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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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
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
Serial Podcast - Season 1: The Bundle (3 in 1)
There are three resources that will help you enhance your Serial (Season One) unit. From an engaging introductory memory activity that will test your students' memories (so they can better perspective take, and put themselves into what it would be like to be at the centre of the investigation), to a vocabulary activity-presentation. And finally an ongoing writing first-person perspective assignment that will build understanding and empathy in your students as they need to examine the inves
10th - 12th, Adult Education, Higher Education
English Language Arts, Social Studies
Serial: Season One - Anticipatory Set: Memory and Observation Activities
This is a fun an engaging way to kick off your Serial: Season One podcast unit. Included herein is a 36-slide PowerPoint and a one-page accompanying worksheet (Word Document format .docx). In order to empathize with what it may have been like for Adnan to recall and reconstruct a day that happened a few weeks ago, student will engage in MEMORY RECAL ACTIVITY that can be shared with the class, that will make real for them how difficult detailed memory recall can be. This will build empathy for A
10th - 12th, Adult Education
Criminal Justice - Law, English Language Arts, Other (ELA)
Also included in: Serial Podcast - Season 1: The Bundle (3 in 1)
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
The Veldt: Looking at Setting, Mood, Foreshadowing, Title, & Illustrations
This is a fully-equipped look at Ray Bradbury's short story, "The Veldt." Easy to follow PowerPoint presentation with 10 pages in accompanying PDF worksheets and handouts. In this week-long collection of lesson activities, students practice the skills that Good Readers Do, such as Making Predictions, Visualizing, and Making Connections. Using the PowerPoint as a backdrop, students will first examine the TITLE of the story, them the ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATION. An examination of MOOD and FORESHADOW
8th - 11th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Short Stories
Sonnet Quiz - One-Page Quiz with One-Page Answer Key (Editable)
Here is a quick quiz I give my students after I teach them about sonnets. It is editable to meet your needs (to add or delete questions as the case may be). More often, I use it as a worksheet and have the student work in pairs to figure out the answers, using their cellphone or computers to research the answers. This quiz is made up of 11 questions: 2 questions specifically about Italian sonnets;6 questions specifically about Shakespearean/Elizabethan sonnets; and3 questions about sonnets more
8th - 12th
English Language Arts, Literature, Poetry
The Chrysalids: Waknuk Religious Tenets (PowerPoint Presentation)
Watch Thou for the Mutant! This dynamic Microsoft PowerPoint presentation explores the use (or misuse) of religion in John Wyndham's The Chrysalids by looking at Waknuk's religious tenets and comparing them to Christianity / Judaism's Ten Commandments and other religious / spiritual aphorisms from around the world. By way of compare and contrast, students begin to understand to how prejudice and hate can creep into a society’s belief system as presented in the novel. Further, this presentatio
9th - 12th
English Language Arts, Literature
Also included in: The Ultimate Chrysalids Bundle (Ten Resources In One)
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
Poetry Terms Quiz / Test / Worksheet
This is a one-page, twelve question (15 mark) Poetry Terms Quiz that I use for my Grade 9 English students as a general poetry terms knowledge assessment. I often have students work in pairs and use this as a worksheet or pre-quiz to get them ready for a more comprehensive quiz. It is Word document and, therefore, fully editable to suit your needs. The Answer Key is included. Two multiple-choice, four matching, four fill-in-the-blank, and two short-answer questions. Terms Tested: alliteration
8th - 12th, Adult Education
English Language Arts, Poetry, Vocabulary
The Hokey Pokey: Shakespearean Style (PowerPoint & Worksheet)
A FUN Shakespearean one-off poetry lesson (with poetry/creative writing extensions, as well). As you know, Shakespeare’s tragedies are very dark; they showcase the worst aspects of human nature. So this is a light, amusing Shakespearean poem to break and ease the mood. Good this resource is appropriate for any Shakespearean unit. Contained herein: A sixteen-slide PowerPoint.Five pages in worksheetsThe PowerPoint offers a "slow reveal" of this amusing Shakespearean version of "The Hokey Poke
8th - 12th, Adult Education, Higher Education
English Language Arts, Literature, Poetry
Showing 1-11 of 11 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.
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