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.
Help middle and high school students gain better perspective on the art of poetry with this accessible activity for ELA settings, particularly Creative Writing classes. Students will explore an abstract concept and write an 11-line poem that makes the concept come alive with sensory description. In addition to a template, a prewriting document is provided. Consider using this resource as a holiday-themed activity or saving it as an emergency substitute lesson. All materials are delivered in both Word Document and PDF formats.
Help middle and high school students gain better perspective on the art of poetry with this accessible activity for ELA settings, particularly Creative Writing classes. Students will write American cinquains: five-line poems following a syllabic structure of 2-4-6-8-2. In addition to exemplars, a prewriting document is provided. Consider using this resource as a bell-ringer activity. All materials are delivered in both Word Document and PDF formats.
Help middle and high school students gain better perspective on the art of poetry with this accessible activity for ELA settings, particularly Creative Writing classes. Students will write traditional haikus: three-line poems following a syllabic structure of 5-7-5. In addition to exemplars, a prewriting document is provided. Consider using this resource as a bell-ringer activity. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
Help middle and high school students gain better perspective on the art of poetry with this accessible activity for ELA settings, particularly Creative Writing classes. Students will write butterfly cinquains: nine-line poems following a syllabic structure. In addition to an exemplar, a prewriting document is provided. Consider using this resource as a bell-ringer activity or saving it as an emergency substitute lesson. All materials are delivered in both Word Document and PDF formats.
Help middle and high school students gain better perspective on the art of poetry with this accessible activity for ELA settings, particularly Creative Writing classes. Students will write a five-stanza, ten-line poem in which they reflect on their personal evolution, hence the name self-image poem. Consider using this resource as a bell-ringer activity or saving it as an emergency substitute lesson. Materials are delivered in both Word Document and PDF formats.
Help middle and high school students gain better perspective on the art of poetry with this accessible activity for ELA settings, particularly Creative Writing classes. Students will indulge their curiosity of the world by pondering thought-provoking questions beginning with the phrase “What if” and generate a free-verse poem of at least 20 lines. In addition to a template, a prewriting document is provided. All materials are delivered in both Word Document and PDF formats.
This resource serves as an engaging supplemental resource for high school English classes, especially Creative Writing. Students will write an elegy, following traditional elegiac stanza format: a quatrain with A-B-A-B rhyme scheme wherein each line is written in iambic pentameter. In addition to an exemplar, a prewriting document is provided. Consider using this resource to support a unit on Shakespearean writing. All materials are delivered in both Word Document and PDF formats.
Help middle and high school students gain better perspective on the art of poetry with this accessible activity for ELA settings, particularly Creative Writing classes. Students will write a huitain: a single stanza of 8 lines, each containing 8 syllables, which follows a consistent rhyme scheme (ABABBCBC). Materials are delivered in both Word Document and PDF formats.
This resource serves as a supplemental resource for high school English classes, especially Creative Writing. Students will write limericks: humorous, five-line, single-stanza poems following a standard rhyme scheme of A-A-B-B-A. In addition to exemplars, a prewriting document is provided. Consider using this resource as an emergency substitute lesson. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
Help middle and high school students gain better perspective on the art of poetry with this accessible activity for ELA settings, particularly Creative Writing classes. Students will generate an autobiographical poem that introduces them to their teachers, focusing on various aspects of their lives: their beliefs, their dreams, their needs, their influence on others, and more. In addition, this template makes for a fitting introductory activity for long-term substitute teachers. A prewriting document is provided. All materials are delivered in both Word Document and PDF formats.
Help middle and high school students gain better perspective on the art of poetry with this accessible activity for ELA settings, particularly Creative Writing classes. Students will write a nonet, which is a nine-line poem following a syllabic structure. In addition to an exemplar, a prewriting document is provided. Consider using this resource as a bell-ringer activity or saving it as an emergency substitute lesson. All materials are delivered in both Word Document and PDF formats.
Help middle and high school students gain better perspective on the art of poetry with this accessible activity for ELA settings, particularly Creative Writing classes. Students will choose a color that resonates with them in a positive way and generate an original poem exploring a variety of concepts they associate with their chosen colors. This template also makes for a fitting emergency sub plan activity. A prewriting worksheet is provided. All materials are delivered in both Word Document and PDF formats.
Help middle and high school students gain better perspective on the art of poetry with this accessible activity for ELA settings, particularly Creative Writing classes. Students will write a dizain: a single stanza of 10 lines, each containing 10 syllables, which follows a consistent rhyme scheme (ABABBCCDCD). Materials are delivered in both Word Document and PDF formats.
Help middle and high school students gain better perspective on the art of poetry with this accessible activity for ELA settings, particularly Creative Writing classes. Students will practice writing poetry with syllabic structure and explore a guilty pleasure that resonates with them. In addition to a template, an exemplar and prewriting document are provided. Teachers may consider using this resource as an engaging bell-ringer activity. All materials are delivered in both Word Document and PDF formats.
Help middle and high school students gain better perspective on the art of poetry with this accessible activity for ELA settings, particularly Creative Writing classes. Students will write a three-stanza poem in which they engage in self-reflection and exhibit growth mindset. Each stanza varies in tense: the simple past (first stanza), the present continuous (second stanza), and simple future (third stanza). In addition to a template, a prewriting document is provided. Consider using this resource as a bell-ringer activity or saving it as an emergency substitute lesson. All materials are delivered in both Word Document and PDF formats.
Create a structured classroom environment and introduce “The Wife’s Story” by Ursula K. Le Guin with this bell ringer writing prompt for high school. Students will reflect on relevant topics including the theme of betrayal and the contrast between human and animal sensory experiences. Sample responses are provided. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. By engaging with this start-of-class activity, students will:
Settle into class quickly and/or transition from previous activities or periods
Engage in reflective and/or critical thinking
Be made aware of subject matter to be addressed in works of fiction
Activate prior knowledge
Be better prepared to communicate ideas during small- and large-group discussions
Aid their teachers in understanding their personal experiences and points of view
This editable assessment measures general comprehension and holds students accountable for the assigned reading of Aesop’s fable “The Fox and the Crow.” Delivered in Word Document format, this quiz includes an answer key.
Learning targets addressed include:
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the appropriate definition of fable.
Students will demonstrate basic comprehension of the text.
Students will demonstrate knowledge of literary terminology by applying the concept to the text.
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the text’s theme by paraphrasing a logical message they discern.
A visually stimulating Power Point that provides context for the drama. Information covered includes Shakespeare’s background, The Globe Theatre, characteristics of Shakespearean performances, and character overviews.
For the purpose of engaging students, I will occasionally use humor to convey important ideas. This is intended to come across in this presentation.
Reinforce the standard conventions of academic writing and perform a quick check of students’ knowledge with this grammar worksheet on writing numerals. Delivered in printable Word Document format, as well as in PDF format, this resource conveniently offers the option to edit. An answer key is provided. By completing this activity, students will demonstrate an ability to:
Spell out single-digit whole numbers
Use numerals for whole numbers larger than nine
Spell out simple fractions and use hyphens
Express mixed fractions in figures unless they begin a sentence
Navigate the various acceptable ways to express decades and dates
Distinguish between when it is most appropriate to spell out the time of day in text versus using numerals
Hyphenate compound numbers from twenty-one through ninety-nine
Write out a number when it begins a sentence under all circumstances
And more