Thoughts take Wing

Stimulate discussion and activate student interest in reading Fahrenheit 451 with this classroom tested interactive PowerPoint presentation. Slides relate to the students' lives, their use of technology, and their opinions about technology and books, tying in to major themes of the work. This presentation also includes four slides preparing students for the symbolism in the book. The last slide is a link to an on-line encyclopedia article about Ray Bradbury and his work (including his view on

Engage students with a Power Point on writing a narrative. The lesson includes an introductory slide plus seven slides that teach how to create an interesting narrative, whether autobiographical or fiction. Topics covered include the opening line, descriptive writing, and original language. Each topic includes a slide with example sentences for students to evaluate and a slide with instructional tips. Comments for the teacher are included. Writing a Narrative by Rebekah Steffens is licensed

Teach students to use a knowledge of prefixes and suffixes to determine the meaning of words. This study could be completed over two classes (or parts of classes) as a part of a word origin/ etymology study, introduction to studying Greek and Latin roots, with a lesson on SAT vocabulary words, or independently. The Word Document file includes the following: 1) a chart for students to test their knowledge of the meaning of 14 prefixes and 6 suffixes by choosing from four options per word 2) a

This Freebie is a basic practice worksheet for pronoun case and agreement. There are fourteen case questions where students select the correct pronoun from two options. A wide variety of types of questions includes who and whom, reflexive, with comparisons, its and it's, as well as nominative and objective forms. The next group includes ten agreement questions that deal with indefinite pronouns, collective nouns, either/ or, and avoiding shift in person. Students fill in the blanks for these

Students fill in fifteen blanks with the poetic device used in the line or lines excerpted from nine different well-known poems. Poets include Shakespeare, John Donne, Robert Burns, Whitman, Dickinson, Frost, Sandburg, Langston Hughes, and Dylan Thomas. Students choose from the following: simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, imagery, repetition, alliteration, consonance, assonance, or onomatopoeia. The worksheet is two pages, and the answer key is provided.

For a fun, original way to look at Shakespeare's sonnets or English sonnets in general, read this original sonnet with your students. It serves as both a tribute to and a parody of the ideas of Sonnet 18 without using the original as a crutch. The opening lines read as follows: "Shall I compare you to Shakespeare today? You are of as wordy a temperament." and continue later on with "But Shakespeare’s far-reaching fame shall not fade nor students cease to wander through his page..." Read on t

Why use boring generic sentences to practice subject/ verb agreement when students can read about influential real people? This is not instructional material but is a practice worksheet or quiz with twelve sentences where the students choose the correct verb out of a pair to achieve subject/ verb agreement. The agreement problems include compound subjects, intervening phrases, collective nouns, etc.. The sentences are about famous African Americans from the 1800's until now. At the end of t

This worksheet introduces etymology focusing on the following methods of entry: borrowed words, blends, clipped, compound, from names and acronyms. Mythology and Greek and Latin roots are not addressed. The 1 1/2 page student worksheet begins with lines for students to take notes on and define "etymology" and the previously mentioned methods. A paragraph also introduces the concept of a living language and coined words. There are fourteen words for students to look up the etymololgy for plus

Issues regarding justice, restitution, and the Holocaust drive the movie The Woman in Gold, based on the true story of Maria Altmann and her quest to repossess family paintings by Gustav Klimt. This handout guides students' viewing of the movie Woman in Gold and introduces big questions for students to reflect on and write about. The handout can be used with ELA classes, units relating to the Holocaust, in art classes, and in history classes. The fourteen questions cover a range of levels fro

Introduce the concept of dialect and its use by Mark Twain in this fourteen slide Powerpoint. This is a good introductory lesson for any Mark Twain novel or short story (the paraphrasing practice uses a quote from Tom Sawyer). The following slides are included: one title slide, five discussion starter slides polling students on their use and knowledge of dialect, two slides explaining dialect and its use in literature in general, five slides on Mark Twain and his use of dialect (including a pa

Poetry can be structured or free-verse. Here is a simple, structured format for students to begin putting down ideas and feelings about themselves. It is a variation of a cinquain, a five line poem, without prescribing the number of syllables. The worksheet includes a sample to give an idea of this original style, which I created. More personal and engaging than a Didactic cinquain, the format begins "I am a _________" and follows with descriptions, a simile or metaphor, and an imperative se

Students love this lesson! This includes a worksheet analyzing tone in original paragraphs, a short writing assignment, and presentation of the student writing to the whole class. Students enjoy being able to assume an attitude in their writing, collaborating with another student, and sharing their writing with the whole class. This lesson pairs well with essays or other reading selections focusing on tone and may also be used with the study of connotations. A previous introduction of tone

This Vocabulary Skills Test contains 25 questions. It includes 2 questions for students to separate prefixes and suffixes from base words, 6 multiple choice questions for identifying word meaning from prefixes and suffixes, 4 multiple choice context clue questions, 2 context clue questions where students write the definition, and 11 matching questions relating to etymology from borrowed words, acronyms, clipped words, blends, compound words, and from names. There are 2 extra credit questions o

Review plot, setting, and characterization in Anne Frank: the Diary of a Young Girl with this PowerPoint review. Created for TurningPoint, an interactive group response system, the slides will also open on PowerPoint to be used without the group response system. The presentation contains one title slide, 26 review question slides which are a mix of multiple choice and true/false, one slide with multiple discussion questions, and one slide with a quote from the book for discussion. Answers are

Improve communication regarding expectations for students in a supervised study hall or tutoring session. This handout is a checklist for English Language Arts teachers to photocopy and have on hand to be able to quickly check appropriate directions for a student to follow. Heading topics within the handout include Mechanics of Writing, Voice, Organization, Ideas, and Academic Honesty as well as Study Techniques, and Tests and Quizzes. There is the option to require the sheet to be signed and

This vocabulary PowerPoint practice reviews 20 words from a companion list (of 20 words) from the Seamus Heaney translation of Beowulf. The review is appropriate for British Literature or AP Literature students. Six slides use pictures to review the words and fourteen slides use questions with multiple choice answers. A variety of types of questions engage different levels of understanding (Bloom's). Two questions have answers that may vary and that connect with personal understanding and appli

This vocabulary list contains 20 words from the Seamus Heaney translation of Beowulf and includes at least one line citation for easy reference and context for each word. The list is appropriate for British Literature or AP Literature students. To further individual student vocabulary growth, ask students to record additional words that are new to them.

Commas are clearly explained with the inclusion of examples, tips, and practice sentences in this Powerpoint enhanced with animations. The five comma rules addressed include coordinating conjunctions, coordinate adjectives, items in a series, introductory words or phrases, and non-essential phrases. One or two slides introduce each comma rule followed by a practice slide and an answer slide for each rule. There is a title page followed by seventeen lesson slides.

Easily integrate vocabulary building with your students' study of Beowulf. This bundle includes a vocabulary list and a PowerPoint practice. The vocabulary list contains 20 words from the Seamus Heaney translation of Beowulf and includes at least one line citation for easy reference and context for each word. The list is appropriate for British Literature or AP Literature students. The vocabulary PowerPoint practice reviews 20 words from a companion list (of 20 words) from the Seamus Heaney t

Test students' use of the commonly confused irregular verbs "to lay" and "to lie." This download can be used as a quiz or as a practice worksheet. There are ten fill-in-the blank questions covering the various tenses of each verb. There are two copies of the quiz on the paper (to hand out as half sheets). The answer key is on a separate sheet.