Feltopia Press
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Jupiter, Florida, United States
About the store
I have spent 28 years teaching advanced and gifted language arts at the middle school level. The instructional materials I offer here are informed by empiricism, experience, and research. I know what students need and what teachers want.
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Greek & Latin Roots and Affixes Workbook
This 8 unit workbook is a complete, systematized course of study of Greek and Latin roots and affixes. It will benefit middle and high school students in vocabulary acquisition, reading comprehension, and effective writing, as well as address the standards requiring knowledge of these roots and affixes to be found in the Common Core Standards. This teacher and student friendly workbook is intended to last for a whole year's study.
Each unit consists of approximately 15 roots and affixes, each
7th - 11th
English Language Arts, Reading, Vocabulary
Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop Level C Assessments
These fifteen vocabulary tests are aligned to the Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop Level C workbook. The workbook itself does a great job of introducing high-level, highly useable vocabulary and providing students with plenty of practice opportunities, but I have found their computer-generated tests leave a lot to be desired in the realm of rigor and relevance. Instead of just asking students to memorize definitions that they will soon forget, these fifteen unit tests and five 3-unit review te
5th - 10th
ELA Test Prep, English Language Arts, Vocabulary
Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop Level E tests
These fifteen vocabulary tests are aligned to the Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop Level E workbook. The workbook itself does a great job of introducing high-level, highly useable vocabulary and providing students with plenty of practice opportunities, but I have found their computer-generated tests leave a lot to be desired in the realm of rigor and relevance. Instead of just asking students to memorize definitions that they will soon forget, these fifteen tests require students to locate c
8th - 11th
English Language Arts, Vocabulary
Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Level D Tests
These fifteen vocabulary tests are aligned to the Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop Level D (Enriched Edition). The workbook itself does a great job of introducing high-level, highly useable vocabulary and providing students with plenty of practice opportunities, but their computer-generated tests leave a lot to be desired in the realm of rigor and relevance. Instead of just asking students to memorize definitions that they will soon forget, these tests require students to locate context clue
7th - 11th
English Language Arts, Reading Strategies, Vocabulary
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde Study Guide and Objective Test
A rigorous exploration of this exciting Stevenson classic! A study guide of thoughtful, open-ended questions that help students dig deep into the meaning of the text while practicing reading comprehension strategies, an extensive vocabulary list (with Quizlet.com cards already created and available to students), background on allusions, instructional focus suggestions, and a 74-item objective test that goes well beyond the usual factual recall question. This test was carefully created to refle
8th - 12th
English Language Arts, Literature
Context Clues with SAT Words
New and Improved! Now with PowerPoint, more practice exercises, and complete answer keys. Context clue skills are critical to effective reading. Students need to be able to employ this skill automatically and accurately, so lots of focused practice is essential. Except finding good practice exercises is difficult, or at least it has been for me. What I've been able to locate are usually too few context sentences with words that are at too low a level (my students already know them so they're
7th - 12th
English Language Arts, Reading Strategies, Vocabulary
CCSS
CCRA.L.4
A Wizard of Earthsea - study guide and assessments
Before there was Harry and Hogwarts, there was Ged and the School of Wizards on Roke. This wonderful tale of adventure, magic, quest, and the struggle between good and evil is a classic of fantasy from acclaimed writer Ursula LeGuin. The novel is very accessible and not nearly as long as HP (and is better written, IMHO). Your students will love following Ged from surly and uncooperative boy to seasoned and wise mage who can hold his own with dragons.
This study guide includes vocabulary w
5th - 8th
English Language Arts, Literature, Reading
Exploring the Author's Voice & Purpose PowerPoint
Voice and purpose are intricately tied together in any piece of writing, whether professional, literary, or student. This slide show leads students through an exploration of the elements of voice (diction, figurative language, syntax) and how they must be suited for audience and purpose. Each concept is illustrated by a literary passage that class and teacher, together, can analyze.
This file comes as a 28-slide PowerPoint (2007) file. The background is no-frills, intended for an older high
8th - 12th
English Language Arts, Literature, Writing
Non-Fiction Readings from the Civil Rights Era -- texts & Objective Assessments
Ugly realities make for powerful readings. These three non-fiction selections drawn from the first half of the 20th century are sure to provoke lots of animated classroom discussion. The first reading, "What Was Jim Crow?" is an informational text that explains the laws and their usage to keep blacks and African-Americans powerless; the second, "Ida B. Wells: Against All Odds" is a biography of a little known civil rights activist, especially in her anti-lynching work; the third selection is th
8th - 12th
English Language Arts, Informational Text, Social Studies
Marzano Student Scales for Middle and High School Language Arts
My school district has bought into the Marzano model, but as with most educational spasms, no one really knows what’s going on. Part of our evaluations are dependent on employing student learning scales, but no one seems to have a clear idea whether that means a separate scale for each of the 81 skill standards I’m expected to teach or what they should look like. The few examples that are out there are either too juvenile or too technical and full of eduspeak; neither seems appropriate or help
6th - 12th
English Language Arts
Hound of the Baskervilles - study guide and objective assessment
Another great detective classic! Sherlock Holmes must get to the bottom of deadly events on the moors of Devonshire.
This item contains a complete study guide with vocabulary and definitions, divided into 3 chapter sections for a total of five reading sections--a comfortable month's worth of study. It also contains an state and Common Core standards-based objective assessment that goes well beyond the usual factual recall tests to assess students understanding of theme, cause/effect, compare/
7th - 10th
English Language Arts, Literature, Reading
Outlining Informational Text - two practice assignments
Outlining is a powerful tool for cutting through the chaff and getting to the essential information of a text. In these two exercises, students will read a high-quality, extended non-fiction text and then outline its main points. The texts are included, as well as blank outline and answer key filled in outlines. Both articles, as well as providing great practice on this important reading skill, can lead to some great classroom discussions.
The first article is "The Last Days of the Iceman"
8th - 12th
English Language Arts, Informational Text, Reading Strategies
The Time Machine - Study Guide and Comprehensive Assessment
Who hasn’t dreamed of hurtling through time, exploring the great mysteries of the ages and pondering the fate of future generations? H. G. Wells’ classic science-fiction novel The Time Machine gives wings to our dreams and lets us explore a seemingly plausible future in this highly enjoyable and accessible tale of adventure and science. Wells’ early science fiction novel offers so many learning opportunities: textual complexity, close reading and critical thinking opportunities, vocabulary ac
7th - 11th
English Language Arts, Literature, Reading
Okay for Now - Making Connections
Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt is a poignant story of survival and triumph. Middle schooler Doug has been dealt a raw hand by life—abusive father, dysfunctional family, poverty, a move to a new town, trouble fitting in, loneliness. But with the help of the town librarian and a rare copy of Audubon’s book of birds, he learns to cope and more. One of the main charms of this novel is that it is organized around paintings from Audubon’s book. This item allows students to contemplate both the artwor
5th - 9th
Close Reading, Reading, Visual Arts
Advanced Punctuation - PowerPoints and Handouts
Finally, the mysteries of the dash and the ellipsis revealed!
Advanced punctuation is a topic that is often overlooked in secondary language arts education, and yet correct punctuation is critical to clear writing and accurate reading. Here is a complete package that will help you provide thorough and practical instruction in the nuts and bolts of advanced sentence punctuation (and teach some grammatical concepts and sentence variety and complexity at the same time). These two PowerPoint pres
7th - 12th
English Language Arts, Grammar, Writing
Greek & Latin Roots and Affixes Workbook - Unit 1
For your instructional pleasure! The first unit from my 8-unit workbook, free for you to explore and try out in your classroom. This item includes word list, PowerPoint slide presentation of the word list, practice exercises, and assessment. It is bundled as a pdf file and a PowerPoint file zipped into one package. If you like what you see, please download the whole workbook. And please, feel free to leave a few stars or feedback. For a complete description, see the original workbook: http
8th - 12th
English Language Arts, Reading Strategies, Vocabulary
Commas and Compounds and Clauses, Oh My!
Here is a great package deal of exercises to help teach and reinforce proper comma usage along with sentence structure grammar (clauses, simple, compound, complex, compound-complex).
First, there is a concise, two page summary of all the major rules for commas, accompanied by three meaty exercises that give students practice in applying these important comma rules.
Then, two different summaries of the four types of sentences and the two types of clauses, accompanied by five hefty and varied
8th - 11th
English Language Arts, Grammar, Writing
George Orwell's 1984 Complete Study Guide
Dystopia! Cruelty! Deceit! Love in a time of tyranny! 1984 is a haunting warning of a possible future world ruled by a power-mad oligarchy. Now more than ever, Orwell’s great cautionary tale about the cynical abuse of power is relevant to our world. Help your students develop critical analysis skills, close reading skills, vocabulary acquisition, historical knowledge, and reading stamina by guiding them through the world of 1984. This item, in a zipped .pdf and .ppt format, provides you w
8th - 12th
Close Reading, English Language Arts, Literature
The Little Prince - study guide and text
Magical, profound, whimsical--Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince should be required reading for all humans, and grownups should be required to reread it annually. This wonderful little novella, in the guise of a children's book, gently reminds the reader of what's truly important: that only with the heart can one see clearly. Filled with enigmatic and insightful epigrams and parables, Sainte-Exupery never gets preachy, yet the truth of his vision is unmistakable. Students are first drawn to th
8th - 12th
English Language Arts, Literature, Reading
Unsung Heroes: More Non-Fiction Readings from the Civil Rights Era
More readings from a tumultuous time. These stories (two non-fiction articles, an autobiographical essay, and a poem) provide a powerful and uplifting reading experience that will generate some great classroom discussions, plenty of rigorous and relevant reading practice, and hopefully just a bit of soul searching as students grapple with issues of social justice and what it means to stand up for your convictions.
This unit consists of two journalistic-style non-fiction articles (“Daisy Bates
7th - 12th
English Language Arts, Reading, Social Studies
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About the store
Experience
I have spent 28 years teaching advanced and gifted language arts at the middle school level. The instructional materials I offer here are informed by empiricism, experience, and research. I know what students need and what teachers want.
Teaching style
I am a big proponent of rigor and relevance which, unfortunately, I have found to be sorely lacking in the resources and instructional materials provided by my school district or that are commercially available. I want to employ materials that will engage students in a deeper exploration of significant literary and informational texts; I want study guides and assessments that go beyond factual recall questions and that leave students disconnected and uninspired. In short, I want to challenge my proficient, advanced, honors, and gifted students, to make them dig deep, to explore ideas, themes, and character motivations, to appreciate novel language usage, to question the author’s subtext and purpose. Frustrated at this dearth of appropriate materials, I took it as a challenge and have spent the last five years revamping many of my earlier materials that relied too heavily on lower-level, factual recall questions. By immersing myself in Florida’s state standards and now the Common Core standards, I believe that I have been able to produce instructional materials of consistently higher quality and higher cognitive expectations.
My own education history
BA in English - Florida State University;
MA in English - Florida Atlantic University
Additional biographical information
National Board Certified Teacher;
Gifted Education Endorsement
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