Mitchell & Co - Teaching Resources

Engage students in meaningful character analysis with this Character Suitcase Activity! Students explore what characters might be “carrying” at the beginning of a story, such as memories, feelings, and responsibilities, while supporting their ideas with text evidence. This flexible activity works with any novel or short story and helps students practice close reading and character analysis in grades 5 to 8.

Turn classroom conversations into powerful, student-led discussions with this interactive academic discussion card game! This resource gives students the sentence starters they need to agree, disagree, build on ideas, quote the text, and think more deeply; all while playing a fun, structured game. Use it UNO-style to gamify discussion or as a scaffold to support hesitant speakers. Perfect for middle school classrooms, this tool builds academic language, boosts confidence, increases engagement, a

Bring figurative language practice to life with this fun, creative Color-by-Number activity! Students identify similes, metaphors, idioms, hyperbole, personification, alliteration, and onomatopoeia as they reveal a vibrant mandala flower design. This resource is perfect for 5th–7th grade educators looking for: Engaging Independent Practice: Students get hands-on, self-checking skill review. Low-Prep Review: Print and go — perfect for centers, early finishers, or sub plans. Standards-Aligned Rei

This free Percy Jackson word search is a simple, engaging activity that helps students review important characters, gods and goddesses, and settings from the series. It works well as an early finisher task, literacy center activity, or light review during a novel study. The included blank word search template also allows students to create their own puzzles, encouraging them to think about key vocabulary and concepts from the text while adding a fun, creative extension.