McRaeWrites

A short research project designed to have students research local election candidates for mayor and town council. Could be expanded upon to talk about provincial/state or federal elections, but would need to be fleshed out a bit more.

This is a set of questions about privilege to be used following a class discussion about power and privilege as a whole. I start by doing a power and privilege checklist on the board: Male/Female, Rich/Poor, Able/Disabled, White/Color, etc. And we assign power or privilege to each "this or that" choice. This is an active discussion that requires class consensus. Once the class has solidified every category, they give themselves a power and privilege rating based on where power has been assigned

A multi-grade level assignment in several parts. Can be used as an entire Unit or in individual components. I used this by doing notes and then class-sourcing examples of the terms at the front of the booklet, followed by a one by one take on each poem type one or two at a time. My format was: Introduce the rules or structure of the poem type, show an example, do a close reading of the example as a class, have the students write 2-3 of each poem type covered, and then get into small groups to sh

Designed as a fun "get to know you" assignment that also gives some good feedback on writing ability of students. Please change the "Who Am I" section to be focused on your own life and what you want your students to know!

A project centered around life skills, business, accounting, and life planning. This was a project originally designed for Planning 10 in the BC curriculum, but can be easily applied to several other subject areas such as English or humanities.

A Great Depression activity worksheet designed for History 12 (World History) including: -A song lyric analysis of Bing Crosby's "Brother Can You Spare a Dime?" with questions. -FDR and New Deal questions. -A small Great Depression critical thinking challenge. Uses Clock Buddies pairing system.

This is the checklist activity that is used before my "Privilege and You" questions. I always ask students to keep this private, and not to put their name on it. To explain each question a little more, I use myself as the guinea pig to complete the checklist on the board together as a class. This often takes a while because the students are very interested in it and in your personal life. They have always been very chatty and what I expect to take 20-30 minutes can easily stretch into an entire

This is an open synthesis essay assignment, marked according to the 6 point scale. While I have it adapted to allow for any works covered in the class, you may want to narrow the focus to a few selected works. Great for an assignment that requires a week or so of working time after you introduce it. I often scaffold this with a mini-lesson on rough drafts, and a final good copy.

A handout to go alongside mock interviews in a life skills class. Originally designed for Planning 10 in BC, after completing resumes and cover letters, but can apply to any course with a focus on English or interview skills. Takes a lot of class time as it is designed for the teacher to end this process with mock one on one interviews. Will work even better if there are classroom supports to have two interviewers. Feel free to modify however necessary!

A quick and easy Self and Peer Assessment Form for Project Based Learning. Can be given to individuals or groups.

A very basic 11x17 graphic organizer for use with Social Studies, History, or other specialty subjects.

A quick set of questions to use as follow-up homework or as an assignment. To be used with the short story: "Turtle Island" by Harsiga Rathan.

A set of Ethics Questions to be used with my "Ethical Philosophies" Handout. You additionally need the poem "Ethics" by Linda Pastan, and "The Bull, The King, The Prince, and the Princess Dilemna", both available via searching online. I don't have the rights so cannot post the whole handout package. You can additionally cut those questions. Answers are mostly marked on depth of thought, rather than "right or wrong".

A fun art project I used that is themed around creating Chimeras or warped versions of fantastical creatures. The goal is to make a creature that is as crazy, altered, or far out as possible, and avoid doing basic fantasy creatures like elves, dwarves, or hobbits. Try to push your students to be as experimental as possible! I have separate marking rubrics for ceramics, fine art, and 3D Art, so if you'd like an adapted handout please contact me and I can upload them separately.

A handout explaining the classical definitions of Comedy and Tragedy in Greek theater, and a breakdown of 4 major tenets of screen and stage comedy.

This project is designed for Careers, but could be used in any classroom where you are hoping to get your students to self-reflect on the type of person they are or are becoming. It does require some independent reading and a certain level of maturity, so I wouldn't use this below a Grade 7 level or thereabouts.

When teaching English, I often use free writes to focus on what the specific class I'm teaching needs in terms of grammar and spelling. While they can be time-intensive in regards to marking and adding editor's notes, they are invaluable as a tool to show me where I need to focus on in my lessons. I also often creative spelling tests or vocabulary sheets based on what words I find misspelled. Overall, doing several Free Writes a year has been invaluable for me as an English Teacher

I created this for PE a few years back, but it could be used in almost any subject. It's supposed to be a feedback form you can use to give feedback to the students giving the lesson, and to base your own mark on.

A short quiz handed out at the beginning of Home Ec. Foods to learn about the students.

These are Questions and a Letter Writing Activity to be used after reading "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes individually or as a class. They are a mixture of reading comprehension, critical thinking, and vocabulary questions.