Total:

$0.00

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

Rated 0 out of 5

1 Follower

Wichita, Kansas, United States

About the store

I am an English teacher with over a decade of experience teaching AP Literature, Public Speaking, English (freshmen and juniors) and AVID. I love helping students analyze complex texts, communicate confidently, and develop their own voices as writers and speakers.

All resources

Search resources

Looking for Alaska Gallery Walk

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

This interactive gallery walk engages students in collaborative analysis of themes, character development, motifs, and essential questions from John Green’s Looking for Alaska. Students rotate through stations, examine curated prompts, respond individually, and read classmates’ ideas before adding their own thinking. The activity promotes close reading, interpretive thinking, textual evidence, and discourse. This resource works well as a pre-reading activity before students have started the no

9th - 11th

Literature, Novel Studies

CCSS

RL.11-12.2

, RL.11-12.3

, RL.11-12.6

Argumentative Unit on Revenge - The Count of Monte Cristo and Sir Francis Bacon

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

“Revenge: Is It Ever Justified?” Argument Bundle This 4-part bundle guides students through a multi-text exploration of revenge as a theme, using Francis Bacon’s short essay “On Revenge” and the film The Count of Monte Cristo. Students analyze how betrayal, justice, and transformation drive character motivation and then develop an argumentative essay answering the essential question: Is revenge ever justified?This bundle is ideal for high school English (Grades 9–12) and works well within un

10th - 12th

Close Reading, Informational Text, Writing

CCSS

RL.11-12.2

, RL.11-12.3

, RI.11-12.1

Macbeth Annotation Stations

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

This is an assignment designed to get students thinking about Macbeth's soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 3 and Lady Macbeth's soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 5. Students rotate through five themed stations - Diction & Tone, Imagery & Symbolism, Rhetorical Devices, Themes, and Structure & Syntax - to practice annotating and analyzing Macbeth’s first soliloquy and Lady Macbeth’s first soliloquy. This activity encourages students to examine how Shakespeare uses language to develop character, highlight interna

11th - 12th

Literature

CCSS

RL.11-12.1

, RL.11-12.2

, RL.11-12.3

Does Social Media Do More Harm Than Good? - Argumentative Choice Board

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

This choice board activity invites students to demonstrate understanding of the good/bad sides to social media through their choice of performance tasks. Options include essay writing, persuasive letter writing, podcast, debate, poster, or social media campaign. By offering multiple modalities, the assignment supports differentiation and student agency while reinforcing the exploration of critical issues related to social media. Students select a task from the choice board and argue whether so

9th - 12th

Informational Text, Writing-Essays

CCSS

W.11-12.1

, W.11-12.2

, W.11-12.3

Individualism and Belonging in The Greatest Showman

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

This worksheet invites students to analyze how The Greatest Showman represents individualism, belonging, and the American ideal of self-making. Through guided prompts tied to key scenes and musical numbers, students explore how the film both celebrates individuality and challenges exclusion. This resource works well inside units on American identity, individualism, transcendentalism, conformity, or narrative/music analysis. It can serve as a bridge between literary texts and modern media, mak

9th - 11th

Close Reading, Speaking & Listening

CCSS

RL.11-12.2

, RL.11-12.3

, RL.11-12.6

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? - Trace the Tone

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

Help students uncover how Joyce Carol Oates builds tension, unease, and psychological complexity through tone with this close reading “Trace the Tone” activity. Students annotate passages from the story and identify shifts in tone across key moments, then explain how those tonal changes contribute to meaning, mood, and character dynamics. This activity is ideal for teaching how authors use tone intentionally to shape reader response—especially in stories where tension builds gradually. Students

11th - 12th

Literature

CCSS

RL.11-12.1

, RL.11-12.2

, RL.11-12.3

Looking for Alaska Hexagonal Thinking

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

This hexagonal thinking activity encourages students to explore the complex relationships, themes, and character connections in Looking for Alaska by John Green. Each hexagon contains a key concept, character, event, or theme from the novel. There are 22 hexagons in total. Students must connect the hexagons to show how these elements influence one another, physically linking related ideas and justifying their connections through discussion and reasoning. This activity fosters critical thinkin

8th - 11th

Novel Studies

CCSS

RL.9-10.1

, RL.9-10.2

, RL.9-10.3

Emily Dickinson — Collaborative Poetry Explication Assignment

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

Turn Dickinson’s concise, enigmatic poems into rich collaborative thinking with this group explication assignment. Students work together to unpack language, structure, figurative devices, tone, and theme as they build a shared interpretation of a poem. Designed to support academic discourse and student ownership, this task shifts the cognitive load onto students and makes poetic analysis more social, active, and rigorous. This assignment works beautifully for introducing explication, modeling c

11th - 12th

Poetry

CCSS

RL.11-12.1

, RL.11-12.2

, RL.11-12.3

+11

Looking for Alaska Quote Analysis Journal

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

Make students’ reading of Looking for Alaska deeper, more thoughtful, and more personal with this ready-to-use quotation analysis activity. This resource includes 13 high-impact quotations from the novel paired with analytical writing prompts that require students to interpret author choices, connect to themes, and reflect on universal questions about grief, identity, risk, forgiveness, and the search for meaning. Each prompt guides students toward text-dependent, reflective, and thematic think

9th - 11th

Novel Studies

CCSS

RL.9-10.1

, RL.9-10.2

, RL.9-10.3

Villanelle Structure Study

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

Students will: identify the formal components of a traditional villanelle analyze how poetic form and structure contribute to meaning compare authors’ craft choices across two poems in the same form interpret how conventions can be preserved or transformed in modern poetry articulate insights in written reflection using text-based evidence

11th - 12th

Literature

CCSS

RL.11-12.1

, RL.11-12.4

, RL.11-12.5

Macbeth World Cafe Discussion Posters

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

In this activity, students will engage in a rotating, small-group discussion focused on major themes in Macbeth. Each group will explore a different thematic lens such as fate vs. free will, gender and power, appearance vs. reality, the supernatural, and guilt and conscience. These are designed to be used in a World Cafe style but can be used in any format. For World Cafe, students in groups will read the guiding questions, discuss textual evidence, and record key insights and disagreements. A

11th - 12th

Literature

CCSS

RL.11-12.1

, RL.11-12.2

, RL.11-12.3

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Hexagonal Thinking

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

This hexagonal thinking activity encourages students to explore the complex relationships, themes, and character connections in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams. Each hexagon contains a key concept, character, event, or theme from the novel. There are 33 hexagons in total. Students must connect the hexagons to show how these elements influence one another, physically linking related ideas and justifying their connections through discussion and reasoning. This activity fosters critic

11th - 12th

Literature

CCSS

RL.11-12.1

, RL.11-12.2

, RL.11-12.3

Emily Dickinson “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” TSPFASTT Poetry Analysis

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

This handout guides students through a close reading and analysis of Emily Dickinson’s poem Because I Could Not Stop for Death using the TSPFASTT acronym: Title, Speaker, Paraphrase, Figurative Language, Attitude/Tone, Shifts, Title (revisited), Theme. Students will examine the poem’s language, structure, and literary devices to uncover its deeper meanings and themes, while practicing organized, analytical thinking. This activity helps students engage critically with poetry, identify Dickinson

9th - 12th

Poetry

Literary Dinner Party

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

In this Literary Dinner Party assignment, students imagine hosting a dinner with characters from any literary texts being studied. Students must select which characters would attend, anticipate their interactions, and think about dialogue or commentary that reflects each character’s personality, motivations, and conflicts. This creative activity encourages students to analyze character traits, explore relationships, and consider themes, while practicing persuasive reasoning and textual support

8th - 12th

Literature

Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” TSPFASTT Poetry Analysis

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

This handout guides students through a close reading and analysis of Andrew Marvell’s poem To His Coy Mistress using the TSPFASTT acronym: Title, Speaker, Paraphrase, Figurative Language, Attitude/Tone, Shifts, Title (revisited), Theme. Students will examine the poem’s persuasive strategies, imagery, and rhetorical devices to understand how Marvell develops his argument and themes. This activity encourages critical thinking, careful attention to poetic structure and language, and evidence-bas

11th - 12th

Poetry

Looking for Alaska Stages of Grief

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

Help your students make meaningful connections between literature and psychology with this engaging worksheet that examines how characters process grief in John Green’s Looking for Alaska. Using the Kübler-Ross Five Stages of Grief model, students locate evidence from the text, cite page numbers, and explain how Miles and the Colonel move through denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and (eventually) acceptance. This activity blends character analysis, emotional development, and theme explorat

9th - 11th

Novel Studies

CCSS

RL.9-10.1

, RL.9-10.2

, RL.9-10.3

10 Life Lessons from a Navy SEAL” Listening & Summarizing Activity

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

In this listening activity, students watch Admiral William McRaven’s widely celebrated commencement speech, “10 Life Lessons from a Navy SEAL.” As they listen, students identify and summarize each of McRaven’s ten key lessons and create a simple visual representation for each. This engages both linguistic and visual processing, helping students better internalize the concepts of resilience, discipline, grit, and leadership. The assignment strengthens active listening skills, note-taking, and s

7th - 12th

Informational Text, Reading Strategies

CCSS

RI.9-10.2

, RI.9-10.3

, W.9-10.10

Fiascos! This American Life Podcast One-Pager: A Creative Listening Assignment

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

This creative listening assignment invites students to explore narrative storytelling through the This American Life episode “Fiasco!” hosted by Ira Glass. After choosing one act from the podcast, students analyze the story of a real-life fiasco and then design a visually engaging one-pager that synthesizes their understanding. Required elements include a title, summary, notable quotes, imagery, and a personal written response. Students also write about a personal “fiasco,” making the activ

9th - 11th

Reading Strategies

CCSS

RI.9-10.2

, RI.9-10.3

, W.9-10.3

The New Colossus - Literary Devices Analysis

Created by

Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom

Bring poetry analysis to life with this structured, student-friendly literary devices worksheet focused on Emma Lazarus’ iconic poem The New Colossus. Students examine how Lazarus uses allusion, metaphor, simile, and personification to build theme and meaning around immigration, identity, and the American promise. This resource guides students in locating evidence directly from the poem and writing brief explanations that demonstrate analytical thinking. The activity works well for students new

8th - 12th

Poetry

CCSS

RL.9-10.1

, RL.9-10.2

, RL.9-10.4

Showing 1-19 of 19 results

About the store

Experience

Teaching style

I teach through inquiry and discussion rather than lecture alone. I build frameworks that help students think (not just memorize), and I try to scaffold complex skills like argumentation, close reading, and speaking so students feel confident and competent as they advance. I try to blend academic rigor with creative engagement, using film, primary texts, Socratic seminars, writing workshops, and guided questioning to push students toward deeper understanding. I value student voice, encourage interpretation over “right answers,” and invite them to connect literature and rhetoric to culture, history, and their own lived experiences.