LitDocs

This paper-based escape room engages students in practicing key grammar and mechanics skills, including compound and complex sentences, capitalization and punctuation rules, spelling, and parts of speech. It includes teacher instructions, an engaging scenario to introduce the activity, and five printable escape room challenges with corresponding answer keys. As students solve each set of questions to generate a code, they’ll bring it to the teacher for approval before moving on to unlock the nex

This resource includes a student-facing instruction sheet and a sample poster for an activity designed to help learners review different types of figurative language. The activity works well for afternoons following state testing, as it is interactive while reinforcing key terms. Students should be assigned to groups/pairs and given a specific type of figurative language to master. Each group creates a poster to teach peers about the assigned concept. Afterward, students create worksheets for pe

This poetry guide includes a definition, step-by-step instructions, and an example for both found and blackout poems. Provide these guides as students explore these two forms of poetry using any text you're reading in class!

This slide deck includes 20 days of sentence-editing practice focused on parts of speech. The opening slides provide instruction on basic editing marks and a review of each part of speech. Each practice slide includes a student-friendly editing checklist, with the corrected sentence shown on the following slide for review.

This ready-to-print dialogue worksheet will teach students how to correctly punctuate and capitalize dialogue. Designed for student use, this resource provides examples of correctly punctuated dialogue and clear demonstrations of how to use standard editing marks directly on the text. Students will practice identifying and correcting errors in dialogue formatting, such as misplaced punctuation marks, missing commas, and incorrect capitalization. An answer key is included for easy grading or sel

This printable can be used as students read a new poem for the first time. Answering the basic questions of Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How, the worksheet guides students through a basic analysis of any poem.

These student-friendly materials are designed to accompany any novel. The PDF includes: An overview of Literature Circles A template for students to create group guidelines A role assignment sheet for each reading section Color-coded individual role sheets I like to have each group keep their materials organized in a shared binder, so they can easily refer back to previous sections during discussions. Simply place students into reading groups, hand out these Lit Circle resources, and they’ll b

These bulletin boards feature interactive trivia questions for students to explore during Hispanic Heritage Month, Women’s History Month, Black History Month, and Pride Month. The questions highlight prominent figures, historical events, cultural milestones, and current pop culture. Each set includes an instruction sheet and flippable question-and-answer cards, making the boards both engaging and easy to use.

This goal tracker allows students to track their writing goals throughout the school year, categorized into the three types of writing in the CCSS (Narrative, Argumentative, Informative/Explanatory). Each time students write, they will look at their previous writing task and document glows and grows in their writing. Based on those glows and grows, students will write a specific, achievable writing goal for their next writing task.

This PDF printable is designed for the first days of school to help teachers learn more about their students, their general interests as well as their preferences specific to reading and writing. Most questions are quick check-box responses, while a few open-ended prompts give students the opportunity to share additional information that may be helpful for teachers as the year begins.

The first sentence of a narrative is key to hooking the reader and to helping a writer gain momentum in the drafting process. This worksheet is designed for middle and high school students to use before beginning a first draft. I’ve found that when students complete this organizer first, they face less writer’s block, and I rarely hear the dreaded, “I don’t know where to start.”

I use this reading activity during Jewish Heritage Month, but it works well any time of year. It includes pre-, during-, and post-reading activities that accompany a class read-aloud of The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco. In the prereading stage, students research and sketch key terms related to Jewish traditions that appear in the story. During reading, comprehension questions guide them through the text. As a culminating activity, students design their own ‘keeping quilts’ that highlight t

Use this checklist as students decode the NJSLA released rubrics and sample prompts for all three writing tasks: Informative/Explanatory, Narrative, and Argumentative. This can be used throughout the year, or as a review of key terms and elements used in each type of writing.

This debate packet is student facing and ready to print. It can be changed as needed for your students' needs, as it is in a Google Doc. It includes a prompt, a graphic organizer for students to prepare for the debate, a note sheet for during the debate, and questions for a written reflection following the debate. After reading Chapter 2 of Nimona (excerpts work fine, too!), students will be assigned to Team Nimona or Team Blackheart. Following the prompt, students will argue which plan for batt

Use this rubric to assess students with any classroom mock trial. The rubric is out of 40 points and assess student preparation, participation, jury notes, and exit ticket reflections.

These cards can be printed and cut-out to use as manipulatives. I've used these at the middle school level to introduce students to morphology at a basic level, and we use these as building blocks to decode more complex, scientific words. I typically start the activity with a small group, providing each student with a whiteboard and challenging students to compete to create as many words as possible with only these cards. I give them a few minutes, and then we review their findings, focusing on

This strategy can be used with peer-editing for mechanics/conventions. Students simply highlight errors in their peer's essay in order to point out mistakes; however, the peer will have to look closely at each highlight to determine the error they made and make the proper changes. It's a great way to make sure students understand the mistakes they make in their writing, rather than just "fixing" them based on what a partner wrote in red pen. Please feel free to make changes to this document to b