From the Shelves

This 9-week ELA unit, Why We Read, invites students to explore the purpose of reading and writing through powerful nonfiction and literary voices, including Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Sandra Cisneros, and Julia Alvarez. Designed for grades 9–12, this unit blends rhetorical analysis, narrative writing, research, and argument in a thematically cohesive sequence. Students examine how stories shape identity, foster empathy, preserve culture, and influence social chan

This resource includes three differentiated post-high school planning assignments designed to help students prepare for their first 90 days after graduation based on their chosen path: college, career/workforce, or military. Each packet contains structured reflection questions that guide students through realistic planning for the transition into adulthood. Students will think through logistics, responsibilities, obstacles, goals, and expectations specific to their selected pathway. The coll

This Animal Farm Socratic Seminar resource provides everything you need to facilitate a meaningful, student-led discussion with minimal prep. The guide includes clear instructions, student-friendly FAQs, and a detailed rubric for easy implementation and grading. Discussion questions focus on key themes such as power, manipulation, propaganda, and the corruption of ideals. Students are encouraged to use textual evidence, respond to peers, and build on ideas in a structured academic format. The F

This engaging Haiku Poetry Activity introduces students to the fundamentals of haiku through a fun, low-pressure approach. Students learn the basic structure and history of haiku before practicing with creative mad-lib style templates that make poetry accessible for all learners. The resource includes “bad haiku” examples for students to revise, helping them identify common mistakes and strengthen their understanding of syllables and imagery. A variety of journal prompts encourage independent wr

This Animal Farm novel study guide is a straightforward, no-prep resource designed to check student comprehension and accountability throughout the entire novel. The guide consists of fill-in-the-blank questions that require students to respond in complete sentences using details from the text. Each section aligns with key plot points and ensures students are actively reading and tracking important events and characters. This resource works well for independent reading, homework, sub plans, or

Looking for an engaging way to teach fables, allegory, and myth without students getting stuck on a blank page? This guided fiction story builder walks students through the entire creative writing process using checkbox choices and structured sentence stems. Students design a complete fictional story by selecting a main character, traits, setting, goal, conflict, obstacles, consequences, and a moral, resulting in a fully developed fable or allegory. This resource works for middle and high sc

Take your poetry analysis to a deeper level with this highly structured, discussion-driven lesson comparing “Requiem” by Kurt Vonnegut and “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Sara Teasdale. This assignment blends teacher-led modeling, guided annotations, and student collaboration to help learners move beyond surface-level responses and into meaningful literary analysis. Students are supported every step of the way with purposeful annotation prompts that direct their thinking toward tone, image

This simple character chart is a fill-in-the-squares graphic organizer designed to help students track and analyze characters in any novel or short story. Students record key characteristics, a defining quotation, the character’s purpose in the story, and important actions. The clear layout makes it easy for students to organize their thinking and refer back to the text for evidence. This resource works well for independent reading, small groups, literature circles, or whole-class novels. Becaus

Welcome families in style with this fully customizable Welcome to Class Letter designed in Google Drawings! This editable template allows teachers to personalize every section, including teacher name, subject, school year, goals, classroom expectations, and contact information. Easily add your Google Classroom codes, Remind 101 details, and even a photo of your actual classroom to help parents and students feel connected from day one. Dedicated sections for lunch, snacks, breaks, and special sc

Engage your students with this interactive Lumberjanes foldable! Perfect for guiding readers through the exciting world of this graphic novel, this hands-on activity helps students track setting, characterization, and plot as they read. Teachers can print the foldables for students to assemble, color, and personalize, making it a fun and creative way to analyze key elements of the story. This resource encourages close reading, critical thinking, and artistic expression, while keeping studen

Are you teaching The Odyssey? The Hobbitt? Harry Potter?What about The Iliad? Beowulf? Macbeth? Hamlet?Bring storytelling to life with this no-prep, sub-friendly Hero’s Journey activity! Students use fill-in-the-blank sentence stems and word banks to create their own hero, world, challenges, and transformations. Perfect for Fun Friday, a sub day, or a creative writing lesson, it guides students step-by-step while keeping the process fun and manageable. This activity helps students practice n

This 6-slide choice board gives students multiple creative and analytical options for exploring Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Students select from a variety of tasks that allow them to demonstrate understanding through reflection, literary analysis, and personal connection to the novel’s themes. Each slide offers a different pathway, making it easy to differentiate for learning styles, readiness levels, and student interests. The choice board encourages deeper thinking about censorship, confo

This post-high school readiness activity helps students reflect on the transferable skills they already possess that will support their success after graduation—whether they pursue college, the workforce, or the military. Students review 10 essential life and career readiness skills, including time management, communication, adaptability, teamwork, and problem-solving, then select the 5 skills that best represent their strengths. For each chosen skill, students write a well-developed paragr

Bring a little fun (and a lot of engagement) to your independent reading time with this “What Book Character Are You?” personality quiz! Students answer quick, pop-culture style questions to discover their reading “vibe” and get matched to a genre that fits their personality—no boring reading surveys here. Perfect for the beginning of the year, SSR/book selection time, or building reading buy-in, this activity helps students feel like choosing a book is personal, not forced. It’s low-prep, high

In this assignment, students create their own original dystopian story by designing a futuristic society and exploring a major social problem within it. Students use classic dystopian elements such as exaggerated rules, loss of freedom, and government control to develop setting, conflict, and theme. This activity helps students apply critical thinking and creative writing skills while making meaningful connections to real-world issues.

This Writing Choice Board is a flexible, student-centered assignment that can be easily tailored to fit your classroom needs. Assign just one option for a quick daily writing task, choose two for a deeper reflection, or use all six for a powerful “getting to know you” unit. Each activity is designed to build student voice, creativity, and personal connection to writing. Prompts include future-focused narratives, extended metaphors, personal playlists, goal mapping, and six-word memoirs. This res

Help students go beyond the tradition and explore the meaning, history, and purpose behind two major high school milestones—Prom and Graduation. This engaging, discussion-based reading activity is designed to build informational reading skills while encouraging personal reflection and real-world connections. Students will begin by reflecting on their own experiences and opinions about prom before diving into short, accessible informational texts about the history and evolution of prom in the Un

In this assignment, students create their own modern “modest proposal” inspired by Jonathan Swift’s classic satire! Students choose a real-world problem and write a humorous, exaggerated solution using irony, sarcasm, and logical reasoning. This activity helps students understand satire while practicing tone, argument, and creative writing in an engaging and accessible way.

This Metamorphosis Choice Board gives students multiple ways to show their understanding of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. It includes a variety of activities that let students analyze the text, think critically, and get creative. Perfect for independent work, small groups, or differentiation. Clear directions and student-friendly options make it ready to use in your classroom.

Make story analysis easy and interactive with this editable Setting, Characterization, and Plot foldable, designed to work with any fictional text! Perfect for middle and high school ELA classrooms, students can assemble, color, and fill in the foldable as they read, helping them track key story elements and themes in a fun, hands-on way. Because it’s fully editable in Google Docs, teachers can adapt it to any text, novel, or short story, making it a versatile tool for guided reading, li