CMF

This package contains mini-lessons on reading questions that inform students' writing about Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle. Reading questions focus on neglect, homelessness, child growth and development, alcoholism, and the memoir genre. The analytical essay also centers on these themes and issues emergent in Walls' writing, and it asks students to craft a thesis statement around one contention. Students are allowed to utilize outside resources for this assignment, such as Dr. David Elkind

As your students read MSND, have them use this project to show their understanding of one or more character. This is an art project, based in analytical reading, for Shakespeare's play. The rubric is also included.

This assignment is written for Iqbal, a novel about child labor, but it can be used in correlation with anything. I have used it with The Sunflower, Samurai's Garden, The Great Gatsby, and Emma. Kids simply find a passage that they like, cut out the words from that passage, and they rearrange them into a "found poem." Discussions and lessons about tone and mood can be taught in tandem with this small, creative lesson.

Do you ever wonder and struggle (as I do) with what to do with your students' summer reading? This year, I tried something new. They were required to read two books; one was assigned, and we covered this one extensively in class. The second book was optional, and they self selected works that they individually liked best. I then assigned this creative project for that book in the fall. It turned out well, and the kids actually loved the inventiveness of the assignment.

Use this PowerPoint to introduce the events leading up Homer's Odyssey.

This assessment combines art and analysis for reading of The Odyssey. Students create a mural based on all of the books within the epic poem. Each student may use realistic or abstract art to create their part of the mural. Analyses are written for each book as well; these accompany the rendering. The final product is a large-scale class mural of the entire poem.

This four assignment unit on creative writing allows students to engage in the writing process using something that will really get their creative juices flowing! Using a different food/drink item for each assessment, and a unique form of creative expression (marketing slogan, thesis statement about pb&j, recipe from a family member, story of flavor origin, birthplace, creation, journey to the mouth, food critic reviews, etc.), students are limited by their own imagination. This assignment is

Use this PowerPoint to show students how to criticize both the Grimm and Disney versions of this classic tale. Use both the feminist and Freudian lens to critically consider this work. In conclusion, this presentation introduces students to their final unit essay. This assessment asks that they bring their readings of Neil Postman, Ira Glass, Bruno Bettelheim, lenses, and the fairy tales critically in concert.

Reading is preparation for writing and for discussion. Students' ability to condense and articulate understanding of content, reading material, or concepts is evidenced by their written and verbal expression. It stands to reason, then, that their annotations should guide them in the direction of lucid, critical, and sound reasoning. Cognizant of this, the Precis Writing Assignment will be helping students to engage in a very specific active reading process for their study of William Shakespea

Using this assignment, students will produce 1000-1500 words of close analysis on a topic of their complete choosing. In essence, students are challenged to bring all knowledge, culled from a unit study on fairy tales, in concert. They will consider the writings of Bruno Bettelheim, Neil Postman, Ira Glass, Anne Sexton, Francine Prose, Martin Hallett, and Barbara Karasek. Then, choose a fairy tale to analyze. The essay can be constructed in any format. It must, of course, have a thesis/ar

For this creative project, students will study the symbolism of Desdemona's handkerchief in Shakespeare's Othello. They will select quotes of significance and design a piece of fabric that represents one of the tones, moods, emotions, etc. that this symbol evokes for Othello or Desdemona (e.g. greed, perdition, fear, lust, etc.)

This mini-lesson can be done in two days, one to prepare and one to execute; it can also be done over time. Here, it was used for reading and discussion with the novel My Last Skirt. It could be used with any novel study that related to gender. The key is to debrief the activity and discussion very thoroughly in the end, dismantling any misconceptions or preconceived notions.

Students build upon their understanding of the graphic novel as a genre via this assignment. Each student creates a written journal entry for the main character and a potential graphic scene for the start to his/her personal vision of MAUS II. This is meant to be done at the conclusion of MAUS I, and it should be before anyone has read MAUS II. It is both creative and analytical, for students predict.

Use this PowerPoint to discuss the various differences between folk and fairy tales with students. Guided questions help to facilitate discussion, and Beauty and the Beast is used as a central point. The effect of both industry and Disney is included.

Use this packet to teach poetry - ideally to eighth grade students. The packet is used in tandem with John Lithgow's collection, The Poet's Corner. Each poem has reading questions for students to complete as homework or as discussion points.

Use this passage test for books I-III of The Odyssey. This assessment uses the Fagles version of quoted text. A rubric is also available.

Use this handout to introduce the Psychoanalytic Lens, the Feminist, the Archetypal, and the New Historicist.

These slides provide introductory talking points for three tales: The Knight's Tale, The Tale of the Wife of Bath, and The Miller's Tale.

Use this PowerPoint presentation to entertain and engage your students as they navigate through basic comma rules and the semicolon.

Writing prompts for an analytical essay on Lois Lowry's novel