Resources Made like Magic

Jimmy's World was an article published in The Washington Post in 1980 that won a Pulitzer Prize in journalism. It was about a young boy who was addicted to heroine from childhood and caused nationwide outreach to help this child. Unfortunately... the entire article was found to be fabricated and Janet Cooke is the only writer who has had to return her Pulitzer Prize. This assignment first looks at the article as if it is true and has general questions about the article. Then the falsehood of th

Introduce your students to Chris Marker’s groundbreaking experimental film La Jetée (1962) with this ready-to-use film study worksheet. Told almost entirely through still photographs, La Jetée explores memory, time, love, and the aftermath of war — making it a perfect text for units on fear, social commentary, dystopian futures, or experimental storytelling.This resource includes: Background Information: Context about the director, film style, and historical significance. Key Vocabulary: Es

Bring Julio Cortázar’s House Taken Over to life with this engaging packet that blends history, literature, and self-reflection! Students first explore 1940s Argentina and the rise of Juan Perón through a student-friendly article, then dive into the story with chronological analysis questions, symbolism, and theme-building activities. The unit wraps up with thoughtful self-reflection prompts that connect the story’s social commentary on fear and avoidance to students’ own world. Includes: ✔ P

These google documents include Anthem by Ayn Rand as well as chapter questions for each section. I have also included a link to the youtube animated series that reads all of the novel alongside the animated graphic novel of the text. I have also included where each section begins and ends in the animated series. Great resource for a quick novel study of dystopian themes and philosophy discussion. Great for a quick honors novel study or an on level novel study

This lesson is a Standards Based Characterization Lesson that can be used as a worksheet, or as a multi day lesson for helping kids understand how characterization helps to support theme. Can be used with any mentor text!!! The Standard, Success Criteria, and Rubric are all included in the lesson.There are 3 parts to this lesson that follow the "I do, we do, you do" instructional model 1) a model worksheet where some of the blanks are filled in using a video short film example, "The Present."

These are guided reading questions based on the first vignette in The Other Wes Moore

This resource has the introduction to The Other Wes Moore and guided questions

Book in a Box is a teaching tool where teachers fill a box (shoebox, pencil box, etc.) with items pertaining to a book the class is about to read that serve as clues to the storyline. Allow students to play with the items in the box and try and predict what the story will be about and what the items might mean. This activity is fun and engaging and works for all ages. You can do it as a full class activity or as small group activity. Contains graphic organizer!

This unit overview is a self titled concept based unit on the novel All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. The focus of this unit is based on connections and humanity. The overview breaks down sub-concepts and sub-topics that are reviewed for the unit as well as a list of possible learning experiences. I have also created a choice map activity that facilitates critical thinking and problem based learning. There are also journal questions and links to possible articles that facilitate

This download has 5 Literature Reviews of Adolescent Literature that are made to look like newsletters to help engage students in classic adolescent novels and spark interest in adolescent readers. You can print them out and decorate your classroom with them, use them as models for literature reviews or book reports, use them as a part of your lesson plans for these books, etc. The books reviewed are: Life of Pi by Yann Martel Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (book 1) Persep

The purpose of this task is to relate the different themes in the readings over the course of the class to personal experiences. It makes literature matter by integrating content and application by connecting abstract ideas and themes of literature throughout the year. The task will be a year-long/semester long task that will allow students to continuously work and improve. At the end of the project, students are able to look back and reflect on the lessons learned through the semester and revi

This packet is full of prereading, during reading, post reading, and vocabulary strategies as well as a summative assessment project on superheroes. This is a project I worked on during graduate school where we created unit activities based on Kylene Beer's research in reading strategies where we rationalized our work and instruction so everything is in great detail and founded in research. These activities explore the elements of the original Superhero -- the Scarlet Pimpernel-- as well as th

This is a satire packet over The Princess Bride. It is designed for the film, but it would be great to use alongside the book as well. These worksheets ask students to find satire throughout the movie through characterization, semantics, the three types of irony, and the different genres Goldman makes satirical (love, life, sports, publishing industry/commerce, government, etc.)

I want my students to write their own story about themselves. It is important to know where you come from before you start your new life! Here is the project assignment page I used.

I have been trying to teach vocabulary to my students in different ways rather than just making flash cards and writing sentences, so I have begun incorporating drama strategies. This strategy is highly scaffolded and can be done in small groups, large classes, etc. It is a drama strategy that allows students to write a scene from a play using their list and then acting out those scenes with friends and making up games (kind of like a Whose Line is it Anyway style of class)

After assigning an analytical essay, I noticed my students all struggled with organization and narrative flow. I decided to make this as a guide to help them write a better essay. It is both a model text and an instructional essay that takes them through the process of writing a topic sentence, transitioning ideas, and properly incorporating quotes in a way that has narrative flow and does not feel jumbled. There are footnotes all throughout the essay and there is a step by step page for writi

These are powerpoint notes on Existentialism. They are given before a unit on existentialism in which Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, The Truman Show, and What's Eating Gilbert Grape, or any other Existentialist texts may be taught

It was dark when you were tossed out of your bed and onto the cabin floor. The ship rocked back and forth so hard you could hardly stand up to run to the top deck. You run to the life boats, but a huge wave comes and everything goes dark again. The ship has capsized and you are swimming wildly for your life. You and and 4 others have managed to use some debris as a raft to float to a nearby abandoned island. There is only one problem: there isn't enough room for all of you. Someone must be k