Feltopia Press
505 Followers
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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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
"Tales from the Bog" / Seamus Heaney Bog poems - reading practice and assessment
Kids will love this gory non-fiction article about the mummified bodies found in the peat bogs of northern Europe; you'll love the high-quality reading practice and assessment. Win/Win!
This item includes the full text (as well as on-line source) for the National Geographic's article, as well as Irish poet Seamus Heaney's bog poems (with a few pics), and a standards-based objective assessment that goes well beyond the usual factual recall questions, asking for examples of support, inference,
8th - 11th
English Language Arts, Poetry, Reading Strategies
Black Voices pre-Civil Rights Era- reading practice with objective assessments
Women, especially black women, seemed to be made of iron will and adamantine in the early part of the 20th century. Here are two reading selections that explore fascinating snippets of the lives of Maya Angelou and Alice Walker. These essays and the paired poems that accompany each will transport your students to another world--the world as it was for African-Americans before the Civil Rights Movement came along--and ask them to put themselves in someone else's shoes for a few pages. Beautifu
8th - 11th
English Language Arts, Literature, Reading
The Catchdog - text and objective assessment
A wonderful bit of autobiography from the author of The Yearling. Students will respond to the powerful bond between human and animal, and the irony of the animal proving more faithful than the human.
This item contains a pdf file of the text as well as a 8-item objective assessment that goes well beyond the usual factual recall of lower-level reading assessments. The questions here ask for theme, author's purpose, context vocabulary clue, character motivation, and a written response item g
7th - 10th
English Language Arts, Informational Text, Reading Strategies
Exploring Text Features
Text features really grab our attention—just like the Barbie graphic that National Geographic magazine used to illustrate recent trends in cosmetic surgery. But have your students mastered the Common Core standard of interpreting and utilizing text features as part of their reading comprehension strategies?
This stand-alone lesson lets you put all those old magazines you’ve been saving (or your parents or your students’ parents) to good use by offering real-world opportunities to recognize,
7th - 12th
English Language Arts, Informational Text, Reading Strategies
Advanced Punctuation -- 2 Exercises
Colons and dashes and hyphens, oh my! Take your students on an adventure into the world of advanced—and exotic! —punctuation. These two exercises (20-sentences each) provide solid practice using colons, semicolons, commas, hyphens, dashes, parentheses, and ellipses. The sentences are complex, rigorous, and all require multiple punctuation. Not only are students practicing the use of punctuation, but they are also forced to use analytical reading skills to figure out what the unpunctuated sen
6th - 11th
English Language Arts, Grammar, Reading
To Kill A Mockingbird - objective assessment and instructional notes
An enduring classic, Mockingbird offers students so much--beautiful language, great story telling, powerful moral lessons, detailed historical perspective, cultural significance. This novel is sure to generate exciting and animated classroom discussions.
This item is a 70-item objective assessment with two written response questions. These questions go far beyond the usual factual recall test that you get from Perfection or with textbook sets, and certainly beyond what lazy students might gle
8th - 12th
English Language Arts, Literature, Reading
Active Listening for Meaning and Effect
Congratulations! You’re on your way to improving your students’ listening comprehension, an important skill in these days of audio/visual overstimulation. Critical listening will also enable students to recognize the effect that the human voice has on meaning and impact. Poe’s chilling tale of suspense and madness is a great way to engage students in active listening; Kipling’s charming and whimsical Just So story will amuse and entrance listeners.
This item includes 2 two-page worksheets of q
6th - 11th
English Language Arts, Reading, Short Stories
Problem Words - Pronouns & Contractions
Here is the introductory unit to my Problem Word series, which is designed to help students sort out similar sounding or otherwise easily confused sets of words.
Included in this free item is a complete lesson on five sets of easily confused pronoun/contraction combinations: it/it's, your/you're, there/their/they're, who/whom/whose/who's, and to/too/two. The pdf file contains two exercises--one practice, one test, with answer keys, plus resources. There are already Quizlet flashcards prepa
6th - 12th
English Language Arts, Vocabulary, Writing
The Centaur - poem and reading exercise
May Swenson's charming poem about a girl pretneding to be both the rider and the horse. This assignment includes a student-friendly copy of the poem, 9 objective questions about tone, interpretation, and meaning, a short answer question connecting the title to the speaker of the poem, and an answer key. Good stuff! A great poem and a great, higher-order exercise to make students think about the meaning of a poem. Very helpful in getting students ready for state mandated, high-stakes testing.
7th - 10th
English Language Arts, Literature, Poetry
10 Point Essay Scoring Rubric for Peer Editing
Peer editing of student compositions can be a powerful and time-saving learning activity. This rubric is intended to be used by groups of two to four partners as they analyze and evaluate each other's writing for focus, organization, purpose/support/ mechanics on a ten-point scale. Students could highlight those statements on the rubric that best describes the piece of writing that is being read aloud, or use it to evaluate their own writing. The rubric is written in mature yet student friend
8th - 11th
English Language Arts, Writing, Writing-Essays
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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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