Conely's Critical Thinking Classroom
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.
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Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? - Trace the Tone
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
+6
Macbeth Annotation Stations
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
+5
Emily Dickinson — Collaborative Poetry Explication Assignment
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
Villanelle Structure Study
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
+3
Macbeth World Cafe Discussion Posters
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
+6
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Hexagonal Thinking
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
+6
Emily Dickinson “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” TSPFASTT Poetry Analysis
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
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
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
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About the store
Experience
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.
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.
My own education history
Bachelor's in Education
Master's in Science for Educational Leadership/Principalship
Graduate Certificate in English
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