NBCT Tomlinsons

This packet is one of my favorites! There seems to be a time at the end of every semester or before holiday breaks where I think, "What can I do that is meaningful and engaging, but that can be squeezed into only a couple of weeks?!" With that problem in mind, I assembled this packet for my Senior English class to use as a guide while viewing the Kenneth Branagh version of Hamlet in its entirety. With a sample calendar of assignments, information about film analysis terms, an introduction to cha

Using writing portfolios in the high school classroom is an excellent way to engage students in their own learning process. This detailed handout reviews the rationale and the process for using writing portfolios. For students (and teachers!) who haven't been exposed to this assessment style before, this tool is a very helpful introduction.

This analysis assignment was used as a first step in the Poetry Out Loud unit, but it works well as a stand-alone poetry analysis tool. The detailed model provided shows students an analysis of Billy Collins' "Introduction to Poetry" poem. This includes a model and a blank format for students to fill in, although it would work best for students to have access to this file digitally so they are not limited in what they can write.

This notes page helps students gather relevant quotes to support a thematic analysis of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. I used the Dustin Hoffman version of the movie, but it should be able to be applied to other productions as well. The notes have a Marxist and Feminist literary criticism focus, but students would not need extensive knowledge of literary criticism to be able to use this tool successfully.

Tim O'Brien's book, The Things They Carried, is structured as a series of interrelated vignettes. This assignment helps students see those connections between the shorter stories in the middle of the book.

This assignment will ask students to research historical references from the book A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. It asks students to gather quotes, and then to do quick research to understand the context and key details about the reference. Students will deepen their understanding of thematic messages with this historical information.

This final test includes short answer questions referrring to Marxist and Feminist literary criticism ideas (although extensive knowledge of literary criticism is not needed to still be successful), short answer quote identification questions, and a character analysis essay outline. A sample essay outline is provided with this document.

These four questions can be used either as a final short answer test for Catcher in the Rye, or as a homework assignment for students to prepare for an end of novel Socratic Seminar.

These essay options are organized into two sections; 6 personal write options, and 3 analysis write options. The questions include references to Marxist and Feminist literary criticism, but students would not need extensive information about literary criticism in order to complete the assignment successfully.

This handout is a great tool for students to use when evaluating other's writing or during self-evaluation. Included with the descriptors is a Developing/Proficient/Advanced Rubric that could be applies to multiple pieces of writing over the course of a year. I use this with my students as a tool to develop a common writing term vocabulary.

Using writing portfolios in the high school classroom is an excellent way to engage students in their own learning process. This detailed handout reviews the rationale and the process for using writing portfolios. For students (and teachers!) who haven't been exposed to this assessment style before, this tool is a very helpful introduction.

I use this writing assignment as a connection to Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Students read through several poems that portray a speaker's relationship with his or her father. Then, students are asked to write an essay that compares and/or contrasts their own relationship with a father figure.

This handout is a tool to help students track their writing progress over multiple writings over the course of a semester or year. This tool would work best with the Traits of Strong Writing Handout.

This is an ongoing assignment for students to complete as they read through the book A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. These guided questions provide a structure for students to collect their responses to the novel as they read, which will help prepare students for better class discussions. These notes also can help students as they write thematic analysis essays at the end of the novel.