Bookplethora

Prior to reading The Kite Runner, I have found it helpful to have my students explore several topics related to the novel and to help provide the historical and cultural details several students lack in regards to the past several decades in the area of Kabul, Afghanistan over the past several decades. This activity provides 25 topics for students to choose from and a rubric that can be used or modified in grading mini Power Point / Google Slide presentations. In this way, students will have an

I have created six higher-order analysis questions for O'Brien's story "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong". Since I require students to provide quoted textual evidence to support their responses, I have found success making this an "Open-Book" assessment on the reading, but these questions can also be used as class discussion starters, to divide students into groups for focus-analysis in class following the reading, or as preparation for the AP Literature exam.

I have created a collection of activities to promote Close Reading and Critical Discussion of Brave New World that can be flexibly used as in-class discussion activities, homework assignments, online shared discussions, checks for understanding, and/or writing prompts. I chunked each activity based on three-chapter segments so that the activities can also be flexibly used for pre, during and post reading use both individually as well as in groups. These activities ask students to consider the

The serious of questions I compiled to wrap up the first nine chapters of Frankenstein can be flexibly used as a formative assessment, online discussions, or more formal writing prompts. These questions require students to analyze more complex aspects of these chapters including identifying elements of Gothic Literary Romance, Comparing/Contrasting characters and circumstances, exploring elements of irony, applying personal response, and synthesizing thematic implications.

Not much is available for teachers online for Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "Rappaccini's Daughter" so I decided to create my own set of critical analysis questions. For each question provided, students must provide specific, quoted textual support. This flexible set of questions may be used as written response, class discussion, debate, and may be assigned independently or as partner or group analysis, and as homework or in-class activities. I have also added an exercise that asks students

I have brainstormed 25 random topics that students could research based on Life of Pi. I have assigned these topics as mini-presentations that students present throughout the reading of this novel to engage themas they read it.

This Worksheet identifies 18 key quotations from Act III of The Crucible and asks students to identify the speaker and to indicate the significance of each. It works well following an in-class reading of this Act as a close-reading activity and for a class discussion.

"The Porter Scene" in Macbeth can be analyzed beyond mere comic relief. I have employed an excerpt from On the Knocking At the Gate In Macbeth by Thomas DeQuincey that appears in several high school textbooks, identified two key quotations, and used these quotations as a springboard for students to Close-Read and to apply a Personal Response critical lens to this scene. I recommend this in-class discussion as a group post-reading activity or a pre-writing brainstorm.

I have a collection of handouts, Reading Checks, and analytical as well as creative writing prompts to support classroom reading and analysis of The Hunger Games.

Not many teacher references are currently available for this wonderful little drama by Margaret Edson. It is a short play that students can easily read in one or two class periods. I have created eight essay questions that may be flexibly used as a culminating writing assignment, or class discussion points. However, my recommendation is to provide these questions for the students prior to reading the play, so that as they read, they can be considering what topic they may be most interested in w

This is a Reading Check Quiz for the first half of Part II of Life of Pi, Chapters 37-52. It is designed merely to identify who has read the assignment, and whether the students are picking up on the main plot and characters. I designed this quiz for a quick assessment that can be done in the beginning of a class period. It should only take the students around 10 minutes to complete it. It consists of eight short-answer (fill-in) questions worth a total of 20 points. I also added two Bonus quest

I have created a series of eight "quizzes", each containing 10 SAT vocabulary words in which I have indicated the part of speech, in addition to providing simple, easy-to-learn "short definitions" for each. Additionally, I have added some quick review exercises that ask students to determine if the words are positive, neutral, or negative terms, as well as to manipulate word endings and show understanding of flexible variations of the words in context. I used these as actual quizzes in my class

I have created two analysis writing prompts that I offer as Extra Credit to my students based on the Superbowl. One is in regards to a commercial of their choice and the other is based on the half-time show.

The four letters in the beginning of this novel illustrate the Frame story technique. This approach can be confusing to young readers. The questions on this handout allow students to consider Shelley's use of tone and elements of Gothic Romance that are distinguishing features of this novel. The questions are also designed in such a manner that they are interesting for students to revisit once they have finished the entire novel and now know they "back story" leading up to this framed scene. Bo

I am providing this free resource as a quick wrap-up of the final story in Tim O'Brien's collection, The Things They Carried, "The Lives of the Dead." This prompt can easily be used as a class discussion, online discussion, or quick reading check, or as an open-book quiz. Please also check out my other resources for this book.

This quiz contains 5 True and False, 5 Multiple Choice and 2 Paragraph-Response questions for Chapter 3 of Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed.

This handout provides guided reading questions for students assigned Chapter 1 of Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed, "Serving In Florida".

I have devised a set of simple yet effective questions that work especially well in a class discussion of chapters 10-12 following an assigned reading of these chapters. My recommendation is to allow students to form small groups in order to revisit and "close-read" these chapters for literary elements such as parallel scenes, irony and character-building details.

I have created a class activity in which students are to use text evidence to support three universal themes found within this short story by D. H. Lawrence. This would be an ideal activity to encourage students to go back to the text in making literary claims that relate to theme. It can also be used as a pre-writing organizer.

I designed this rubric for grading Single Poem Explications. I use it for Advanced Placement literature, but it can be used for any high school literature class. I have added both an Essay and a Presentation Rubric for flexibility.