The Rhetor's Toolbox
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Colorado, United States
About the store
I am an educator with experience teaching AP Language and Composition, English Language Arts for grades 7 and 9-12, ELD, reading intervention, and co-op special education. I am a gifted and talented consultant supporting multiple schools.
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AP English Language and Composition Essay Quick Reference Sheets
These student reference sheets for synthesis, rhetorical analysis, and argumentation are an easy-to-use tool that AP Language and Composition students will turn to again and again. Perfect for introducing the course, teaching each essay, or end-of-the-year review, these “cheat sheets” are available in an attractive, print-and-go format.Each quick reference sheet includes information about the AP Language and Composition exam, tips for unpacking the tasks involved in each essay, and suggestions f
10th - 12th
ELA Test Prep, English Language Arts, Writing-Essays
AP English Language and Composition Multiple Choice Practice Pack
Increase students’ facility for rhetorical analysis of complex texts with three AP Language and Composition-style multiple choice passages.
Multiple choice is a daunting part of the AP Language and Composition exam. This practice pack will help students internalize the habits of strong readers. Students will use the weekly multiple choice close reading assignment to annotate and analyze each passage in detail to prepare for the multiple choice questions. Each passage is accompanied by ten mult
10th - 12th
Close Reading, Informational Text, Reading Strategies
Assertion Journal Bundle #1: A Year of Quotations for Analysis and Response
Challenge your students to blend close reading and argumentation skills as they broaden their world views! Assertion journals--written responses to pithy quotations--are an integral part of my classroom. Through them, students learn to think critically, analyze, and argue. They are frequently cited by my students as one of the most helpful and enjoyable assignments of the entire year. This product contains ten topical collections of quotations, presented attractively with unique pictures and ba
9th - 12th, Higher Education
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Writing
Elie Wiesel's "Perils of Indifference" Speech with Scaffolded Annotations
Challenge your struggling readers and English Language Learners to successfully tackle difficult text! This 13-page document includes Constructing Meaning-style text of Elie Wiesel's "Perils of Indifference" speech. In the right margin, students are asked to work with vocabulary and rhetorical analysis concepts introduced in the text using guided annotation boxes. Close reading strategies align with Common Core. A full key is included.
This Scaffolded Annotation text has been a highly successf
8th - 12th
English Language Arts, Reading Strategies
Also included in: Scaffolded Annotations Bundle
Syntax Analysis Bundle
Analyzing syntax is elusive to many students, but these resources will help your classes master the art of analyzing sentence structure. These are not kill-and-drill worksheets; they're interactive, engaging, and thought-provoking tools that will challenge your students to really dig in to the complexities of an author's syntax. What's included in this bundle: Syntax Analysis Pack: handouts, graphic organizers, and practice passages with guided annotationsI Have Who Has Schemes and Tropes: inte
9th - 12th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Reading Strategies
CCSS
RL.9-10.4
, RL.9-10.5
, RL.11-12.4
+8
Rhetorical Analysis Annotation Stations: Ethos, Pathos, Logos
Help students master the art of rhetorical analysis with five annotation and critical thinking stations. Annotation Stations are a perfect way to differentiate and provide structured work time as students practice analyzing rhetorical techniques. Use them with ANY informational text. Each station has instructions for an Annotation Action (recorded on the teacher-provided text) and Thinking Action (recorded on the graphic organizer). What’s Included:•Annotation Stations Graphic Organizer (bl
7th - 12th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Reading Strategies
CCSS
CCRA.R.1
, CCRA.R.2
, CCRA.R.4
Rhetorical Analysis Bundle: Organizers, Activities, and Assessments
Help your students develop close reading and rhetorical analysis skills with this discounted bundle of organizers, activities, and assessments!This bundle helps you teach rhetorical analysis to ALL students. -Support close reading skills with Costa's Levels of Questioning, close reading organizers, and tone and diction analysis organizers. -Help students build their academic vocabulary by teaching rhetorical devices through three engaging sorting activities: Shakespeare, sports, and politics. (
9th - 12th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Writing-Essays
Plato's Allegory of the Cave Tri-Mind Differentiated Analysis and Discussion
Challenge your students at ALL levels to think critically about Plato's Allegory of the Cave. Students will read and annotate Plato's text. Then, they'll demonstrate understanding of the text through a creative, analytical, or practical approach. Students will share their thinking and discuss the text. The Tri-Mind approach has been a highly successful part of my AP Language and Composition and general education classes. It is appropriate for a wide range of students, including gifted and talen
8th - 12th
English Language Arts, Reading Strategies
Rhetorical Analysis KABOOM! A Critical Thinking Game for ANY TEXT
Empower your students to think critically about ANY TEXT with this highly engaging rhetorical analysis game! Students will beg to play KABOOM as a review, discussion, or oral rehearsal for upcoming assessment.
To play KABOOM, students draw rhetorical analysis questions from a cup. If they answer the question accurately, they keep the question. If they draw a KABOOM icon, they must return all their questions to the cup and start again. The game goes as long as you'd like--and when it's over, t
10th - 12th
English Language Arts, Reading Strategies, Speaking & Listening
Also included in: Rhetorical Analysis Bundle: Organizers, Activities, and Assessments
Assertion Journal ULTIMATE Bundle: Rhetorical Analysis and Argumentation
This ever-growing bundle of Assertion Journals includes every quotation set from The Rhetor's Toolbox. Challenge your students to blend close reading, rhetorical analysis, and argumentation skills as they broaden their world views! Assertion journals--written responses to pithy quotations--are an integral part of my classroom. Through them, students learn to think critically, analyze, and argue. They are frequently cited by my students as one of the most helpful and enjoyable assignments of the
9th - 12th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Writing
AP English Language & Composition Baseline Assessment
This baseline assessment is designed to measure students’ skills and understanding in preparation for the AP Language and Composition exam.
The questions are modeled closely after released test items.
This is an abbreviated test meant for the beginning of the year (although you could certainly use the whole test or its parts throughout the year as desired). It focuses on close reading skills (multiple choice), analytical writing, and argumentation. A synthesis essay is not included, as the sk
10th - 12th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Writing
Argumentation Structures: Rhetoric and the Art of the Breakup Letter
The lost art of the breakup letter is making a comeback! In this two- to three-day lesson, students will work in small groups to research argumentation structures, write persuasive love letters in response to a vicious breakup scenario, and present their thinking for the class to construct understandings about Toulmin, Classical (Aristotelian), and Rogerian argumentation.
Included in this PDF, you’ll find:
-A suggested instructional sequence
-A student assignment page
-Handouts for student res
10th - 12th
English Language Arts, Writing
AP English Language & Composition Introductory Unit: Taking It Up A Notch
This complete, ready-to-go unit will excite students and help you establish a classroom community. The lessons and activities will get students talking, goal-setting, moving, reading, and writing as they explore what it means to be an AP Language and Composition student. EDITABLE lesson plans and PowerPoint slides make it easy for you to modify the unit to suit your schedule and needs.
While this five-day unit is designed for the beginning of the school year, the lessons and activities could b
10th - 12th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Writing
The ULTIMATE Tone List: Tone Words by Concept and Connotation Student Reference
This extensive Ultimate Tone List will give your students a bank of sophisticated words to use in their analysis of complex texts. Two versions provide you options for differentiation and flexibility if you move levels. In Version #1, words are grouped by connotation (positive, negative, neutral) and categorized by common concepts (joy, anger, etc.). In Version #2, words are grouped by more nuanced concept (reverence, humility, etc.). As an English teacher, tone is central to what I teach stud
6th - 12th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Vocabulary
CCSS
W.9-10.2d
, W.9-10.2e
, W.11-12.1d
+2
Also included in: Rhetorical Analysis Bundle: Organizers, Activities, and Assessments
Scaffolded Annotations Bundle
Challenge your struggling readers and English Language Learners to successfully tackle difficult text! This bundle includes Constructing Meaning-style guided annotations of three powerful texts. Each text is included in full. In the left margin, students are asked to work with vocabulary and rhetorical analysis concepts introduced in the text using guided annotation boxes. Close reading strategies align with Common Core. A full key is included for each. PLUS-all future scaffolded annotation prod
9th - 12th
English Language Arts, Reading Strategies
CCSS
RI.9-10.2
, RI.9-10.4
, RI.9-10.6
+5
AP English Language & Composition Unit: History of English
This complete, ready-to-go unit will excite students and help you establish a classroom community. The lessons and activities will get students writing, discussing, researching, analyzing, and arguing as they explore the purpose of language and the relationship between language and society. EDITABLE lesson plans and PowerPoint slides make it easy for you to modify the unit to suit your schedule and needs. While this two-week unit is designed for early in the school year, the lessons and activi
10th - 12th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Writing
Standards-Based Planning and Data Tracking for 9-10th Common Core ELA/Literacy
The heavy lifting of breaking down English Language Arts standards is done for you in this extensive data tracking system!As standards-based teaching and data collection become a more and more prominent part of our jobs, it's important to look for tools that allow us to be effective teachers and save us time. In this product, you'll find the full text of every standard, which has been broken down into manageable learning objectives that build (through Webb's DOK and Bloom's Taxonomy) toward ma
9th - 10th
English Language Arts, Other (ELA)
CCSS
CCRA.R.1
, CCRA.R.2
, CCRA.R.3
+28
Cubing an Argument: Writing to Explore Multiple Perspectives of an Issue
Cubing is a writing exercise in which AP Language and Composition students will explore a concept through six "sides" of a cube, from description to taking a stance. Each side is increasingly complex and will challenge your students to think critically and creatively.
I'm confident that you find this assignment and lesson plan useful as your students write to deepen their thinking about the world around them. This lesson can be used again and again—in the same year—with very little prep! All y
9th - 12th
Writing-Essays, Writing-Expository
The Game: An Engaging Student-Centered Approach to Argument
Students will beg, plead, implore you to play The Game again and again. Year after year, my students cite The Game as one of their most memorable, provocative, and useful activities.
This team-based approach introduces students to argumentation based on what they already know and do. Students will compete to win The Game by strategically appealing to their audience (peers). After taking notes on the different presentations, they will vote on a winner. Discussion/analysis questions allow you to
9th - 12th
English Language Arts, Writing
Close Reading with Costa's Levels of Questioning
Teach students to read closely through levels of questioning. Costa’s levels of questioning are the perfect Common-Core-aligned tools to help students develop awareness and agency over their own reading processes.
Inside, you’ll find alignment charts to Common Core standards in grades 6-12, my lesson sequence, tools to introduce levels of questioning, and graphic organizers for student response, both in color and printer-friendly grayscale.
Contents:
Page 1: Overview
Page 2: Terms of Use an
6th - 12th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Reading Strategies
Also included in: Rhetorical Analysis Bundle: Organizers, Activities, and Assessments
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About the store
Experience
I am an educator with experience teaching AP Language and Composition, English Language Arts for grades 7 and 9-12, ELD, reading intervention, and co-op special education. I am a gifted and talented consultant supporting multiple schools.
Teaching style
Who's doing the talking is doing the learning. In a student-centered classroom, every student has opportunities to learn, no matter their entry point. I believe in innovation, creativity, and passion; as educators, much of what we do depends on what we prioritize in our classrooms. I try to balance Constructivist approaches with college preparation, philosophy, and social justice so that students are prepared for testing, college, and career while considering the moral and social implications of all that they do.
Awards & shining teacher moments
Colorado Academy of Educators for the Gifted, Talented, and Creative 2023
Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented presenter, 2022
National Association for Gifted and Talented Global Awareness Network Chair, 2021-2022
Summer Camp Keynote Speaker, 2012 and 2013
Technology Grant Recipient: class laptops and Promethean board
National Society of Collegiate Scholars, 2006-present
University of Northern Colorado College of Humanities and Social Sciences Award of Excellence, 2008
University of Northern Colorado Honors Program Award of Excellence, 2008
My own education history
I'm a doctoral student working on a degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. I earned my BA in English in 2009 and my MA in Gifted and Talented Education in 2017. After my student teaching, I began teaching in an urban school district in the Denver area after working as a substitute. I have completed graduate work in teaching English Language Learners and Special Education.
Additional biographical information
When I'm not in the classroom, I love spending time with my family and animals. We homestead, hike, camp, fish, ski, and generally soak in the great outdoors.
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