msdickson
649 Followers
Michigan, United States
About the store
I spent years teaching English on a Shoestring Budget, using Photocopies and Projects to stretch my meager budget of school and personal funds. In addition to limited resources, I also had the challenge of engaging reluctant alternative high school students. I worked to balance high expectations with accessible coursework. I keep an eye out for affordable, yet engaging text options that can be used for papers and projects in class.
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5 Paragraph Essay Model | Short Story Essay Writing
This model turns writing a 5 Paragraph Essay into a fill-in-the-blank activity. Works for introducing students to the structure and organization of essays. Also good for helping students of all ages practice shorter essays or reinforcing good structure and organization. Works with any short essay topic. Can be used with all ages and grade levels to introduce or reinforce the concepts of a 5 Paragraph Essay. 5 Paragraph essays are highly structured and organized. The Model walks students t
8th - 11th
English Language Arts, Writing-Essays
3 Wishes 5 Paragraph Essay using Writing Process | Short Essay Writing
This assignment walks students through the writing process in writing a 5 Paragraph Essay about three wishes they would like. They will brainstorm, narrow their topic, write a thesis, write their rough draft, make corrections, and make a final draft using the highly structured format of the 5 Paragraph Essay. I find that many students would rather skip steps of the writing process. While they can still kind of do so, this activity does push them to try the steps. For example, they are to thi
8th - 11th
English Language Arts, Writing, Writing-Essays
The Raven | Literary Essay | 5 Paragraph Essay | Poetry Analysis | Poe
For use with the poem "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe, this activity includes three essay topics to chose from. Rubric and pre-writing planning worksheet printable included. Also includes the Quick Guide to Literary Essays handout. Student printable includes the essay topics and the rubric. Contents:OverviewStudent Instruction Sheet with RubricStudent Planning WorksheetQuick Guide to Literary EssaysFile is a single PDF. Easy to use and ready to go! Because the poem is shorter, the essays will
8th - 11th
English Language Arts, Poetry, Writing-Essays
Writing Dialogue Handout with Punctuation and Using in a Story
The Writing Dialogue Handout covers both the punctuation of dialogue as well as effective use in story writing. The story writing section includes the use of dialogue tags, how "said" becomes invisible to the reader, how to use character actions in place of dialogue tags, dropping dialogue tags with two speakers and more. Useful handout for students writing dialogue. As both English teacher and writer, I noticed that most novels use 'said' or character attribution rather than replacing 'said'
8th - 11th, Adult Education, Higher Education
Creative Writing, English Language Arts
Cheat Sheet/ Quick Guide to Descriptive Words Handout
Handout to help students with Descriptive Words. This one-page guide provides a handful of vivid color words, touch/texture words, sound words, size words and location words, along with a few helpful hints. Handout is in color which makes for a great permanent reference sheet, but also prints great in black/white. Print and Go Ready. This item is a single file PDF. Works well with descriptive and creative writing. Like this? Check these out: 10 Creative Culminating Projects for Any Short Sto
8th - 11th, Adult Education
Creative Writing, English Language Arts, Writing
Cheat Sheet/ Quick Guide to Literary Essays
Handy one-page guide to help remind students of the important elements in a literary essay. Works well as a complement to a lesson on literary essays—students can keep a copy in their notes for later reference. Prints well in color and black and white. NOTE: This requires a lesson on Literary Essays. It does not teach the full literary essay but reinforces previously taught information about literary essays. Item is a single file PDF. Want more literary essay support, try the Literary Essay
8th - 11th, Adult Education
Literature, Poetry, Writing-Essays
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About the store
Experience
I spent years teaching English on a Shoestring Budget, using Photocopies and Projects to stretch my meager budget of school and personal funds. In addition to limited resources, I also had the challenge of engaging reluctant alternative high school students. I worked to balance high expectations with accessible coursework. I keep an eye out for affordable, yet engaging text options that can be used for papers and projects in class.
Teaching style
The goal of any activity in education is for students to learn and then demonstrate their understanding of the concepts. However, they cannot understand what they know if they are not engaged in the activity. It is always my goal to create activities that are accessible and/ or engaging so that students can be successful. Projects are my favorite as they allowed flexibility and opportunities for differentiation. I also do appreciate reading questions to guide students, and hold them accountable for reading (and they are accessible, since I make them in order and limited "tricky" questions.)
Awards & shining teacher moments
Recognized by the State of Michigan, along with the other teachers, for Excellence in Adult Education.
My own education history
I earned my GED rather than be a senior in high school. I spent two years at a local community college before transferring to finish my degree in Secondary English and History education. I later returned to online schooling to get a Graduate Certificate in Educational Media and Technology. I always try to help my own students have a better high school experience than I did.
Additional biographical information
I share teaching ideas and more at www.msdicksonsclass.com
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