CSGGK

This is a page by page list of notes acquired over seven years of teaching this novel. This is not necessarily a study guide for students, but more of an annotated list of important points, allusions, symbols, and passages deserving a close read. It also includes a 20-question quiz on the book, which I use to make sure students have read.

Chapter by chapter study guides for The Namesake complete a comprehensive novel study. A thorough mixture of comprehension, critical thinking and open-ended questions for each chapter (except chapter 11) of the novel. Also included is a final test, which is mostly multiple choice with a poem analysis at the end.

This close reading activity is modeled off a portion of Smarter Balanced assessment of the Common Core State Standards. It looks at the first several pages of Stave Two in A Christmas Carol. It also ends with an essay question which requires students to incorporate and analyze text evidence.

This 4-page documents guides students slowly and thoroughly through Act 1, Scene 1 of Much Ado About Nothing. While the study guide could be used with any version of the play, I use it in conjunction with the No Fear Shakespeare version (to which the listed page numbers correlate). The study guide encourages close reading, deep thinking, translation and analysis.

This test asks students to answer questions pertaining to Part I of The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. I let the students use the book and their notes on the test; however, I do put a time limit on the test. Students who have taken good notes and who have read thoroughly do quite well. I teach 7th and 8th grade. This test was made to be used with the Young Reader's Edition of Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. However, I have compared the information to the original version of t

This is a chapter by chapter outline of important quotations, themes, analyses, and points of Toni Morrison's Beloved. It includes a 17 question reading quiz.

This product includes a list of analytical observations and notes on Cormac McCarthy's The Road. It could serve as a teacher reference or as a handout in an upper-level English course. The novel overview includes a page-by-page analysis of the text, focusing on and highlighting important themes, symbols, ideas, and intertextual connections. You could also use these as discussion-starters or as paper topics. This product includes a 9-page sample student paper entitled "The Function of Social I

This 3-page documents guides students slowly and thoroughly through Act 2, Scene 1 of Much Ado About Nothing. While the study guide could be used with any version of the play, I use it in conjunction with the No Fear Shakespeare version (to which the listed page numbers correlate). The study guide encourages close reading, deep thinking, translation and analysis.

This includes three different documents: 1. A comprehensive standard-addressing essay assignment that compares and contrasts the novel with the movie Good Will Hunting and Campbell's heroic journey. 2. A 28-question reading comprehension quiz 3. A list of important & essential page numbers in the novel

This document provides page-by-page critical analyses with specific page references. This is not a lesson plan with steps and directions; instead, I have outlined specifc themes and topics of the novel and have traced their appearances throughout, citing specific pages and paragraphs.

In this group activity, students create a talk show. Students write dialogue between a host and a set number of characters, chosen from works read in class during the semester or year. The idea is to come up with a common theme or struggle that all of these characters have in common, and then to create a discussion around this theme. Students use analytical skills, practice writing dialogue, and then formally present their project to the class.

Lecture notes for Modern Times

This is a detailed step-by-step instructional handout on how to write a body paragraph(s) in a literary analysis.

This is a 5 paragraph essay assignment for Beloved. It includes 10 suggested higher-level thinking topic prompts.

This is not a step-by-step lesson plan. Instead, it is a list of major themes, notes and ideas that pertain to the novel, including corresponding page numbers. It also contains links to reviews on the novel, opening statements for the unit, and related thoughts.

This is a 31-question quiz on Phillip Roth's American Pastoral. The document also includes a list of important page numbers for close reading (some with brief annotations).

A thirty-one question quiz on American Pastoral

This is a complete unit on The Human Comedy by William Saroyan. The Human Comedy is set in California during WWII, and deals with many important themes, including life and death, the simple beauties of life, and the meaning of life. It also alludes to Homer's The Odyssey and deals with the age-old question of what does it mean to be "home" or to complete a journey? I teach this unit over a six-week period, but it could be altered or used at your will. The unit includes thorough, thought-prov

This is a list of vocabulary words and definitions for The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. I use it as a handout, but it can be used in many ways.