Reading the Rapids
895 Followers
Land O Lakes, Florida, United States
About the store
I have taught English for grades 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. I have also taught Intensive Reading for 9 and 10 as well as Creative Writing. I moved to the ESE Department in the 2017/18 school year to provide additional support for teachers and students in the sophomore English classroom, which I loved! Tenth grade is my favorite grade because I really notice maturity growth in them from their Freshman year. Additionally, at this time students are also really beginning to hone their critical thinking skills and begin asking some tougher, outside of the box, questions. However, in May of 2024 my husband and I welcomed our first child and I resigned from the district to raise our son. I still have many resources to organize and will continue to post new lessons and units. :)
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8 Parts of Speech EDITABLE Quiz Summative Assessment with Answer Key
Assess students on the 8 parts of speech with this completely EDITABLE and CUSTOMIZABLE comprehensive quiz, This parts of speech quiz assesses students on all 8 parts: Noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, conjunction, interjection! This quiz on the 8 parts of speech requires students to use their analytical skills and really think about the relationships of words and their usage. This lesson includes: 30 question quiz (Part I: Matching Definitions (1-8); Part II: Ident
6th - 9th
English Language Arts, Grammar, Writing
The Elevator William Sleator Short Story Unit, Analysis, Activity, Plot, Quiz
“The Elevator" by William Sleator is a fun and creepy short story that is a particularly wonderful tool to teach and discuss characterization, mood/tone, theme and motif. This short story unit for "The Elevator" is fully print and teach ready, the handouts are nicely organized to facilitate student learning and the product is thorough and comprehensive! This short story unit for William Sleator's "The Elevator" includes:-Pre-reading vocabulary -Activating activity with phobias-During reading a
6th - 9th
Close Reading, Literature, Short Stories
CCSS
CCRA.R.1
, CCRA.R.2
, CCRA.R.4
+3
William Faulkner A Rose for Emily Short Story Unit Questions Activities Quiz
William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily is a great short story lesson to use to discuss inferences, characterization, foreshadow, theme, point of view and more! This short story analysis includes the following:-Pre-reading vocabulary-Historical context handout-Analysis questions chunked by text parts-Post-reading literary devices handout-Post-reading writing activity-Quiz-Full text of the short story-Answer key and rubric**Please note: This lesson plan is a ZIP file with three PDFs; they are not ed
10th - 12th, Adult Education, Higher Education
Close Reading, Literature, Short Stories
CCSS
RL.11-12.1
, RL.11-12.2
, RL.11-12.3
+9
Flowers for Algernon Daniel Keyes Short Story Unit Lesson Questions Activities
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is a great short story to get students speaking thoughtfully and thinking critically. This unit for Flowers for Algernon is comprehensive, thorough and detailed. Students will practice their inference skills while they explain character actions and thoughts, identify changes in Charlie and summarize their overall thoughts of each "progris report" session. This all-in-one resource for Flowers for Algernon allows students to thoroughly understand not only th
7th - 9th
Literature, Reading, Short Stories
CCSS
CCRA.R.1
, CCRA.R.2
, CCRA.R.3
+11
Shakespeare's Hamlet and The Lion King Comparison Analysis Answer Key Rubrics
Use this lesson for Shakespeare's Hamlet to get students thinking critically, creatively and outside of the box! This lesson compares Disney’s The Lion King to Shakespeare's classic tragedy, Hamlet. Disney's animated film has a number of clearly discernible parallels to Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In fact, in the 2004 special release of the The Lion King, the commentary confirms inspiration from the great Shakespeare. This lesson plan will help students draw inferences, make connections and identi
11th - 12th, Adult Education, Higher Education
English Language Arts, Literature, Reading
CCSS
CCRA.R.1
, CCRA.R.2
, CCRA.R.7
+13
Jabberwocky Lewis Carroll Guided Annotation and Analysis Unit Plan Context Clues
Strengthen students in the skill of context clues and analysis with this comprehensive and fun unit for Lewis Carroll’s classic, Jabberwocky! This lesson for Jabberwocky has students think critically while categorizing all of Carroll’s nonsense words and brainstorming what they may mean. This lesson plan for Jabberwocky contains everything you need to give students a thorough understanding of the text!This Jabberwocky unit includes:~Activating activity that refreshes on context clues and li
7th - 10th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Poetry
CCSS
CCRA.R.4
, CCRA.W.3
, CCRA.W.4
+4
The Elevator, Click-clack the Rattlebag & The Feather Pillow Short Story Bundle
Looking to teach a creepy and eerie unit with students? This BUNDLE contains units for The Feather Pillow, The Elevator and Click-clack the Rattlebag! Three creepy stories to engage students all while working their critical thinking skills and hitting Common Core standards! This bundle is particularly excellent during the first part of the school year as fall approaches and the scary stories begin to make their rounds! These are delightfully horrifying short stories for Halloween time, but a
7th - 10th
English Language Arts, Literature, Short Stories
Trifles Susan Glaspell Unit Analysis Lesson Plans Questions Answer Keys Rubric
Susan Glaspell's Trifles is a wonderful one act play that helps students learn about gender roles and stereotypes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Trifles, first produced in 1916, themes and topics are still just as applicable as they were in 1916. Trifles is an excellent resource to use to hone skills with characterization, theme, motif, mood and tone and symbolism. Furthermore, in a society of social alone-ness, this unit gets students thinking about the destruction of isolation
9th - 12th, Adult Education, Higher Education
Close Reading, Literature, Short Stories
CCSS
RL.11-12.1
, RL.11-12.2
, RL.11-12.4
+5
Reading Skill Analysis JUXTAPOSITION Device Lesson Activity Practice Short Films
Teach students about juxtaposition with this fun and engaging lesson plan that requires students to identify and hone their juxtaposition literary skills with animated short films! This juxtaposition activity is perfect to use as supplemental material to help reinforce the device at any point throughout the school year. This lesson plan includes:A chart for students to define juxtaposition and its purpose Two links for engaging animated shorts Two pages of graphic organizers Application skill
7th - 10th
English Language Arts, Literature, Reading
CCSS
CCRA.R.7
, CCRA.W.2
, CCRA.W.4
+1
Click-clack the Rattlebag Neil Gaiman Short Story Unit Analysis Lesson Activity
Click-Clack the Rattlebag by Neil Gaiman is a simple and delightfully eerie short story. Click-clack the Rattlebag an excellent story for students to dig deeper into, and this unit is great to hone skills such as mood and tone, since students notoriously get those two literary devices confused. This lesson plan is a ZIP file with two folders, one with all of the student handouts and another with all of the answer keys. In this unit, you will find everything you need to teach this story with ea
7th - 10th
English Language Arts, Short Stories, Vocabulary
CCSS
CCRA.R.1
, CCRA.R.3
, CCRA.R.7
+7
A Sound of Thunder Ray Bradbury Short Story Unit Questions Activities Quiz & Key
A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury is a great story with all the beautiful figurative language that this classic dystopian author is so well known and loved for. A Sound of Thunder is particularly useful to teach irony and indirect character development through dialogue. This lesson plans includes:An activating activity with two video linksPre-reading vocabularyActive reading questions A post-reading writing activityA quiz Answer keys and rubric included for everything!**This lesson plan is
7th - 10th
Close Reading, Literature, Reading
CCSS
CCRA.R.1
, CCRA.R.3
, CCRA.R.4
+6
Because I Could Not Stop for Death Emily Dickinson Guided Analysis Poetry Unit
Get students thinking critically and analytically with this lesson plan for Emily Dickinson’s personification masterpiece, Because I Could Not Stop for Death. Because I Could Not Stop for Death is great for exposing students to high level vocabulary words and getting them to dig into the text. All the questions require higher order thinking; no fluff! This lesson plan includes: A pre-reading prompt (leads into post reading activity)4 pages of guiding graphic organizers for stanza by stanz
7th - 11th
English Language Arts, Literature, Poetry
CCSS
CCRA.R.1
, CCRA.R.2
, CCRA.R.3
+5
Lamb to the Slaughter Roald Dahl Complete Short Story Unit Activities, Keys
Roald Dahl's short story Lamb to the Slaughter is great for students to practice and hone their analysis skills. Dahl is a loved author and well renowned for his creativity and resilient characters, and Lamb to the Slaughter is no exception. With this unit students will be able to dig deeply into the text searching for irony, and practice their analytical abilities for inference, mood and tone! This unit contains a pre-reading vocabulary and activating activity, during reading (or post, depen
8th - 10th, Adult Education
Close Reading, Literature, Short Stories
CCSS
RL.9-10.1
, RL.9-10.4
, W.9-10.4
+5
Fever 1793 Laurie Halse Anderson Novel Unit Background Stations Activity Lesson
Preface your historical novel unit or study for Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson with this comprehensive background building stations activity and lesson. This station activity for Fever 1793 contains two stations with links and two text-based stations that will build student knowledge on Yellow Fever, Philadelphia, the popular medical treatments of the day, as well as prominent people and events of the time. This background stations activity for Fever 1793 includes: -KWL graphic organizer
7th - 10th
English Language Arts, Informational Text, Reading
CCSS
CCRA.R.1
, CCRA.R.2
, CCRA.R.5
Short Story Literary Device Unit Bundle Analysis, Activities, Lessons, Quizzes
This short story unit bundle contains lesson plans, vocabulary, activities, comprehension analysis questions, quizzes and more! This short story bundle contains everything needed for 9 short stories, 1 web quest and 10 literary device lessons with animated short films! These lessons have everything you need to teach each of these engaging and creative stories with confidence and ease. From activating activity to quiz and post-reading activity, it is all here! The lessons with the animated
7th - 9th
English Language Arts, Literature, Short Stories
Short Story Analysis Unit Bundle Trifles A Rose for Emily Lamb to the Slaughter
This short story bundle contains three full units, each with a protagonist in desperate need of analysis, diagnosis and intervention! In this bundle for A Rose for Emily, Trifles and Lamb to the Slaughter, students will have the opportunity to analyze and interact with three murderous protagonists. Each story contains: pre-reading vocabulary, a pre-read activating prompt, during reading analysis questions, a quiz, and a post-reading activity. Answer keys and rubrics are included for everyth
10th - 12th, Adult Education
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Short Stories
CCSS
W.11-12.2b
, W.11-12.2f
, W.11-12.7
+2
The Raven Edgar Allan Poe Lesson Plan, Analysis Activities - Poetry Unit
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe is a great way to get students engaged with poetry. The Raven's easy to read rhythm and rhyme, plus the eerie nature of the poem, easily keeps students' attention. However, those three things also make it easy for students to forget about depth, and miss what's behind those sing-song words. This lesson for Poe's The Raven guides students through the poem, stanza by stanza, to help them understand what the narrator is feeling as he speaks to the raven, and longs fo
7th - 10th
English Language Arts, Literature, Poetry
CCSS
CCRA.R.1
, CCRA.R.2
, CCRA.R.3
+11
Sweat Zora Neale Hurston Short Story Analysis Unit Lesson Activities Rubric
Sweat by Zora Neale Hurston is a great short story to use to expose students to dialect in writing, and it's great to use to teach characterization and various literary elements such as simile, metaphor, allusion, foreshadow and irony. It's also an excellent incorporation into a longer unit on Southern literature, or as an introduction to one of Hurston’s longer works such as Their Eyes Were Watching God. In this lesson plan for Sweat you will find an activating pre-reading assignment, pre-
8th - 12th, Adult Education, Higher Education
Close Reading, Literature, Short Stories
CCSS
RL.9-10.1
, RL.9-10.2
, RL.9-10.3
+7
Argumentative Essay Introduction Doodle Notes for Argument Essay Writing Unit
Teach students the basics of argumentative essay writing with these Argumentative Essay Essentials Doodle Notes! Studies have shown that students retain their learning better when there is a link between visual and linguistic delivery, and these essay doodle notes provide that link! These essay notes give students all the tools needed to teach them how to write a solid argumentative essay. These essay notes are simple, fun and creative—and print and teach ready! They are designed to be use
7th - 10th
English Language Arts, Writing, Writing-Essays
MLA Doodle Notes, MLA Works Cited Practice Citation Activity Writing Unit Bundle
Make MLA citations and works cited pages fun and engaging with this MLA and citation unit bundle! The uniquie format of this MLA citations and works cited introduction PPT and Doodle Notes helps students better focus, follow along and retain their learning. The included MLA in text citation practice with Billy Joel’s classic, “We Didn’t Start the Fire” provides all students need to apply their learning. The clear and well-laid out graphic organizers scaffold and guide students through
7th - 11th
Informational Text, Writing, Writing-Essays
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About the store
Experience
I have taught English for grades 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. I have also taught Intensive Reading for 9 and 10 as well as Creative Writing. I moved to the ESE Department in the 2017/18 school year to provide additional support for teachers and students in the sophomore English classroom, which I loved! Tenth grade is my favorite grade because I really notice maturity growth in them from their Freshman year. Additionally, at this time students are also really beginning to hone their critical thinking skills and begin asking some tougher, outside of the box, questions. However, in May of 2024 my husband and I welcomed our first child and I resigned from the district to raise our son. I still have many resources to organize and will continue to post new lessons and units. :)
Teaching style
I like to mix independent work with group collaboration. There is a time where brainstorming and bouncing ideas off of each other is invaluable, but then, as we gradually release, the students need to each fly on their own. I try to make everything relevant to their lives, no matter if it's an informative writing assignment or reading Shakespeare, it all can all apply to them in some way.
Awards & shining teacher moments
Watching students wrestle with, conquer, and grow from challenging material is the best reward!
When I self-published my novel, a former student drew the cover illustration--a decade after I had her for Creative Writing her Senior year! I love that I am able to keep in touch with some of my students; watching them blossom into responsible adults is a blessing
My own education history
I graduated from Hillsborough Community College with my AA in 2003 and then went onto the University of South Florida Tampa to earn my Bachelor's in English with a concentration in creative writing. I graduated with my Bachelor's in 2005. I am a lifelong learner and reader and am always seeking out new bits of information.
Additional biographical information
I am a lifelong bibliophile and find no past time more enjoyable! Born and raised in Florida, I enjoy beaches, rivers and warm weather. In February of 2022, I checked off one major personal goal when I self-published my fiction novel, The Tale of the Starbreather's Realm. It is available on Amazon as a paperback and a Kindle ebook! You can find me online at mdsaintswrites.com where I post teacher blogs and have a Free Little Resource Library (of lessons not available in my TpT store) for subscribers. :)
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