Keith Resources

Retention of information is a must in education. Based on research, continued use of retrieval practice embedded into the classroom can help students recall and remember key information. This template can be used for any content and has three steps to help students create a routine for retrieving information from memory. Step one is an independent brain dump, step two allows for comparing with a peer, and step three is a review from the teacher.

This test assesses not only the student's understanding of the novel, but also his/her mastery of the following concepts: Setting Characters (STEAL) Plot diagram and elements of plot Different conflict types Theme RACE (Restate, Answer, Cite, Explain) The questions blend the novel and these skills together to assess understanding. There are 30 multiple choice/short answer and 1 essay question.

This includes: 1. A cover page with explanation of what the 4th reading anchor standard includes, along with what students should know, be able to do, and why. 2. A variety of "I Can..." statements that go along with each activity. 3. A broken down day-by-day lesson plan framework with QR code links to Blendspace lessons and resources. 4. Templates for reading activities. 5. Student Reflection tickets per mini lesson 6. A final essay assignment to have students apply what they have learne

This organizer separates the parts of RACE (restate, answer, cite evidence, and explain) so that students can take the process one step at a time. The shaded sections are where students can choose transitions or evidence based terms (from any list) to lead into and out of the citation. At the bottom, there is place to combine all the parts into one cohesive paragraph.

A generic reflection ticket that can be used for the teaching of any skill or concept across content areas. The mini-ticket is handed out at the start of a lesson and has a "Guiding Question" to allow students to begin thinking about the concept. Then, after the direct instruction, students self-assess by writing down a specific learned item from the lesson and a question they still may have. Lastly, a quick self-rating scale is provided to get a feel for individual student confidence. These

This Blendspace Lesson has nine slides: 1-3 are review slides that explain Mood and Tone. 4-5 slides are print advertisements, 6-7 slides are movie trailers, and 8-9 slides are poems. The document has guiding questions for students to answer in partners or alone while viewing the Blendspace. At the end, there is a Reflection question for the lesson and an optional enrichment activity.

This document can be changed to add new vocabulary words. The highlighted words indicate ones that must be used for the "Entrée" (tricky words that students would probably prefer not to use if given the choice!). A series of "Side Dishes" and "Desserts" are offered that allow for creativity and critical thinking.

Students choose a current events topic to write about. The focus of this essay is to use language (figurative, connotative, and content-specific) to elaborate on ideas and to add detail. Standards are placed in each category and there is a scoring scale along the bottom.

This can be used as an organizer for any character in a book. In the middle, there is a section for the students to draw an image of the character of their choice. Around the picture are the elements of STEAL: What a character says, thinks, effect on others, actions, and looks. The student is asked to find a direct citation that shows this element in use and then to write what he/she has discovered about the character from that element. Simple, but good practice.

I call this the "Information Four Square." It can be used for any informational article. The first square asks students to identify key vocabulary in the article. The second square has students crafting a main idea sentence and providing supporting details. The third and fourth boxes require them to create their own think back and look back questions. When I use this in my class, the students can switch their sheets with another student/group and answer each others questions.

This activity begins with student choice through RAFT selections. Then, a detailed step-by-step process helps the student to write and create his/her own "scenario" that indicates a certain tone and mood. Photostory allows the student to use multimedia features such as visual aides (pictures), music, and the own tone of his/her voice to relay a strong mood to the listener. There is also a simple grading rubric attached to help solidify expectations for the assignment.

The first page of this document briefly describes steps in the writing process followed by why they are important. The second page provides a two column checklist for editing and revising.

A simple template where students can either reflect on a GRIT element they demonstrated OR a mistake that turned into a growth moment.

This checklist can be used by multiple content areas to streamline expectations for written response across all academic subjects. It is easy to use for grading purposes as well. The checklist comes with color coded examples for Social Studies, Math, and Science. The checklist is based on the RACE idea- Restating a prompt/question, answering, citing, and explaining/elaborating.