐“๐ก๐ž ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž๐ญ๐ž ๐ฅ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง ๐ข๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐›๐ฅ๐จ๐ :
https://www.lightupliterature.com/blog/how-to-teach-connotation-and-word-relationships-in-middle-school-grades-68-using-books-kids-are-already-reading

If your 6th graders can name the topic but struggle to explain the authorโ€™s central idea, copying another definition pro...
09/22/2026

If your 6th graders can name the topic but struggle to explain the authorโ€™s central idea, copying another definition probably will not solve the problem.

This interactive notebook activity makes students work with the concepts.

They read each instructional tip, decide where it belongs, and match it to the correct flap before cutting and gluing. The finished notes become a reference students can use during nonfiction reading.

The activity supports the central idea, supporting detail, and objective summary requirements of CCSS RI.6.2.

Get the free 6th-grade notes:
https://www.lightupliterature.com/checkout/?product_id=15035&product_type=digital_product

Fifteen years of teaching, and โ€œcockyโ€ versus โ€œconfidentโ€ still gets every class to sit up and pay attention. The two wo...
09/22/2026

Fifteen years of teaching, and โ€œcockyโ€ versus โ€œconfidentโ€ still gets every class to sit up and pay attention. The two words can describe similar behaviorโ€”but they make us feel completely differently about the person. That gap is connotation.

Itโ€™s also why students can read โ€œthriftyโ€ in one sentence and โ€œcheapโ€ in another and form two very different impressions without being able to explain why.

I created a free three-day mini-lesson that helps students move beyond defining connotation and start noticing what it actually does inside a text. It includes a quick diagnostic, a hands-on word sort, and examples from literary texts students may already be reading.

The lesson is aligned with L.6.5โ€“L.8.5 and includes adjustments for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade.
Read the lesson and use it with your students here:
https://www.lightupliterature.com/blog/how-to-teach-connotation-and-word-relationships-in-middle-school-grades-68-using-books-kids-are-already-reading

Some students understand more when a reading skill is divided into smaller, visible steps.These 6th-grade interactive no...
09/20/2026

Some students understand more when a reading skill is divided into smaller, visible steps.

These 6th-grade interactive notes organize RI.6.2 into six focused concepts:
โ€ข Topic
โ€ข Central idea
โ€ข Repeated ideas
โ€ข Supporting details
โ€ข The detail test
โ€ข Objective summary

Each flap holds one manageable explanation. Students can return to the completed page independently instead of waiting for the teacher to repeat the strategy.

The low-clutter, hands-on design supports attention and working memory while benefiting every learner in the room.

Get the free reference activity:
https://www.lightupliterature.com/checkout/?product_id=15035&product_type=digital_product

Access support should make the target skill easier to see. It should not remove the thinking students need to do.Before ...
09/17/2026

Access support should make the target skill easier to see. It should not remove the thinking students need to do.

Before assuming a student does not understand the reading skill, ask:
โ€ข Can the student comfortably see and read the page?
I use 14-point font in my student resources for this reason.

โ€ข Is the amount of text creating an attention barrier? Shorter chunks may help the student stay with the passage.

โ€ข Is decoding preventing the student from showing comprehension? Audio support may help when decoding is not the skill being measured.

โ€ข Does the passage include advanced or unfamiliar vocabulary? A brief vocabulary preview can remove that barrier without giving away the answer.

These are not extra words, decorations, or supports added just to fill a checklist. They are purposeful changes that help you see what a student actually knows.

๐Š๐ž๐ž๐ฉ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ . ๐‘๐ž๐ฆ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐›๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ซ.

๐‘๐ž๐š๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ฅ๐ž: https://www.lightupliterature.com/blog/skill-gap-or-access-barrier-middle-school-ela-diagnostic

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9573 County Road 39
Fackler, AL
35746

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+12565482555

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