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This .zip folder contains over 9 megs of handouts, assignments, quizzes, activities, literary criticism, et al. for George Orwell's 1984. As an added bonus, the file contains the list of great essay ideas for the novel that I'm currently selling separately--it's like getting it for free! Please note that this product, like many of my others, is a compendium of resources, not a road map; there are no explicit directions on how to use the materials--there's just lots of materials for you to use,

Here's an original synthesis-style essay prompt that's perfect for AP Lang & Comp or a college Comp/Rhetoric class (where I use it). Can be used as a formal assessment tool, or as an informal introduction to synthesis thinking and writing--I generally have students do some freewriting with it, and then do a Lincoln-Douglas-style debate to talk it through.

Enclosed are the resources I use for showing the movie (not for the book) Whale Rider, which is a great film for 8th, 9th, 10 graders. You'll find a guide for the movie inside, as well as a group assignment, note taking sheets and discussion prompts! FYI: As a rule, my zip files for teaching a novel do not lay out step-by-step plans how to teach the book--that's up to you. Instead, what I give you is all of my resources to use at your disposition; some of the resources here I didn't even end up

This document contains dozens of ideas to develop lesson plans: bellringers/sponges, direct instruction techniques, group activity descriptions, closure exercises. Will inspire you during unit/lesson planning and save you lots of time! This is the one document I consistently return to, both for secondary and postsecondary teaching situations.

As part of an American Dream unit with my junior Am lit students, I have my classes investigate their own dreams and pursuits by researching a possible career they'd like to pursue as adults. It's a fun and informative project for them, and it pushes research and synthesis skills, particularly early on in the year when I schedule it. Students write not only narrative work but do a literature review that requires them to look at multiple sources of information to get a sense of things. You'll nee

I spend about 3-5 days on Dickinson, much to my students' chagrin. But one of the ways we make it interesting is by dropping the veil, so to speak, and trying several different approaches to 'seeing' her, including formalist methods, gender analysis, new historical, etc. There's several really good thinking and writing assignments included, and I always get great results from the parody project.

Quizzes, assignments, activities and essay response options to Dr. King's famous argument. A great teaching resource for showing argumentation or how to write persuasively!

This is an intriguing, intellectually stimulating synthesis prompt that can be easily adapted for the AP Language classroom. The topic/issue is on limiting/enabling choice, with several of the documents dealing with the "nudge" debate that popped up in 2008. The visual stimuli included should spark conversation as well. Would be a great summative assessment for an argumentative writing unit as well.

This handout is for teaching a sociological lens when analyzing literature. You'll note that the excerpt is from Jane Eyre, but you can replace it with any text you choose; the core concept remains the same. Great for AP students!

Attached are 11 pages of resources for Albert Camus's most famous piece of existential short fiction, "The Guest." In addition to handouts on existentialism, the download also features a Reading Level Response journal assignment based on Hillocks's tenets of reading comprehension; there is a followup activity for class discussion that follows along these lines. You can use these resources in any way you see fit--let me know how it works for you!

This document can be used as a series of in-class activities or as a guide/worksheet for students when preparing for comparison-contrast analysis. Here's what's so invaluable about it: I've come up with a method to teach students how to construct their theses, and subsequently organize their response, by theme/idea, which is often difficult to express to students (especially more simplistic organizing devices are so easy and familiar to them.). This doc. is especially helpful for comparative lit

Features a response assignment w/three options, key dialogue from the film, some review/summary material, and my question/notes that I use with teh class. This is great as a pre-reading tool for the Great Gatsby!

Perfect for teaching Reflective or Argumentative Essays! I pair this with Letter from Birmingham Jail so that students do both personal and analytical writing.

This is a great writing assignment that's quick and perfect for the start of school or the semester before you launch into a themed unit or work of study. The kids enjoy writing it a great deal, and you'll get some early insight into their interests and abilities