Teaching and Engaging High Schoolers

After the reading of Wiesel's novel Night, I had my students read an article "Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police: Kitty Genovese" to annotate and answer questions. The assignment takes minimally 2 days, but could be stretched out further with perhaps a Socratic Seminar or Philosophical Chairs. The questions which accompany the reading align with Night a bit, but can be modified. If not using with novel Night, this lesson could stand alone in between units, lessons or to introd

A hyper doc with all the links you need to start an introductory lesson on The Great Gatsby for the 1920s. Students will click on various links and complete a graphic organizer for their findings. This assignment can be used as an individual assignment or group activity. Students can even be broken into groups and each group can work through a different category on the doc and then report out to the class. Can be used in a direct instruction classroom or a student led classroom. Students ar

I came across a memoir/ personal narrative poetry unit while teaching remotely.  This resource is the entire resource for the unit. In this unit you will find resources for how to brainstorm a memoir through various book resource excerpts, video clips from movies, YouTube videos about poetry, various types of poems (poems don't all have to rhyme!- my students were amazed at this!), brainstorming questions, opening and closing questions, hyperdoc links and more! This is the best poetry unit I h

Included is an activity using blackout poetry and the trial case found in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Assignment includes the PDF of the trial case, directions, and sample blackout poetry examples. Students are utilizing the trial case found in the novel to create a blackout poetry work of art! All materials needed included.

This assignment is broken down into various stories discussed in chapter 4 of the book Night. Students, within small groups, are to read their assigned story, answer the brainstorming questions, and create a presentation to teach the rest of the class about the section they were assigned. The lesson is meant for students to take accountability for a provided section of text and also be able to explain their section well. My students did very well with this assignment and enjoyed breaking up t

I did a lesson on rhetoric with my students and to get them introduced to the topic, we analyzed songs. Students chose songs to decipher how rhetoric was being used in a three part assignment of choosing the songs, answering questions about the songs, and preparing for a Socratic Seminar where they would all share as a group about the songs they chose. Each student was required to write about two songs and needed to discuss at least one song in the Socratic Seminar. I have attached the three

During online learning, I found it difficult at first how to create lessons for my special education, LLD students for my Vocational Workshop elective course.  When I came up with the idea to have the students create a resume, references, and cover letter I realized this was actually something very valuable for the students to have both now and as they continue through high school. This particular assignment includes the templates and examples for rough and final draft resume, list of references

Students are given a number of cited passages from the book Night and must decipher if the examples are showing dehumanization or restoring humanity. Students must also answer a number of other questions once they come to their conclusion to support their points. Students may work with a partner or small group for this activity. Students are reminded they must make inferences to complete the chart appropriately.

This resource is better for lower levels or younger grades which includes the titles and definitions for ethos, pathos, and logos. Students are able to manipulate this chart easily, locate the titles and definitions, and then insert examples for each category. The definitions are direct and clear for students to interact well with and remember. Great resource.

This pre-reading activity for the novel 1984 allows students to be introduced to what is to come within the novel without giving too much away. The students will be able to make real world connections before being introduced to the literature. The students will be able to use their own opinion when facing the passage and can discuss their answers either in small groups, with a partner, or as a whole class.

Attached you will find a basic time management assignment. I created this assignment towards the end of the school year with a senior elective course (AVID 4). As my students were soon graduating, I found it important to discuss time management as this is something most college students need extra assistance with. The assignment includes links to articles about time management, prompting questions, and a section for an open response. This assignment was used in a traditional, in-person clas

This is an anticipation guide for the novel Tuesdays with Morrie. I used this while teaching remotely with my 12th grade English Resource room class, but it can be modified for any level by changing the complexity of the questions. Both open ended and strongly agree/disagree type questions are listed. I was encouraged and surprised by some of the answers left by my students! If used in a traditional classroom, this can be done more interactively where students move to particular parts of the

Students are choosing a leader they feel worthy to lead in the book Animal Farm. Students are creating a campaign to have the animal of their choosing elected as leader. Students have a number of options to choose from with their campaign project including but limited to a speech or commercial. Assignment includes brainstorming questions for students and detailed specifics about what must be included. My students had a great time with this lesson and it became one of their favorites within t

This resource was used prior to beginning a research paper/project. The students are required to watch a video and respond to a bunch of questions. The main topic is the CRAAP Test (the freshmen get a kick out of the name). This lesson serves as a great start to any research paper/project unit and is not specific to any particular unit. I personally used this to start a Night research project/paper both in a traditional, in person classroom and also virtually in an online classroom.

This handout is used for students to understand the allegory behind the novel Animal Farm. Students can either research information individually, a partner, or small group to find the given answers for the notes. The notes can also be discussed as a whole class. Notes are detailed and in my class we acted out the responses of the notes for students to visually see what was occuring in history and why this is represented through the text Animal Farm.

*may be adapted for other lessons* One of my favorite activities with the freshmen! Students individually answer a series of questions preparing them for the reading of Animal Farm (ex: All humans are created equal) and are then instructed to either strongly agree, neutral, or strongly disagree on a 5 point scale depending upon their answer. When students have completed answering the questions for the scale there are two short answer questions as well which focus on the United States and thoug

The following product is a reading test which aligns with chapters 9-12.  The intention of this test is for students to use their books to answer the given questions which are quotes from the novel.  The question type varies from comprehension to interference to utilizing knowledge of various literary devices.  Although the test is intended for open book, the students need to read the novel with the class in order to truly be successful.  Test is multiple choice except the last two questions whi

All materials included! You do not need to be teaching this novel to benefit from this great resource! Here you will find Dear Teacher sample poems by Sonya Sones, questions, and a template for students to create their own Dear Teacher poem. I did this lesson with seniors towards the end of the year and it was a nice way to have students reflect on their high school career. I used this lesson during remote/virtual learning, but certainly could be just as meaningful (if not more) within a trad

The Crucible Act 1 Guided Questions. Can be used for multiple levels, for guided reading assistance during class or for homework.

Students will manipulate several themes located within The Crucible Act I to discuss in a jigsaw formate where they will work with a small group and report out. The graphic organizer can also be used in other ways, as well, where the student can remain in a group working on each theme, or work on the entire handout individually. Can be used for multiple levels.