With a decade of teaching experience, I specialize in developing student-centered ELA activities and unit plans that foster creativity and critical thinking. My resources have been tried and tested in more than 74,000 classrooms worldwide since 2013.
With a decade of teaching experience, I specialize in developing student-centered ELA activities and unit plans that foster creativity and critical thinking. My resources have been tried and tested in more than 74,000 classrooms worldwide since 2013.
Challenge high school students to think critically and make inferences as they read Kay Boyle’s short story “Astronomer’s Wife.” From applying knowledge of literary devices to inferring the intended effects of the author’s narrative techniques, students will be supported by a set of rigorous questions complementing the text. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this worksheet, students will:
Read for literal comprehension
Infer the intended effects of the author’s word choices and narrative techniques
Explore how characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Articulate key similarities between two situations
Contrast the behaviors of two characters
Apply knowledge of literary devices including irony and foreshadowing
Support claims and inferences with relevant evidence and sound reasoning
Write about literature with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss literature
Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement Kay Boyle’s short story “Astronomer’s Wife.” A vocabulary application worksheet, a crossword puzzle, a word search game, and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats.
By engaging with these activities, students will determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words and discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed:
austere
chide
corporeal
countenance
falter
feign
foreboding
insolence
lucidity
mettle
relentless
sprightly
stately
taut
uncouth
warily
Challenge students to move beyond surface-level comprehension with this close reading inference worksheet covering Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Soldier’s Home,” a piece of historical fiction focusing on the effects of war on a Marine who returns from fighting in World War I. From applying knowledge of literary devices to making inferences about the author’s intentions, readers will be supported by a set of rigorous questions complementing the text. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this close reading activity, students will:
Read for literal comprehension
Infer the intended effects of the author’s word choices and narrative techniques
Discern the main conflict of the narrative
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Make rational predictions about the protagonist’s future
Apply knowledge of literary devices including metaphor and situational irony
Evaluate whether the author intended the audience to be more critical of the protagonist’s morals or those of society at large
Support claims and inferences with relevant evidence and sound reasoning
Write about literature with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss literature
Facilitate reading comprehension and sharpen literary craft analysis skills with this bundle of activities and assessments covering Carl Stephenson’s short story “Leiningen Versus the Ants.” A plot-based quiz, a close reading worksheet, a vocabulary application activity, a crossword puzzle, a word search game, the public domain narrative, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By engaging with these materials, students will:
Read for literal comprehension
Consult reference materials to learn and verify word meanings as needed
Choose the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences
Infer the intended effects of the author’s word choices and narrative techniques
Conduct brief research as needed to answer a question about historical context
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Make rational predictions about the protagonist’s future behavior
Apply knowledge of literary devices including allusion, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, personification, simile, and situational irony
Consider themes in context
Support claims and inferences with relevant evidence and sound reasoning
Write about literature with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss literature
Challenge students to move beyond surface-level comprehension with this close reading inference worksheet covering the short story “Leiningen Versus the Ants” by Carl Stephenson. From applying knowledge of literary devices to making inferences about the author’s intentions, readers will be supported by a set of rigorous questions complementing the text. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this close reading activity, students will:
Read for literal comprehension
Infer the intended effects of the author’s word choices and narrative techniques
Conduct brief research as needed to answer a question about historical context
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Make rational predictions about the protagonist’s future behavior
Apply knowledge of literary devices including allusion, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, personification, simile, and situational irony
Consider themes in context
Support claims and inferences with relevant evidence and sound reasoning
Write about literature with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss literature
Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement Carl Stephenson’s short story “Leiningen Versus the Ants.” A definitions handout, vocabulary application worksheet, a crossword puzzle, a word search game, and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats.
By engaging with these activities, students will determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words and discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed:
alacrity
alluvium
alter
apparition
appreciable
cistern
curt
denizen
fervidly
forlorn
fusillade
hasten
horde
immolate
imprecation
impregnable
industrious
infallible
inundation
listlessly
malaise
ravenous
raze
saurian
strenuous
weir
Facilitate reading comprehension and sharpen literary craft analysis skills with this bundle of activities and assessments covering Alice Munro’s coming-of-age short story “A Red Dress.” A plot-based quiz, a close reading worksheet, a vocabulary application activity, a crossword puzzle, a word search game, the public domain narrative, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By engaging with these materials, students will:
Read for literal comprehension
Consult reference materials to learn and verify word meanings as needed
Choose the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences
Infer the intended effects of the author’s word choices and narrative techniques
Describe tone in context
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Discern the functions of several characters (Lonnie, Mary, and Raymond)
Apply knowledge of literary devices including metaphor, onomatopoeia, personification, situational irony, and symbolism
Support claims and inferences with relevant evidence and sound reasoning
Write about literature with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss literature
Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement Alice Munro’s short story “A Red Dress.” A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats.
Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: acute, barbaric, desolate, dismay, docility, exuberant, jut, languidly, mutter, obscene, oppressive, pact, palpitation, premonition, rapt, relish, reluctantly, scornful, stout, sulky, sullenness, treadle, and whom.
By engaging with these activities, students will:
Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words
Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings
Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences
Challenge students to move beyond surface-level comprehension with this close reading inference worksheet covering the short story “A Red Dress” by Alice Munro. From applying knowledge of literary devices to making inferences about the author’s intentions, readers will be supported by a set of rigorous questions complementing the text. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this close reading activity, students will:
Read for literal comprehension
Infer the intended effects of the author’s word choices and narrative techniques
Describe tone in context
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Discern the functions of several characters (Lonnie, Mary, and Raymond)
Apply knowledge of literary devices including metaphor, onomatopoeia, personification, situational irony, and symbolism
Support claims and inferences with relevant evidence and sound reasoning
Write about literature with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss literature
Facilitate reading comprehension and sharpen literary craft analysis skills with this bundle of activities and assessments covering Gina Berriault’s short story “The Stone Boy.” A plot-based quiz, a close reading worksheet, a vocabulary application activity, a crossword puzzle, a word search game, the public domain narrative, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By engaging with these materials, students will:
Read for literal comprehension
Consult reference materials to learn and verify word meanings as needed
Choose the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences
Evaluate the role setting plays in terms of advancing the story
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Evaluate whether the parents’ response to the tragedy is fair to the protagonist
Apply knowledge of literary devices including foreshadowing, onomatopoeia, personification, simile, situational irony, and more
Consider themes in context
Support claims and inferences with relevant evidence and sound reasoning
Write about literature with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss literature
Challenge students to move beyond surface-level comprehension with this close reading inference worksheet covering the short story “The Stone Boy” by Gina Berriault. From applying knowledge of literary devices to making inferences about the author’s intentions, readers will be supported by a set of rigorous questions complementing the text. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this close reading activity, students will:
Read for literal comprehension
Infer the intended effects of the author’s word choices and narrative techniques
Evaluate the role setting plays in terms of advancing the story
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Evaluate whether the parents’ response to the tragedy is fair to the protagonist
Apply knowledge of literary devices including foreshadowing, onomatopoeia, personification, simile, situational irony, and more
Consider themes in context
Support claims and inferences with relevant evidence and sound reasoning
Write about literature with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss literature
Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement Gina Berriault’s short story “The Stone Boy.” A vocabulary application worksheet, a crossword puzzle, a word search game, and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats.
By engaging with these activities, students will determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words and discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed:
alter
compunction
conspicuous
customary
derision
discord
dispel
emphatically
enthralled
fodder
humbly
lanky
meekly
merciless
nimble
reluctantly
subordinate
trough
wanly
Use these vocabulary enrichment activities covering Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter to frontload assigned readings and enhance comprehension of plot. Alternatively, stash these materials in an emergency sub folder to keep students meaningfully engaged in the novel during unexpected teacher absences. Included are 5 vocabulary application activities, 5 crossword puzzles, 5 word search games, and answer keys. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats.
By engaging with these activities, students will determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words and discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences. A total of 129 words are addressed:
Abashed, abhorrence, abode, abstruse, accost, admonish, alloy, appellation, assent, augur, bedizen, behoof, bequeath, beseech, besmirch, bestow, blight, boorish, caper, caprice, chirurgical, colloquy, commence, conjecture, contrive, contumely, cordial, counsel, countenance, decorously, defunct, deleterious, demeanor, desolate, despotic, dolefully, duplicity, eccentricity, effluence, eldritch, emaciated, eminent, emissary, emolument, etherealize, evanescent, evoke, exhortation, feign, fervent, forlorn, fortitude, futile, gait, gallant, gesticulate, guillotine, haggard, heedful, ignominious, imbibe, imbue, imperious, implore, importunate, inauspicious, incredulity, indefatigable, inimical, inscrutable, invariably, inviolable, irksomeness, irrefragable, jocularity, loquacity, lurid, magistrate, meddle, meed, mien, mirthful, misanthropy, multitudinous, necromancy, nugatory, obstinacy, pacify, palliate, panoply, pathos, petulant, piety, plashy, plebian, plumage, potentate, precede, precocity, preliminary, principal, probity, propinquity, quaff, repudiate, retribution, sagacious, scowl, scrofula, scurrilous, sedulous, sojourn, somniferous, sportive, sunder, superfluous, torpid, transitory, tremulous, tumult, unadulterated, upbraid, utopia, vehemently, venerable, vicissitude, wan, warily, and wellnigh.
Use these vocabulary enrichment activities covering Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter (chapters 21, 22, 23, and 24) to frontload assigned readings and enhance comprehension of plot. A definitions handout, crossword puzzle, word search activity, vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats.
By engaging with these activities, students will determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words and discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed:
bequeath
boorish
commence
cordial
counsel
demeanor
desolate
etherealize
fortitude
futile
gallant
indefatigable
jocularity
mirthful
necromancy
nugatory
pathos
plebian
preliminary
principal
probity
quaff
repudiate
scowl
sportive
tumult
Use these vocabulary enrichment activities covering Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter (chapters 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20) to frontload assigned readings and enhance comprehension of plot. A definitions handout, crossword puzzle, word search activity, vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats.
By engaging with these activities, students will determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words and discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed:
alloy
blight
colloquy
deleterious
dolefully
duplicity
eccentricity
gait
gesticulate
haggard
imperious
irrefragable
loquacity
meddle
misanthropy
petulant
plashy
potentate
precede
precocity
scrofula
sedulous
transitory
upbraid
vehemently
vicissitude
Use these vocabulary enrichment activities covering Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter (chapters 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14) to frontload assigned readings and enhance comprehension of plot. A definitions handout, crossword puzzle, word search activity, vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats.
By engaging with these activities, students will determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words and discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed:
abhorrence
abode
abstruse
accost
admonish
assent
beseech
conjecture
decorously
defunct
despotic
effluence
emaciated
evoke
forlorn
imbibe
implore
inimical
irksomeness
meed
multitudinous
palliate
propinquity
scurrilous
somniferous
torpid
tremulous
Use these vocabulary enrichment activities covering Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter (chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) to frontload assigned readings and enhance comprehension of plot. A definitions handout, crossword puzzle, word search activity, vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats.
By engaging with these activities, students will determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words and discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed:
appellation
bedizen
caper
caprice
chirurgical
eldritch
emissary
emolument
exhortation
fervent
imbue
importunate
incredulity
inscrutable
inviolable
lurid
pacify
panoply
piety
plumage
sagacious
sunder
superfluous
wan
warily
wellnigh
Use these vocabulary enrichment activities covering Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter (chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4) to frontload assigned readings and enhance comprehension of plot. A definitions handout, crossword puzzle, word search activity, vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats.
By engaging with these activities, students will determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words and discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed:
abashed
augur
behoof
besmirch
bestow
contrive
contumely
countenance
eminent
evanescent
feign
guillotine
heedful
ignominious
inauspicious
invariably
magistrate
mien
obstinacy
sojourn
retribution
unadulterated
utopia
venerable
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate assessment planning responsibilities with this bundle of plot-based quizzes covering the entirety of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Each quiz may double as a guided reading worksheet to support engagement and promote accountability. Answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats.