drvan
218 Followers
Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
About the store
I have over 20 years teaching experience in high schools, adult ed, university and private tutoring. I have also taught at learning centres for middle school and high school-aged students.
My background is in English Language Arts and Art History, incorporating cultural studies and literary theory. Like many English teachers, I teach short stories, novels, Shakespeare, poetry, grammar, essay writing, media studies, and career preparation and planning.
Read more
Store categories
All resources
Filters
Grade
Subject
Resource type
Standard
Supports
Easy Introduction to Improv, Drama, & Drama Games - Substitute Friendly
Fun Start of Year Activities (Classroom & Relationship Building) and/or End of Year Fun! Substitute Friendly! This six-page pdf packet contains several activities you can use in your class to introduce drama to younger students, serve as an introduction to Improv (dramatic improvisation) to high school students, or keep in your substitute folder for when you arrive in a class with no lesson plans. Students of all ages will find these drama activities fun and engaging. Contained within are as f
6th - 12th
Art, Drama, English Language Arts
Anagram Scrabble Fun - Class Group Google Slides Fun Activity / Game
This is a fun, engaging, and educationally-sound word-game activity that you can spread out over the semester or year as a brain break for your students. It is anagram-based activity in Google Slides, where students are shown a word or phrase and they must rearrange the letters to form a humourous response to the original. For example, the Preview provided shows how "The Eyes" transforms into "They See." Complete Answer Key is provided. Within this resource there are ten "rounds" of the
6th - 12th
English Language Arts, Other (ELA), Spelling
Exquisite Corpse Creative Writing Poetry Engaging Activity: GREAT 4 SUBSTITUTES!
OVER EIGHTY POWERPOINT SLIDES - A brief history of the writing activity - Detailed instructions with three complete examples - Prompts for your very own round of Exquisite Corpse, including extra suggested prompts. Contains FOUR SUPPLEMENTAL PDF WORKSHEETS - THREE DIFFERENT VARIATIONS are offered as well, so you can keep it fresh… never the same activity twice! Upon repeat, the results only ever get better. - USE WITH A CLASS OF ANY SIZE From three students to as many as you can fit into a clas
5th - 12th, Adult Education
Creative Writing, English Language Arts, Poetry
CCSS
W.9-10.5
, L.9-10.5
, L.9-10.5a
Wee Words: A Quick and Easy Word Game (to improve spelling & vocabulary)
Wee Words is a game that I use in my class whenever I have those extra five minutes, either at the end of the day, between activities, waiting for an assembly, or just as a brain-break for the students. While it is an English language game by nature, perfect for ELA and advanced ELL classes, this game can be used for a fun transition in any subject. In particular, substitute teachers (aka TTOCs or supply teachers) will find this an invaluable resource to have in their bag of tricks when walkin
7th - 12th
English Language Arts, Spelling, Vocabulary
Wikipedia Game — Critical Thinking & Reasoning Skills
This is a great game used across grades in secondary school which teaching students CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS. As they do, they will learning COMPUTER SKILLS including INTERNET SEARCHING, and TRACKING and FINDING INFORMATION. In doing the following they will hone their LATERAL THINKING SKILLS. Students use Wikipedia to play a game on searching, connecting, and trying to best each other (and themselves) with connections between topics.
7th - 12th, Adult Education, Higher Education
Social Studies
Four Fun Vocabulary Matching Games for the Entire Class
This fun activity can be played multiple times in a class. (Suitable for TTOCs / substitute teachers!) Wonderful for any class to build vocabulary, but in particular any ESL, ELL, or EFL classes, as students quickly learning vocabulary sets. This engaging activity builds active Listening Skills, Speaking Skills, Thinking Speed, and an Understanding of the Relationships Between Words. Included here are four different versions/rounds of the game, one easy, two medium, and one advanced. Each can
5th - 12th
English Language Arts, Vocabulary
Showing 1-6 of 6 results
About the store
Experience
I have over 20 years teaching experience in high schools, adult ed, university and private tutoring. I have also taught at learning centres for middle school and high school-aged students.
My background is in English Language Arts and Art History, incorporating cultural studies and literary theory. Like many English teachers, I teach short stories, novels, Shakespeare, poetry, grammar, essay writing, media studies, and career preparation and planning.
Teaching style
My philosophy of education centres on interdisciplinary studies and the development of critical reasoning skills. I believe that as modern life becomes increasingly complex and interconnected the need to teach how all subject areas interact is ever more important. As such, I habitually infuse my lessons with visual and popular culture, demonstrating how the material is relevant to students’ lives and thereby making it more accessible. Similarly, I contextualize the source material to its socio-political milieu to facilitate learning while students uncover how a text’s meaning changes over time.
Awards & shining teacher moments
Outstanding Teaching Practicum Award
My own education history
B.Ed., B.A., and M.Ed in School Counselling.
Additional biographical information
I'm a nineteenth-century boy, stuck in a twenty-first-century body.
TPT is the largest marketplace for PreK-12 resources, powered by a community of educators.
IXL family of brands