Classics on Caffeine

Before starting the novel, THE OUTSIDERS by SE HINTON, pass out this wildly popular handout. Read the different "friend requests" out loud and have students determine whether they would FRIEND or DENY the requests, base on the words written. Each request represents one of the Greasers. Students will love reading Chapter One and finding out which character they FRIENDED and which they DENIED. This is a simple activity that instantly connects students to the Greasers!

BLACK SHIPS BEFORE TROY by Rosemary Sutcliff is a story of love, deception, courage and war. This retelling of THE ILLIAD is sure to engage students from upper elementary all the way to high school-- unfortunately the resources all seemed to fall flat. Thus the creation of this workbook. If you would like your students to move beyond simple question- and -answer study guides, this workbook is all you need! Designed to be printed as either individual lessons or bound together as a novel workb

How do experiences and choices play a part in shaping identity? How does the way a person defines him/herself impact how he/she perceives others? DEAR MARTIN, by NIC STONE is a socially relevant novel about the justice system. A novel like this deserves more than simple recall questions.....it deserves open debate and meaningful conversation. That is what this guide will provide. Allow your students to go beyond basic recall into analysis that matters to them! Designed to be printed as indiv

What is destiny, and what factors in life determine our destiny? What role de relationships (or lack of relationships) have on our destiny? Are our lives and our ability to achieve our dreams controlled by fate or free will? DEAR JUSTYCE, by NIC STONE is a socially relevant novel about teenagers who find themselves torn between home life and gang life, school and crime, choices and circumstances. This guide will push your students to go beyond basic recall into analysis that will matter to t

Learn about the Great Achilles through reading about, responding to and acting out key scenes from BLACK SHIPS BEFORE TROY. This bundle provides what you need to keep students engaged both individually and interactively as a class! This bundle includes the following: BLACK SHIPS BEFORE TROY: STUDENT WORKBOOK WORKBOOK CONTENTS + individual response pages for EVERY chapter + 27 UNIQUE pages that highlight the following skills Summarizing Personal Writing Responses Sequence of Events

There are many benefits to teaching two or more novels by the same author. Allowing students access to Nic Stone's DEAR MARTIN and DEAR JUSTYCE will open the doors to author style analysis, comparing/contrasting perspectives and development of character across works. With this bundle you will have all you need to introduce these wonderful novels to your students. These workbooks do not include just chapter-by-chapter questions, but rather are meant to be used as discussion-starting tools. St

The Odyssey Group Challenge. "And now I pondered how to hurt him worst, if but Athena granted what I prayed for. Here are the means I thought would serve my turn" (The Odyssey). Odysseus (and crew) are being held captive by a man-eating Cyclops. They only have a few items to plan an escape. Challenge your students to think like this Greek Hero by writing a creative escape plan using only the items present in the cave. They will present their plans to the entire "crew" and will be ranked in

WAIT! You can purchase this product as part of my READING BUNDLE #1 for a discounted price! Check it out: Reading Bundle #1 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This mini-lesson uses the song "Just Give Me a Reason" by Pink to teach the following ELA Reading Literary Text Standard: ANALYZE HOW PARTICULAR LINES OF DIALOGUE OR INCIDENTS IN A STORY PROPEL THE ACTION, REVEAL ASPECTS OF A CHARACTER OR PROVOKE A DECISION. Students will learn more than just the basics of how to write dialogue-- t

Reading Standards, Literary Terms, and Figurative Language. Imagine greeting your students with a song as they walk into your classroom! Music is an engaging way to introduce Reading Standards and encourage students to critically work through a text. It is also so much fun!! This is the first bundle of SEVEN song-inspired mini-lessons that cover seven ELA READING LITERARY TEXT STANDARDS (grades 7-12). Students will love the lyrics, stories, internet searches, writing responses, and other cre

7th-12th grade Narrative Writing: This "print and teach", standards-aligned unit contains 4 engaging lessons that will walk your students through the process of writing both fictional and personal narratives. This unit uses songs from Kelly Clarkson, Aerosmith, 3 Doors Down and Anna Nalick as motivators and models for the writing assignments. You will be amazed at how deep the students reflections will get with these prompts-- narratives do not have to be just for elementary students! Give thi

This single sheet poetry response is ready for you to print and use! This handout is designed to compliment my other Maya Angelou resources or to stand alone as a poetry analysis activity. Within minutes, students will be able to dive into Angelou's "Still I Rise" poem by making personal connections, annotating examples of figurative language, connecting to Angelou's life and suggestion historical significance.

WAIT! You can purchase this product as part of my READING BUNDLE #1 for a discounted price! Check it out: Reading Bundle #1 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This mini-lesson uses the song "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day to teach the following ELA READING LITERATURE STANDARD: DETERMINE THE MEANING OF WORDS AND PHRASES AS THEY ARE USED IN A TEXT, INCLUDING FIGURATIVE AND CONNOTATIVE MEANINGS; ANALYZE THE IMPACT OF SPECIFIC WORDS ON MEANING ON TONE Expect students to sing alo

Are you ready to applaud your students for "Acting Out" in class? In this packet you will find all you need to put on a mini-production of Chapter 11 from To Kill a Mockingbird. Allow students to meet the memorable, Mrs. Dubose, by actually becoming her! Students will laugh at her harsh comments and hidden "confederate relic" (aka, a water gun). They will continue to cheer as Jem destroys her garden and initiates an all-out brawl with Scout. For years, I have used this scene to keep students

Theme Mini-Lesson. WAIT! You can purchase this product as part of my READING BUNDLE #1 for a discounted price! Check it out: Reading Bundle #1 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This mini-lesson uses the song "Cat's in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin to teach the following ELA READING LITERATURE STANDARD: DETERMINE A THEME OF A TEXT AND ANALYZE ITS DEVELOPMENT OVER THE COURSE OF THE TEXT, INCLUDING RELATIONSHIPS TO THE CHARACTERS, SETTING AND PLOT. This classic song has it all-- theme, allusions, d

It is important for students to have choice when it comes to reading. This project allows students to choose from a wide variety of novels that feature the "Hero's Journey" plot structure. Assign this independent project to reinforce "journey" novels discussed in class. Perfect compliment for units on THE GIVER, THE ILLIAD, THE ODYSSEY, 127 HOURS and endless others. Students read a novel of choice, take notes and then create a board game that highlights the stages. What a great way to advert

"Are we acting today?" "Can I be Scout.. I just HAVE to be Scout!!" Are you looking for a way to break up the daily routine of a novel study and get students EXCITED about attending class? Why not try these sweet, hilarious, true-to-the-novel scripts? This MEGA bundle offers everything you need to assign roles, set up props and encourage budding actors of any age. With little prep work, your classroom will become transformed into a backyard, third grade classroom, tea party and Baptist Chur

50 DIFFERENT SENTENCE STEMS AND QUESTIONS WILL KEEP YOUR STUDENTS TALKING AND ENGAGED!! These Cafe Conversation Cards were created to help students learn how to ask thought-provoking questions and engage with classmates for an academic purpose. Simply make enough copies for each group, have students choose a question or prompt and then sit back and enjoy listening to your students take over the class! When the conversation fades, students simply read off of the cards and fill in the blanks w

"Judgement" is the underlying theme of To Kill a Mockingbird's Chapter 23. Judgement by jury and Judgement by society are both explored within the touching dialogue between Atticus, Jem and Scout. Students can wrestle with these issues right along with Jem by acting out the key dialogue found within Chapter 23. At the end of the performance, students are asked to write an argumentative paragraph tied directly to the theme of "judgement". This packet includes: + One ready to use script that i

This is one time you will encourage your students to "Act Out" in class! If you are looking for a break from silent reading, novel on CD, or choral reading, this activity is for you. In Chapter 5, Scout, Dill and Jem are hot on the pursuit of seeing Boo Radley. In this script, students will act out their hilarious attempt at attaching a note to Boo Radley's window. All lines are taken from the original novel. The packet contains: + Ready to Use script + Acting Role Cards + Prop Suggestions

Are you looking for a way for students to practice identifying the FICTION NOTICE AND NOTE SIGNPOSTS (Beers, Probst) and are tired of the same old bookmarks and note taking sheets? Then this project may be just what you need!! Once my students had plenty of practice identifying signposts in our class novels, they were ready to move on to independent work. This project guides students through a 13 step process of reading a novel, taking notes on the signposts and then creating an original boar