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
All resources
Filters
Grade
Subject
Format
Resource type
Standard
Language
Supports
Student Self-Assessment of Work Habits (Strengths & Weaknesses) for Report Cards
Studies show that when students pause and evaluate themselves, their evaluation is more meaningful than those evaluations performed by teachers. Students take ownership over their own progress. Moreover, people are more likely to achieve their goals when they write them down. THREE-PAGE FULLY EDITABLE WORD DOCUMENT:Two-page self-evaluation tool (which can additionally be used for [student-]parent-teacher conferences).One-page self-evaluation tool (which can be used well for students to send ho
5th - 12th, Adult Education
English Language Arts, For All Subjects
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
The Princess Bride: Film Study Using Short Story Terminology (Great End of Year)
GREAT END-OF-YEAR REVIEW ACTIVITY. This movie reviews short story terminology with sound educational value and provides a fun way to re-engage learners at the end of the school year, the start of the new year, or directly before or after holidays. (And let's face it: The Princess Bride, is one of the best and most beloved films of all time.) GREAT STARTER TO A SHORT STORY UNIT (terms review) This seven-page pdf document contains three different activities for a film study of The Princess Br
7th - 12th
English Language Arts, Literature, Short Stories
Speech Assignment / Oral Presentation - PEER-FEEDBACK FORM
This is a great way to keep the audience engaged in student-presentations, but also allow the audience to provide meaningful feedback to students. What did they do well? What does the audience want to see more of? How many times did they unknowingly say "Ummm," "Ahhhh," or "So..." Contained herein: The same form with very slight modifications: One for "Oral Presentations" and the other for "Speech Assignment." Each of those, however, has two formats: One per page (usually I use this for the
7th - 12th
English Language Arts, Social Studies, Speaking & Listening
Jabberwocky: A Lesson in Sound Poetry
A fun way to explore diction and sound in poetry. Students first create their own version of the "Jabberwocky" poem using a Mad-Libs format, before having read the original. In the process, they also review grammar basics (parts of speech: noun, plural, adjective, verb) and poetic sound devices (alliteration, onomatopoeia). The students' poems, when compared and contrasted to Lewis Carroll's original poem, leads into a class discussion of how and why a poet selects the words s/he does and the
7th - 12th
English Language Arts, Grammar, Poetry
EASY TO MARK - Grade 9 English Final Exam: Multiple Choice, Short Answer, Essay
This is my Grade 9 English Final Examination. If I have a particular weak group of Grade 10 students or a strong group of Grade 8 student, I will use it for them, also. Easy to Mark with 81 Mark in total: 31 Multiple Choice (31 marks) 13 Short Answer (26 marks) 1 Essay (24 marks) Forty-eight pages in all, and come in PDF format in three groups for easy printing: (A) Examination Reading (and Questions) Booklet: 20 pages (B) Student Response Booklet: 10 pages (C) Answer Key &
8th - 10th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Writing-Essays
Also included in: English 8 & English 9 Final Examinations Bundle — Save 20%
Sentence Fragments, Run-On Sentences, & Comma Splice (PowerPoint & Worksheets)
This package includes all that you will need to teach your students to understand, recognize, and eliminate Sentence Fragments, Run-On Sentences, and Comma Spices from their writing. It includes both PowerPoint presentation notes (with examples), as well as worksheet to handout to students, and a summative assessment quiz. Included in this Grammar Skills document are 46 editable PowerPoint slides, with step-by-step notes and examples of Sentence Fragments, Run-On Sentences, and Comma Splices, s
8th - 12th, Adult Education, Higher Education
English Language Arts, Grammar, Writing
EASY TO MARK Junior (Grade 8) English Final Exam: 88 MC & 1 Paragraph: 100 Marks
This is a Junior English Final Examination I use with my Grade 8 class, though I have also used it with a (weaker) Grade 9 English class. The thing I love best about this Final Examination is that it is easy to mark. There are 88 multiple choice question, with only one literary paragraph response (either in response to the poem or the short story; the student's individual choice). Answer Key and Rubric are both included. TOPICS COVERED: Literary Terms; Short Story (terms, reading, and comprehe
7th - 9th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Grammar
Also included in: English 8 & English 9 Final Examinations Bundle — Save 20%
Friday the 13th & Other Superstitions: PowerPoint Presentation & Research Task
Friday the Thirteenth Students love to discuss cultural superstitions, wondering where they came from, what they mean, and debating if there is any validity to them. I originally created this PowerPoint for a fun one-off lesson that I use any time I teach on a Friday the 13th (be it in English or Socials, Psychology, or Art). We go through various superstitions and discover their origins as a class. Students access background knowledge, make predictions, and discuss/debate their ideas. But, o
6th - 12th, Adult Education
English Language Arts, Psychology, Social Studies
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
How to Write an Email: Two Lessons in Audience, Tone, and Format
So often I find that students do not know how to write appropriate emails to either their teachers or future employers. I developed these two lessons to focus and correct that in my students. This is a two-lesson product, twenty-seven pages in all. Part One is a two-page handout (PDF) and Part Two is an editable twenty-six-slide PowerPoint presentation. Both parts are described more fully below. (As it is a PDF and PowerPoint product, I have zipped the file.) PART ONE: This two-page handout
8th - 12th, Adult Education, Higher Education
English Language Arts, Other (ELA), Writing
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
"Gentlemen, Your Verdict" Pre- & Post-Reading Activities & Writing Prompts
This product contains activities for Michael Bruce's short story, "Gentleman, Your Verdict."
Specifically:
Three anticipatory set activities for setting students thinking about the themes in the story. (1) Engaging class discussion where most everyone will have and opinion they will want to share; (2) Group activity; (3) Four journaling or class debate topics.
I have also included a famous morality thought-experiment, used in many psychology classes. This provides teacher background to mora
8th - 12th, Adult Education
English Language Arts, Literature, Short Stories
Formal versus Informal Writing
This resource is both for Formal vs. Informal Language, as well as Sophisticated Language. In a two-page handout that explains how to write formally, or more specifically, how to recognize and eliminate informal diction from writing. In a table format, informal writing is labelled and exemplified, a more formal (replacement) wording is provided, and (most importantly) a brief explanation as to why is provided. This is a great two-page reference guide for students to use all year. I give it to
8th - 12th
English Language Arts, Grammar, Writing
Real-Word Editing Grammar Diagnostic/Worksheet/Quiz - Using Cinderella Fairytale
I've often asked myself, "How effective are grammar worksheet that focus in on one error?" I don't think they are very useful because they don't use any meaningful or real-world writing. When we ask our students to proofread their work, it isn't a worksheet, but a piece of writing in which many errors can be present. This five-page document uses the well-known Cinderella story to present a real-world text to students. Students read and must locate the twenty-five grammatical errors in the sho
7th - 12th
English Language Arts, Grammar, Reading
Practice Writing Extended Metaphors (Similes & Metaphors) (Creative Writing)
This is a six-page product that gives students various ways to access (and then create) Extended Metaphors (and Similes). It starts with a quick and easy, one-page worksheet to kickstart students in their creative writing. There are seventeen metaphor stems which students have to fill out (e.g., Freedom is _____________.) After completing the worksheet, students share with a partner, but also choose their favourite three as the basis for writing extended metaphors (e.g., Freedom is a summer'
7th - 12th
Creative Writing, English Language Arts, Poetry
Short Story / Novel Pre- & Post-Reading Activities for "The Jade Peony"
This thirty-seven-page PowerPoint presentation along with a three-page PDF includes eight different Pre-Reading and Post-Reading Activities (Journaling, Discussing, and Formal Writing) for Wayson Choy's short story "The Jade Peony." For those teachers teaching the novel, The Jade Peony, this activity also work very well, indeed. Actually, it was originally designed when I taught the novel to my English 10/11 class. The major activity centres around issues of cultural hybridity, as brought out
8th - 12th, Adult Education
English Language Arts, Literature, Short Stories
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
Irony Package: Presentation, Worksheets, Quizzes w/ Answer Key
This is a complete Irony Package ( Verbal Irony [including Sarcasm], Situational Irony, and Dramatic Irony) for you and your students. Included is a Google Slides 39-slide presentation, which includes three TedEd videos embedded into the presentation, as well definitions, examples, and multiple visual examples of Verbal, Situational, and Dramatic Irony mixed in with a few examples which are "not ironic." I use these to introduce the concepts to the class in a humous way. Also included i
7th - 12th, Adult Education
English Language Arts, Literature, Vocabulary
Reluctant Flyers: A Grammar Editing Proofreading Activity (2 levelled versions)
This "real world text" Editing Activity has students proofread an expository paragraph and locate (and correct) grammatical/English usage errors. To facilitate differentiated learning for your students, there are two versions of these passage, requiring two levels of skill. This resource is a Google Doc and Fully Editable, if needed. Great for individual, paired, small group, or entire class learning.In the first version, the passage is broken up into ten sections and students are tasked w
8th - 12th, Adult Education, Higher Education
Close Reading, Grammar, Writing
Showing 1-20 of 151 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