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.
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Colloquialisms, Slang, and Jargon: Knowing the Difference - PowerPoint
Oftentimes students (and let's face it, even many adults) do not know the difference between colloquialism, slang, and jargon. What words would be correctly called slang? Why does my teacher write "colloquial" in the margins of my essays? I have created this PowerPoint presentation to guide students through the distinctions by using cartoons, definitions, examples, and little "tricks" to demystify and illustrate the difference. This PowerPoint is made up of seventeen slides, but it would be
8th - 12th, Adult Education, Higher Education
English Language Arts, Grammar, Writing
Chapter-By-Chapter - Reader Response Writing Assignment (The Chrysalids)
This is a four-page, fully editable, Word .docx document. It is an ongoing reader response journal assignment that I give my students when reading John Wyndham's novel, The Chrysalids. This writing assignment is used for each chapter of the novel. [BONUS: This assignment is *easily* adapted to any novel, and will still provide rich self-reflection and learning for students.] Good readers... make connections, make predictions, and empathize with characters. This journal assignment will deve
9th - 12th, Adult Education
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Writing
Also included in: The Ultimate Chrysalids Bundle (Ten Resources In One)
Welcome to Grade 8 - How to Prepare & What to Expect from High School
This is a 26-slide Google Slides Presentation and one-page Accompanying Handout on "How to Be Successful in High School." The presentation template is fully editable, allowing you to tailor it to your school and include photos and information as desired. The presentation provides a useful format to guide the structure of your presentation, whether you go into Grade 7 elementary classrooms at the end of the year (as I do), or when you welcome in the new batch of Grade 8s in September. In my
7th - 8th
School Counseling
Spice Up Your Writing! Narrative Tips and Tricks for Students
Give students easy tools, tips, and tricks to turn their creative writing into engaging and memorable pieces.
Many students have difficulty writing narrative essays or other creative writing assignments. Often, their ideas are fantastic, but their execution falls flat due to dull expression. In this product, I have included various handouts, exercises, and worksheets I give to my students over the course of several classes (in the form of mini-lessons) to help them better succeed in their cre
6th - 12th, Adult Education
Creative Writing, English Language Arts, Writing
Poetry Analysis Mini-Unit: "Summer in the Yakima Valley" by Ruth Roach Pierson
Here is a complete unit on poetry analysis by using one poem — Ruth Roach Pierson's "Summer in the Yakima Valley" — in great depth and detail. Herein, there are more than 45 pages, including various questions, activities, : Two-page poem with room for annotationsThirteen (challenging) multiple-choice questions (w/ Answer Key)Eight (higher-level) short-answer questions (w/ Answer Key)Worksheet on Contrast in the Poem (w/ Answer Key)Literary Paragraph Response Question (w/ Rubric and Exemplars)Fo
9th - 12th, Adult Education, Higher Education
English Language Arts, Literature, Poetry
Poetic Terms Notes and Accompanying Quiz with Answer Key
In order to have students able to discuss poetry with meaning and intent, I have designed these poetry notes and accompanying quiz. As a class, we go over these notes, usually over four days (a page per day). Then students are told to study those notes to prepare for a quiz. What they do not know is the quiz will be these notes, almost exactly. All they will have to do is fill in the blanks. I have put this up as a Word document to allow for easy editing. For example, I often delete more
8th - 12th
English Language Arts, Literature, Poetry
Ongoing Journaling Assignment — The Easiest English Marking of Your Career!
Fully-editable Word .docx Students need to write more than their teachers need to read (and evaluate) their writing. I say this not to be glib, but to highlight the reality, there is great value in the doing. How does anyone get to be a better writer? By writing, and writing a lot. And yet the teacher does not need to read every word a student produces in order for that student to improve. Rather, it is by having students write, write, write —sprinkled with lessons on writing skills, strat
7th - 12th, Adult Education
Creative Writing, English Language Arts, Writing
Form for Student-Request Letter of Reference
Whether as a teacher, a school counsellor, or an administrator, you have likely been asked to provided a reference letter to a student, either for post-secondary education or for a prospective employer. This four-page product creates a valuable teaching moment, and places more responsibility into the hands of the student. When asked for a letter of reference, simply hand the student this document and request that it is filled out. Included is a list of questions that will highlight their stren
10th - 12th, Adult Education, Higher Education
For All Subjects, School Counseling
The Kite Runner: Five Illustrations Assignment (QUICK TO MARK)
This a different way to have students demonstrate their comprehension and deeper understanding of the novel, The Kite Runner. It is a five-part assignment where students visually represent the novel at five scheduled intervals while they read. With each part, students write an accompanying paragraph to explain their illustrations. This is a handout to give and go over with your students. It explains the assignment fully and provides a RUBRIC for the visual and written work. What I love abou
10th - 12th, Adult Education
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Literature
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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.
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