Davis' Oasis

{2/22/21 UPDATE: The CST (or STAR, as it was alternately known, is a long-gone test, replaced by Common Core/SBAC tests). While I can guarantee there's some overlap in what I prepared for some ten (?) years ago, I cannot guarantee full correspondence between this resource and *exactly* what you might need to prepare ELA students in CA post-2020. I'll likely be teaching English once again next year, and I'll definitely be utilizing this once more, but I'm certain I'll also be making some modifica

Freshly Updated on 2/19/2026 ... Many positive changes made.I'm a perfectionist, and this is one of my babies. These assessments are plug and play. 12 pages: 6 Quizzes, 6 Answer Keys, beautifully formatted and precisely formulated to ascertain if the student read (or was paying attention while you read/discussed) and get him or her to "think through" the material on a few levels. There are fill in the blanks (FITB), multiple choice, true/false, yes/no, and short answer questions. Most questions

From the movie or play of Reginald Rose's "12 Angry Men." 10 multiple choice questions on 2 pages; the third page is the answer key. For #3, you may want to reword "strong curtain," since it doesn't appear to be a common term anymore (consider 'moment of tension,' 'cliffhanger,' etc.). For #7, make sure protagonist, antagonist, and foil characters are terms you've presented to students. For #9, if students aren't familiar with "bigoted," change it to "prejudiced." This could also be used as a st

These are the fifteen words taken from Roald Dahl's "Lamb to the Slaughter":business / an immediate task or objective; personal concern; enterprise commit / to entrust; to carry into action deliberately congealed / changed to a fluid or a solid; made rigid or immobile connoisseur / an expert exasperate / to irritate or enrage gelatinous / viscous or jelly-like luxuriate / to thrive or revel in nausea / extreme disgust; a stomach distress with the urge to vomit nip / a small quantity of liquor pu

2 pages (1st = puzzle, 2nd = key); 20 words; word bank on 1st page. 10 of these words are on my multiple choice vocabulary/spelling test for "The Interlopers." See also my Vocab Jeopardy powerpoint for these words. I have a version that does not have a word bank if you're interested... Someone reported having trouble downloading this after purchase. Email me at keith.davis@konoctiusd.org if this is the case and I'll send it directly. Thanks!

6 Down has a whoopsie: I put the word in the definition, duh. Word was "recoiling," and definition says: "moving backward; e.g. "recoiling in fear." Should say "_______ in fear."1st page = the puzzle, 2nd page = the key. All 10 of these words are on my scantron and standardized test friendly vocab & spelling test for Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado." In addition I have a Vocab Jeopardy powerpoint for these words.

Look at this as a means to get some well-written multiple choice questions, since it may not be expedient to use all of them at the same time. I just finished this after five long, but fun, hours.The topics included are: Theme (including universal) Conflict (internal vs. external) Conflict (Character vs. Character, Nature, Society, Self) 5 Parts of a Plot (Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution) Inciting Incident Assonance Alliteration Consonance Juxtaposition Simile P

2 pages; 9 words; no word bank; crossword on first page; answer key on second page. Goes along with another $2 product that itself contains: 1) a customizable spelling/definition dictation vocabulary test, 2) a quickie vocabulary matching activity, and 3) This List (which is also the word bank for this product's crossword): 1. Paragraph a way to logically break up some writing to make it understandable. 2. Thesis the point of an essay 3. Conclusion the last section of an essay that recap

30% off list price! This would be something you would do in addition to reading Of Mice and Men and doing other writing assignments, content quizzes, etc. So I put 2 weeks as the teaching duration because that's the least amount of time any teacher (IMHO) should take on this novella. You wouldn't do all these activities back to back; it wouldn't make sense to. If you want to see thumbnails, feel free to poke around with some of the individual items in the bundle. Bundle Includes:1) 3 dictation/

This tests, in multiple choice fashion, the spelling and definitions of 10 words from chapters 1-3 of To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. The free preview is simply a list of the words tested here. There are 20 questions, 10 relating to spelling, 10 relating to the definitions. Please download the free sample of this format I have available for Saki's short story, "The Interlopers" if you are confused as to how I can test spelling and definitions in such a concise way. See also the Jeopardy-li

“Two Kinds” is a section of The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, that has been excerpted at times as a short story. This includes 10 words from it. The words are as follows... Betrayal / Failure to fulfill another’s hopes; An act of disloyalty Dawdled / Wasted time; Lingered Discordant / Clashing; Not in harmony Fiasco / Total failure Lamented / Said with regret or sorrow Listlessly / Without energy or interest Mesmerizing / Spellbinding; Fascinating Nonchalantly / Without interest or concern; Indif

This is a PDF. It is a scan and cannot be edited. It has handwritten underlines that aren't as neat as I'd have preferred. This is a comprehensive list of vocabulary employed in Robert Louis Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde. I'm offering it cheap because I had a TA spend a week creating it and I lost the original file before I could edit it and spruce it up. There are a few alterations I would've made. 150+ words, 7 pages. This list contains the words that are on my two crossword puzzles for Jekyll

1 of 2 crosswords I'm offering for Guy de Maupassant's amazing story. 15 words in 1 of 2 different configurations for practicing the same words in two different ways. The other is entitled: "The Necklace" Vocabulary Crossword Puzzle A.

These are 20 words from Chapters 1 & 2 of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. The words are as follows: apprehensive / fearful or uneasy bastard / a child born out of wedlock bindle / bedroll carried by a homeless person brusquely / abruptly and bluntly cesspool / a filthy or disgusting or corrupt place contemplate / to consider carefully and at length dejectedly / in a depressed way disengage / to loosen or unstick something embraced / hugged gingerly / in a careful or cautious way gravity /

14 word crossword puzzle from Daniel Keyes' Flowers for Algernon. Words are here: DETERIORATION / Worsening; decline OBSCURE / (as verb) to hide MOTIVATION / The reason for doing something INTROSPECTIVE / Self-examining REFUTE / To prove wrong using evidence CATCALLS / Whistles or jeers to express disapproval REGRESSION / A return to a less advanced stage INVARIABLY / Without variation HYPOTHESIS / A theory to be proven VERIFIED / Confirmed CEREBRAL / Relating to the brain SEMANTIC / Relating t

This group activity is designed to help students ferret out concrete examples of certain literary terms & elements of an essay. Students are asked to pull them out of a decent sample essay written by me. The essay itself is a free download (sample essay anti-war prompt). The downloadable preview of the activity is #1-5. #1-17 of the actual activity relate to essay elements, style, and ELA literary terms that students need to know. #18-25 simply asks students to find 8 unfamiliar words and define

1 of 2 crosswords I have for Guy de Maupassant's amazing story. 15 words in 1 of 2 different configurations for practicing the same words at two different times.

I'm offering this up cheaper since it is slightly less polished than my other test packs. A few chapters are combined with another (e.g. Chapters 1 & 2 are tested together), and the other quizzes are one chapter at a time. Ten quizzes, 5 or 10 points each. There are no answer keys. Download the free preview...

This PowerPoint is essentially modeled after a specific TV Game Show -- a great whole-class, group, or individual exercise to practice ten words from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado." I've broken classes up into groups and made it an extra credit game; I've thrown it up and blazed through it just prior to handing out the test. It works (and it has cool sound effects). Can be used in conjunction with the crossword puzzle and the vocab test that are also available. Thanks!

This is an alternate crossword puzzle that doesn't contain a word bank--great for handing out to students the night before a quiz so they can test themselves or giving out as a test in and of itself. Done that a few times--some like it, some hate it. Different learners often make different testers.