11th Grade English Language Arts Unit Plans (by price, low to high)

This 45-page EDITABLE unit focuses on poems about cultural identity! The unit on promises to elicit dynamic engagement from all students without compromising on intellectual rigor.

The thirteen poems are divided into two reading packets, with the first packet focusing cultural roots and affirming ancestors, and the second packet focusing on cultural hybridity. Each reading packet is followed by a classwork packet that contains a quiz on literary devices, discussion questions for some of the poems, quick writes, and a creative writing assignment. Finally, a third packet features an analytical writing assignment, sample student paper, and glossary of literary devices.

Here's a detailed account of what you'll find in this 45-page curriculum:

• Homework Packets with Poems: The two homework packets contain a total of 13 love poems by award-winning poets such as Elizabeth Acevedo, Maya Angelou, Sandra Cisneros, Lisa Parker, Nate Marshall, Clint Smith, and others. (15 pages)

• Literary Devices Glossary: A glossary with definitions and examples of the various types of figurative language, imagery, sound devices, and syntactic devices. Many teachers already have a glossary of literary devices, but I'm providing this in case you need one. (2 pages)

• Literary Devices Quizzes: Open each class with a quiz of 10 questions to assess whether students can accurately identify the literary devices found in poems from the packet: metaphor, personification, symbolism, imagery, alliteration, etc. Answer keys included. (4 pages).

• Discussion Questions: This unit features a list of discussion questions for three poems featured in the homework packets. The discussion questions will ensure that each class discussion is focused and productive. Every discussion question is grounded in concrete textual details and challenges students to arrive at lucid interpretive insights! The questions lend themselves to a range of different pedagogical uses: 1) to focus students’ thinking prior to beginning a discussion, 2) to prompt in-class writing, 3) to assign written reflections for homework, etc. Guaranteed to elicit student engagement and foster deep thinking! Answer keys included. (15 pages)

• Quick Writes: The quick writes give students an opportunity to capture and refine the best ideas generated in the discussion. Quick writes can also help reticent students to gather their thoughts so they'll feel ready and eager to contribute. (3 pages)

• Analytical Writing Assignment: Challenge students to take their interpretations one step further by writing an analytical paper on a poem of their choice. The assignment sheet contains detailed instructions for how to generate a formalist analysis of a poem (analyzing how the poem's formal features contribute to its meaning). This kind of formalist analysis is exactly what students are asked to generate on the AP Literature exam! Sample paper included. (3 pages)

This entire 45-page unit will come to you in two separate formats: Word *and* PDF. Because the Word doc is fully editable, you'll be able to customize the materials to suit the skill levels of your students — year after year! If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to access all of the materials as a PDF — which is easy to navigate and quick to print!

My store is called “Rigorous Resources” because all of the resources contain rigorous content that will motivate students to engage in thought-provoking and productive discussions. Thank you for choosing “Rigorous Resources”!!

Happy teaching!

Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.

adamjernigan@gmail.com

Links to all of the poetry units in this collection:

Poetry Unit #1: Sensory Imagery in Poetry

Poetry Unit #2: Figurative Language in Poetry

Poetry Unit #3: Love Poems

Poetry Unit #4: Ethical Dilemmas in Poetry

Poetry Unit #5: Family Dynamics in Poetry

Store: https://www.TeachShare.com/Store/Rigorous-Resources

Teaching a play by William Shakespeare? Want to provide students with a fascinating overview of the author's life, the construction of the Globe Theater, the language of early-modern English, the rhythm of iambic pentameter, and more? This 50-page EDITABLE resource has EVERYTHING you could possibly want to introduce ANY play by William Shakespeare....

This comprehensive bundle includes a Biography of the Bard, an account of the construction of the Globe Theater, handouts and exercises to help students understand Shakespeare's language, a Shakespearean insult generator, worksheets and quizzes introducing students to iambic pentameter, and more.

Here's what you'll find inside this 50-page resource bundle:

• William Shakespeare Biography: This 4-page biography of William Shakespeare explains the conditions of his early life and schooling in Stratford-upon-Avon, how he became involved in the London theater scene, the impact which the death of his son Hamnet had upon his writing career, his gradual transition from comedies to tragedies, and more. Includes a comprehension check with answer key. (5 pages)

• The Globe Theater: A 2-page handout on what inspired Shakespeare's acting company to build the Globe Theater. A dispute with the landlord of their old theater motivated Shakespeare's company to meet with lanterns in the middle of the night, disassemble their old playhouse, and transport the timber across the Thames River to the plot of land where they would build the Globe. How did the construction of the Globe infuse new life into Shakespeare's company? How would Shakespeare make reference to the Globe in plays written after its construction in 1599? Includes a comprehension check with answer key. (4 pages)

• Shakespeare's Language: A 3-page handout on the crucial topic of Shakespeare's language. Literary scholars have pointed out that "the life of Shakespeare's plays is in the language." What's so special about Shakespeare's language? Did he really invent 1,700 new words? What kinds of words did he invent, and how do they contribute to the meaning of his plays? Includes a comprehension check with answer key. (5 pages)

• Renaissance Glossary: This 2-page glossary features 50 words that appear frequently within Shakespeare's plays but are no longer used in modern-day speech: adieu, beseech, ere, fain, naught, prithee, troth, wot, etc. Familiarizing students with this words will make their reading experience much smoother! This glossary includes a definition for each word as well as an example of how it's used in Shakespeare's plays. (2 pages)

• Translation Practice: This 2-page worksheet features 20 brief quotations from a diverse range of Shakespeare's plays. Challenge students to translate each quotation into modern English. This exercise gives students a change to demonstrate their understanding of the words in the Renaissance Glossary. Includes answer key. (4 pages)

• Decode the Idiom: This 1-page worksheet features 12 quotations that feature idioms which Shakespeare invented: wear my heart on my sleeve, all that glitters is not gold, I have a charmed life, as good luck would have it, and more. Challenge students to identify the idiom by filling in the word missing from the quotation. Then have students explain the meaning of the idiom. Includes answer key. (2 pages)

• Blank Verse: A 2-page handout on the when and why Shakespeare employs blank verse (i.e. unrhymed iambic pentameter). This handout explains how blank verse emerged as a popular verse form as well as what distinguished Shakespeare's usage of blank verse. When and why do some of Shakespeare's characters break with the regular rhythms of blank verse? Why might some characters alternate between using verse and prose? (2 pages)

• Scansion Practice: Students learn to identify iambic pentameter by scanning 10 well-known quotations from Shakespeare's plays. Includes answer key. (4 pages)

• Quizzes on Meter (x2): The 2 quizzes on meter are designed to asses whether students are able to accurately scan Shakespearean lines. Each quiz features 10 quotations from Shakespeare's plays. Includes answer keys. (8 pages)

• Shakespearean Insult Generator: Shakespeare's characters are exceptionally creative in their elaboration of insults. Indeed, some scholars have suggested that the insults in Shakespeare's plays amount to their own education in wit. If your students are sufficiently mature, you could use this exercise to invite them to generate their own original Shakespearean insults. (2 pages)

The resource will download as a Zip folder which contains the entire 50-page unit in two separate formats: Word Doc *and* PDF. Because the Word Doc is fully EDITABLE, you'll be able to customize it to match your teaching style and/or the skill levels of your students — year after year! If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to access a PDF version of the full unit — which is easy to navigate and quick to print!

If you have questions about ANYTHING related to Shakespeare, please don't hesitate to get in touch! This unit was designed by a Ph.D. in English who has devoted over 20 years to studying Shakespeare — and who currently teaches a course called "Shakespeare's Masterpieces." I LOVE hearing from fellow teachers who share a passion for great literature. Wishing you an amazing experience with the Swan of Avon!

Happy teaching!

Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.

adamjernigan@gmail.com

P.S. Don't forget to click “follow” for email updates on new products by Rigorous Resources. New products will be 50% OFF for the first 24 hours!

Feel free to check out these complete units on Shakespeare's masterpieces:

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Romeo and Juliet

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Julius Caesar

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Macbeth

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Othello

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Hamlet

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Much Ado About Nothing

DEEP DIVE into literature with Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart"

Perfect for Horror/Gothic Literature units in English

8 activities focusing on skills for fiction with this masterful text. Students will have the opportunity to practice comprehension, questioning the text, engage in class discussions, and respond.

What's Included:

1. Powerpoint Guide for each activity
2. Pre-reading activity to activate prior knowledge
3. Two Word Documents that allow students to form questions while reading, or make their own annotations (with the abridged text)
4. A guide to facilitate class discussions after reading
5. Summarizing activity and questions
6. Examining Story Elements page with plot diagram
7. Analyzing Characters practice
8. Inferencing
9. Constructed Responses

**All documents are in Word with a PDF - Also translated for Spanish speaking students - Answer Keys included (including sample responses for the constructed response)**

Depth not Breadth

The benefits of 'depth not breadth' are seen in many scholarly journals. When teachers & students spend more time with a text, they have more opportunities to interact and respond to literature.

• Deep Understanding: When students delve deeply into a text, they gain a thorough understanding of its themes, characters, and nuances. This deep engagement allows them to appreciate the complexities of literature, fostering a richer and more meaningful reading experience.
• Critical Thinking: Depth encourages critical thinking. Students learn to analyze, interpret, and evaluate texts, which enhances their ability to think critically about what they read. This skill is crucial not only for academic success but also for making informed decisions in everyday life.
• Skill Development: Engaging deeply with a few texts helps students develop essential literacy skills, such as close reading, analytical writing, and evidence-based argumentation. These skills are foundational for success in higher education and beyond.
• Connection and Retention: Students are more likely to form connections with the material and retain information when they study it in depth. This approach allows them to see the interconnectedness of themes and ideas, making the learning experience more cohesive and memorable.
• Personal Engagement: When students spend more time on a text, they have the opportunity to relate personally to the material, fostering a greater sense of engagement and motivation. Personal connections to literature can inspire a lifelong love of reading.
• Addressing Complexity: Many literary works are complex and require time to unpack fully. By focusing on depth, students can explore these complexities, enhancing their understanding and appreciation of literature's multifaceted nature.
• Application of Concepts: A deep dive into a text allows students to apply literary concepts and theories in a meaningful way. They can practice applying various analytical lenses, which deepens their understanding and prepares them for more advanced literary study.
• Quality Over Quantity: The quality of learning is often more important than the quantity. By focusing on a few key texts, teachers can ensure that students are engaging with high-quality literature and getting the most out of their reading experience.

When I read Night with my students, our focus is how imagery contributes to the author’s purpose of examining how cruelty fuels dehumanization. This product gives you everything you need to track the imagery, check for understanding with 2 paragraph response prompts, and a final test. I’ve included many examples you can refer to as exemplars for the tracking chart, sample paragraph responses, and the Essential Question that you can hang on your board. The final test includes 10 rigorous multiple choice questions that require students to analyze Wiesel's imagery, as well as a final paragraph response question. A thorough answer key for the test is included as well.

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This 25-page EDITABLE writing curriculum has everything you'll need to help your students write high-quality analytical papers on any literary text. This unit was originally designed for high school English teachers who want to help students improve their analytical writing. But teachers across other disciplines report that it has helped them to deliver clear and informative lessons on how to write high-quality expository essays.

Here are some highlights from this 25-page unit on analytical/expository writing:

• The Writing Process (Handout #1): This handout offers several tips about how to choose a topic for an analytical paper on literature. Encourage your students to use the writing process as an opportunity to deepen their knowledge about the text. (4 pages)

• The Intro Paragraph: Hook & Thesis (Handout #2): In the first page of this handout, students learn to identify and formulate the interpretive questions which they will hope to answer or solve while writing their papers. The challenge of "problem construction" will present most high school students with the opportunity to develop a new and exciting skill — one that will serve them well in college and beyond. In the second and third pages of this handout, students learn to write thesis statements that balance complexity with clarity. They learn to use grammatical subordination in order to generate a main claim that is sufficiently complex to anchor an entire paper. (4 pages)

• Body Paragraphs: Evidence & Analysis (Handout #3): In this handout, students learn about how "evidence" in the humanities differs from evidence in the sciences. Because evidence in the humanities is rarely factual or indisputable, student writers will always need to frame, unpack, and analyze their evidence. This handout offers several suggestions about how, as it were, to "make the evidence speak." It also offers strategies for how to organize evidence into a series of body paragraphs that build upon one another in a logical and compelling manner. (2 pages)

• Topic Sentences / Transitional Sentences (Handout #4): This handout offers advice about how students can use transitional expressions to clarify the logical connections between the claims in each of their topic sentences. It includes a list of different types of transitional expressions along with several examples. (2 pages)

• Precepts for Effective Prose (Handout #5): This handout features about a dozen precepts or "rules of thumb" that students should follow when writing academic papers. The handout contains brief paragraphs on each of the following topics: Avoid plot summary; Always use the present tense; Minimize intensifiers; Alternatives to writing "It says"!! (2 pages)

• Sample Introductory Paragraphs: Look at six introductory paragraphs from articles published by literary scholars in academic journals over the last decade. Invite students to reflect on what they find to be particularly effective — or ineffective —about each introductory paragraph. How does each writer hook the reader's interest? How do they construct an interpretive problem? How do they generate a complex thesis statement? (6 pages)

• Paper Outline Template: Invite students to use this template when generating the outlines for their analytical papers. (3 pages)

• Rubric: Use this rubric to evaluate the analytical papers that your students write in response to any literary text. (1 page)

The entire writing unit will come to you in two different formats: Word doc *and* PDF. Because the Word doc is editable, you'll be able to customize the materials to suit your teaching style and/or your students' skill levels — year after year! If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to access the entire unit as a PDF file, which is easy to navigate and quick to print!

Because I believe that teachers on TeachShare should be able to see what they're getting before they make a purchase, the preview for this resource provides access more than a dozen actual pages from the resource. Click on the green “preview” button to see exactly what you’ll get....

Thank you for choosing “Rigorous Resources”!!

Happy teaching!

Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.

adamjernigan@gmail.com

P.S. Don't forget to click “follow” for email updates on new products by Rigorous Resources. New products will be 50% OFF for the first 24 hours!

Feel free to check out these other resources on writing:

How to Write a College Application Essay

How to Write an Poem Analysis Essay (AP Lit FRQ 1)

How to Frame Quotations or Embed Evidence

Figurative Language Stations

This is a full unit plan for reading Lord of the Flies by William Golding through a choice of two different lenses: Psychology or Gender. You'll receive the full Unit Plan in a grid format, as well as every assignment for both lenses.

Students will be put in groups according to their chosen lens and will explore a number of resources pertaining to their lens. They'll complete a wide variety of assignments, including a Double Entry Journal, Socratic Seminar, Symbolism Word Splash and Explanation, Theme Formal Essay, and Characterization Creative Situational Writing. The directions and rubric are included for each assignment. Since it's in a Google Doc, it's all ready for you to post and have your students complete digitally, OR you can print it out and have then do it that way, too!

Please let me know if you have any questions! My students LOVED being in charge of their own learning by choosing how they would read the text and having all of the assignments laid out for them right from the beginning. Thanks for looking!

Nutcracker Literature Bundle: ($18 value)

Combines The Nutcracker and the Mouse King Picture Book Study and the Nutcracked Novel Study and Vocabulary Unit.

Nutcracker and the Mouse King Picture Book Study ($5 Value)

This study works excellent as an introduction to studying the Nutcracker Ballet.

Using the picture book The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, the original Story by ETA Hoffman, illustrated by Gail de Marcken, and the Story adapted by Wren Mayse. The materials aim to enhance the readers understanding and interpretation of the Story.

What is Included: 23 Pages Total

· Goal and Instructional Pages for Teacher

· Lesson Plans for 10-days of lessons

· Pre-Reading Notes Page (1 page)

· Discussion Questions (9 pages)

· Story Outline (Plot Outline) (2 pages)

· Battle Plan Outline (2 pages)

· Answer Keys (4 pages)

Nutcracked Novel Study and Vocabulary ($8 Value)

Novel Study: These materials for Susan Adrian's novel Nutcracked aim to enhance readers' understanding and interpretation of the Story.

What is Included: 40 Pages

· Goal and Instructional Pages for Teacher

· Lesson Plans for 15-days of lessons- Incorporate vocabulary work in

· Discussion Questions (11 pages)

· Reality vs. Fantasy-Journal (1 page)

· Reality vs. Fantasy-Teaching Worksheet Activity (1 page)

· Reality vs. Fantasy-2 Worksheets (1 page each)

· Georgie's Problems (Conflict Worksheet) (1 page)

· Plot Diagram (1 page)

· Final Test (2 Options) (2 pages each)

· Answer Keys (8 pages)

Vocabulary: -In general, the goal for finding vocabulary words within a novel is to have students encounter words they may not have seen or heard before and then understand their meaning in the text and their everyday lives.

What is Included: 31 Pages

· Goals and Instructional Pages for Teacher

· Master Word Lists (3 pages)

· Student Dictionary (11 pages)

· Crossword Puzzles (3 pages)

· Word Search (1 page)

· Vocabulary in Context Worksheet (2 pages)

· Final Test (1 page)

· Answer Keys (6 pages)

This Bundle also includes a Bundle Guide: 8 Pages ($3 value)

· Goals and Instructions for the Bundle

· Brief Bundle Overview

· Full Bundle Lesson Plans (helps combine the two units into one)

Look to pair this Bundle with other Nutcracker Christmas School Activities. A complete 20-Day Christmas School Unit is available as a bundle through my website or TeachShare storefront.

This 60-page EDITABLE unit has everything you'll need for profoundly stimulating lessons on Octavia Butler's Kindred!! Invite your class to engage in student-driven discussions without compromising on intellectual rigor. The daily quizzes, discussion prompts, and writing assignment will challenge your students to dig beneath the surface of the text and unlock profound interpretive insights!

Hold your students accountable for completing the nightly homework by beginning every class with a quick vocabulary and reading quiz. Challenge students to explicate textual details using a wide range of interpretive lenses: formalist, historicist, feminist, psychoanalytic, etc. Facilitate dynamic discussions that inspire students to arrive at a whole new depth of insight!!

Everything you’ll need to teach the novel is included in this bundle:

• Unit & Pacing Guide: Suggestions for how to pace the reading homework and organize the classwork for Octavia Butler's Kindred. (2 pages)

• Author Introduction: A brief summary of the life of Octavia Butler and the research that she conducted before writing Kindred. (1 page)

• Discussion Questions: Sixteen pages of higher-order discussion questions guaranteed to inspire profoundly thoughtful class discussions! This unit features double-sided handouts with 8-10 questions for each of the novel's 8 sections. The discussion questions are the beating heart of this curriculum. They challenge students to build interpretive arguments that require the support of carefully selected textual evidence — leading to keen interpretive insights! Guaranteed to build skills in close reading and critical reasoning! (16 pages)

• Quick Writes: A "quick write" can be used at any time in a class to get students to pause and reflect on the text in writing. Introduce a quick write before you begin a discussion to allow your more reticent students to collect their thoughts. Or roll one out toward the end of a discussion to let students capture and refine their best ideas. (8 pages)

• Vocabulary Lists: Lists of 10-12 vocabulary words to accompany every nightly reading assignment. Every vocabulary word comes with a definition and a sample sentence with the word as used in Kindred. A total of over 100 words. (8 pages)

• Vocabulary & Reading Quizzes: Build students’ vocabularies while holding them accountable for the nightly reading homework. Each quiz contains 7 questions on vocabulary words plus another 3 questions on reading comprehension. Grading these quizzes is simple and quick. They’re an easy way to log up to 8 grades in your gradebook. Answer key provided. (16 pages)

• Writing Assignment: Challenge students to take their interpretations one step further by writing an analytical paper on Butler’s wonderfully complex novel. Let students choose amongst 5 profoundly thought-provoking sample topics — or invite them to develop an original topic of their own. (2 pages)

• Poetry Pairings: Seven thematically relevant poems by two exceptionally talented black women poets, Lucille Clifton and Natasha Trethewey. (7 pages)

This unit is filled with dozens of visual images that shed light on important scenes from Octavia Butler's novel: documentary photographs of antebellum plantations, excerpts from Butler's handwritten drafts and journals, paintings of biblical figures referenced in the novel, etc. But what really distinguishes this curriculum is how the discussion starters and writing prompts deepen students' thinking and help them arrive at profound interpretive insights!

This resource packet will come to you in two separate formats: Word docs *and* PDFs. Because the Word docs are fully editable, you'll be able to customize the materials to suit your teaching style and/or the skill levels of your students — year after year! If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to access the entire unit as PDFs, which are easy to navigate and quick to print!

Because I believe that teachers should be able to see what they'd be getting before they purchase, the preview for this resource provides direct access to dozens of actual pages from the unit. Click on the green “preview” button to see exactly what you’ll get....

Thank you for choosing “Rigorous Resources”!!

Happy teaching!

Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.

adamjernigan@gmail.com

P.S. Don't forget to click “follow” for email updates on new products by Rigorous Resources. New products will be 50% OFF for the first 24 hours!

Rigorous Resources is your one-stop shop for resources on American literature. Feel free to check out these complete units on canonical texts by diverse American authors:

Complete Unit on Tommy Orange's There There

Complete Unit on Arthur Miller's The Crucible

Complete Unit on Frederick Douglass's Narrative

Complete Unit on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

Complete Unit on Nella Larsen's Passing

Complete Unit on Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

Complete Unit on Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun

Complete Unit on Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye

Complete Unit on Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese

NEW IN 2020: Rigorous! Thought-provoking! Discussion-based! This 80-page EDITABLE unit promises to elicit dynamic engagement from all students without compromising on intellectual rigor. Invite your students to engage in student-driven discussions that promise to be profoundly stimulating! The discussion prompts, daily quizzes, short writing prompts, and final paper will challenge your students to dig beneath the surface of the text and generate profound interpretive insights!

Hold your students accountable for completing the nightly homework by beginning every class with a quick vocabulary and reading quiz. Facilitate dynamic discussions that motivate students to become attached to the thrill generating shared knowledge. Challenge students to explicate textual details using a wide range of interpretive lenses: formalist, historicist, psychoanalytic, feminist, etc. Inspire students to arrive at a whole new depth of insight!!

Everything you’ll need to teach the novel is included in this bundle. Here are a few of the highlights:

• Unit & Pacing Guide: Suggestions for how to approach the complex themes and deceptively simple language in Kincaid's Annie John.

• Discussion Questions: Sixteen pages of deeply thought-provoking discussion questions! One 2-page handout containing 6-10 questions for each of 8 chapters. The discussion questions are the beating heart of this curriculum. Every discussion question is grounded in concrete textual details and challenges students to arrive at lucid interpretive insights! The questions could be used to focus students’ thinking prior to beginning a discussion, to foster in-class writing such as stop-and-jots, or to assign written reflections for homework. Guaranteed to elicit student engagement and foster profound discussions!! (16 pages)

• Vocabulary Lists: Lists of 10-12 vocabulary words for every chapter, complete with definitions and sample sentences with the words as used in Annie John. A total of close to 100 words. (8 pages)

• Vocabulary & Reading Quizzes: Quizzes with 10 questions per chapter. Build students’ vocabularies while holding them accountable for the nightly reading homework. Each quiz contains 7 questions on vocabulary words plus another 3 questions on reading comprehension. Grading these quizzes is simple and quick. They’re an easy way to log 8 grades in your gradebook. Answer key included. (16 pages)

• Narrative Writing Assignment: A narrative writing assignment that could be given after students finish reading Chapter 3. This assignment is inspired by the "autobiographical essay" that Annie shares with her classmates. (1 page)

• Analytical Writing Assignment: Challenge students to find connections between quotations excerpted from different parts of Annie John. Then invite students to use those quotations as the basis for building an interpretive argument that is supported by textual evidence. Builds skills in close reading and analytical writing! Student writing sample included. (3 pages)

• Creative Writing Assignment: Invite students to think about the messages they have received about what it means to be a "man" or a "woman." Then, following the example in Kincaid's short story "Girl," have students write a short story about how they have navigated the normative pressures associated with gender. Student writing sample included. (2 pages)

• Short Story Pairings: Read and discuss two short stories that examine how and why young children are socialized into normative gender roles: Kincaid's "Girl" & Bret Anthony Johnston's "Boy." This bundle includes transcriptions of both stories as well as a page of thought-provoking discussion questions on Kincaid's "Girl." (3 pages)

• Poetry Pairing: Wrap things up with the poem that Jamaica Kincaid says "taught me how to write." This poem by Elizabeth Bishop engages with many of the same coming-of-age themes explored in Kincaid's Annie John. The poetry pairing includes discussion questions, answer keys, and a quiz on poetic devices. (10 pages)

My store is called “Rigorous Resources” because all of the materials prioritize rigorous content over decorative graphics. Yes, these lessons are filled with dozens of captivating images — maps and photographs of Antigua, paintings of historical events alluded to in the novel, portraits of the author — that shed light on various scenes from Kincaid's novel. But what really distinguishes this curriculum is how the discussion starters, close-reading exercises, and writing prompts are all designed to help student arrive at an abundance of interpretive insights!! . .

These materials will come to you in a single 80-page EDITABLE Word document. Feel free to modify the lessons to suit your teaching style and/or the needs of particular students. The previews for my resources provide direct access to over a dozen pages of actual materials. Click on the green “preview” button to see what you’ll get. .

Thank you for choosing “Rigorous Resources”!!

Happy teaching!

Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.

adamjernigan@gmail.com

P.S. Don't forget to click “follow” for email updates on new products by Rigorous Resources. New products will be 50% OFF for the first 24 hours!

This 30-page EDITABLE curriculum has everything you'll need to help students write write phenomenal college application essays! This is the PREMIERE bundle for any English teacher, college counselor, or tutor working to help students master the Common App essay!

The materials in this bundle were designed by a Ph.D. who has taught English at top-ranked high schools and colleges for over 20 years. He has worked closely with former college admissions officers from Harvard, Brown, and NYU. This 30-page unit features all the wisdom he's gathered over a decades-long career in secondary and higher education. The unit is packed to the brim with writing tips and formatting advice that will help your students craft truly remarkable college essays!

Here are some highlights from the 30-page curriculum:

• How to Get Started (Handout #1): Tips for how to get started on one's college essay and overcome writer's block. (1 page)

• Strategies for Crafting Vivid & Lively Prose (Handout #2): While the question of what students choose to write about will be important, the question of how they write will be equally important since a writer's style can reveal a lot about their personality. This handout features advice on how students can write essays using vibrant and virtuosic prose that will enamor any admissions officer. (2 pages)

• The Opening Line: Attention-Grabbing Hooks (Handout #3): The opening paragraph is the single most important part of a college essay. How will your students capture the interest of admissions officers? How will they make a memorable first impression? This handout offers several suggestions for how to focus an opening paragraph, followed by concrete examples of opening paragraphs by top essayists like Annie Dillard, Frank McCourt, Louise Erdrich, Naomi Shihab Nye, and others. (4 pages)

• How to Format a College Essay (Handout #4): This handout offers advice for the structural organization of college essay, with tips on what should be included in each paragraph. The strategy offered here will enable students to showcase their skills at descriptive writing, narrative writing, informational writing, and reflective writing — all in less than 650 words! (1 page)

• Sample Essays: Show your students eight successful college essays written by students who were recently admitted to top-ranked colleges and universities. These were the favorite essays that wowed admissions committees at Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University, Hamilton College, New York University, and Tufts University. (18 pages)

• Writing Assignment: This carefully scaffolded writing assignment will help students to get practice at writing narrative essays in response to actual prompts on the Common App from 2023-2024. (1 page)

• Writing Rubric: Use this rubric to evaluate the narrative essays that your students write in response to to the prompts from the Common App of 2023-2024. (1 page)

This resource packet will come to you in two separate formats: Word doc and PDF. Because the Word doc is editable, you'll be able to customize the materials to suit your teaching style and/or the skill levels of your students — year after year! If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to access the materials in PDF format, which is easy to navigate and quick to print!

Because I believe that teachers should be able to see what they're getting before they make a purchase, the preview for this resource provides access more than a dozen actual pages from the resource. Click on the green preview button to see exactly what you’ll get....

Thank you for choosing “Rigorous Resources”!!

Happy teaching!

Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.

adamjernigan@gmail.com

P.S. Don't forget to click “follow” for email updates on new products by Rigorous Resources. New products will be 50% OFF for the first 24 hours!

Feel free to check out these other resources on writing:

How to Write an Analytical Essay

How to Write an Poem Analysis Essay (AP Lit FRQ 1)

How to Frame Quotations or Embed Evidence

Figurative Language Stations

These student workbooks feature everything you'll need to deliver profoundly engaging lessons on William Shakespeare's Macbeth. With their colorful design and rigorous content, the workbooks are guaranteed to amplify student engagement and ensure that every class session is highly productive. Moreover, every page in these workbooks is fully editable! You'll be able to customize the materials to match the skill levels of your students — year after year. Recover weeks of prep time while amplifying student engagement with these rigorous and colorful literature workbooks!

Best of all, every page of this workbook comes with a detailed answer key! The answer keys are brimming with interpretive insights from Shakespeare scholars who teach at universities like Harvard and Cambridge. You'll have every student reading like a professor!

Here's what you'll find in this editable 100+ page teaching resource:

• Pacing Guide: The pacing guide features brief summaries of every scene in the play. It also provides suggestions about which scenes to assign for homework so that students' nightly workload will be manageable while every class session will be maximally productive. The pacing guide also includes a sample homework posting which teachers can copy and paste into their school's learning management system. (2 pages)

• STUDENT WORKBOOKS on Macbeth: The 50-page workbook features highly engaging worksheets on every scene in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Each worksheet is divided into sections which invite students to engage with the text in a variety of different ways:

• The Passage Analysis section invite students to analyze one or two key passages from each scene.
• The Evidence Hunt challenges students to answer an interpretive question by finding the best textual evidence to support their answer.
• The Comparing Quotations section invites students to make connections between quotations from different scenes in the play.
• The Discussion Question section features three higher-order questions designed to foster lively discussions and interpretive debates among students.
• The Quick Writes challenge students to compose short arguments that require the support of carefully selected textual evidence — leading to keen interpretive insights!

The workbook is guaranteed to foster skills in close reading, thoughtful analysis, and lively discussion. It will have your students feeling genuinely excited to study Shakespeare every day! (50 pages)

• WORKBOOK ANSWER KEY: The 50-page answer key to the workbook provides detailed answers to the passage analysis, evidence hunt, and comparing quotations sections. The answer key is informed by the best books and articles written by leading Shakespeare scholars: Marjorie Garber (Harvard), Stephen Greenblatt (Harvard), Emma Smith (Oxford), Coppélia Kahn (Brown), Catherine Belsey (Cambridge), Susan Snyder (Swarthmore), David Bevington (UChicago), Dympna Callaghan (Syracuse), and many others. (50 pages)

These workbooks and answer keys will come to you in two separate formats: Word Docs *and* PDFs. Because the Word docs are fully editable, you'll be able to customize them to match the skill levels of your students — year after year. If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to access PDF versions — which are easy to navigate and quick to print.

Rigorous Resources is your one-stop shop for top-quality resources on William Shakespeare. Wishing you an amazing experience with teaching the "Scottish play." If you have any questions along the way, please don't hesitate to get in touch. I love hearing from fellow teachers who share a passion for great literature! 

Happy teaching!

Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.

adamjernigan@gmail.com

P.S. Remember to “follow” my store to receive email updates on new products by Rigorous Resources. New products will be 50% OFF for the first 24 hours!

Feel free to check out these complete units on Shakespeare's masterpieces:

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Romeo and Juliet

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Julius Caesar

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Macbeth

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Othello

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Hamlet

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Much Ado About Nothing

INTRO TO SHAKESPEARE: Biography, Globe Theater, Language, & Meter

These student workbooks feature everything you'll need to deliver profoundly engaging lessons on William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. These workbooks, with their colorful design and rigorous content, are guaranteed to have your students falling in love with Shakespeare's tragic tale of star-crossed lovers!

Every page of these teacher-friendly workbooks is fully editable. So you'll be able to customize the materials to match the skill levels of your students — year after year. Recover weeks of prep time while amplifying student engagement with these rigorous and colorful literature workbooks!

Best of all, every page of this workbook comes with a detailed and insightful answer key! The answer keys are brimming with interpretative expertise from leading Shakespeare scholars who teach at universities like Harvard, Yale, and Oxford. You'll have every student reading like a professor!

Here's what you'll find in this editable 100+ page teaching resource:

• Pacing Guide: The pacing guide features brief summaries of every scene in the play. It also provides suggestions about which scenes to assign for homework so that students' nightly workload will be manageable while every class session will be maximally productive. The pacing guide also includes a sample homework posting which teachers can copy and paste into their school's learning management system. (3 pages)

• STUDENT WORKBOOKS on Much Ado About Nothing: The 50-page workbook features highly engaging worksheets on every scene in Shakespeare's Much Ado. Each worksheet is divided into sections which invite students to engage with the text in a variety of different ways:

• The Passage Analysis section invite students to analyze one or two key passages from each scene.
• The Evidence Hunt challenges students to answer an interpretive question by finding the best textual evidence to support their answer.
• The Comparing Quotations section invites students to make connections between quotations from different scenes in the play.
• The Discussion Question section features three higher-order questions designed to foster lively discussions and interpretive debates among students.
• The Quick Writes challenge students to compose short arguments that require the support of carefully selected textual evidence — leading to keen interpretive insights!

The workbook is guaranteed to foster skills in close reading, thoughtful analysis, and lively discussion. It will have your students feeling genuinely excited to study Shakespeare every day! (50 pages)

• WORKBOOK ANSWER KEY: The 50-page answer key to the workbook provides detailed answers to the passage analysis, evidence hunt, and comparing quotations sections. The answer key is informed by the best books and articles written by leading Shakespeare scholars: Marjorie Garber (Harvard), Stephen Greenblatt (Harvard), René Girard (Stanford), Harry Berger (Yale), Carol Cook (Vassar), Dympna Callaghan (Syracuse), Emma Smith (Oxford), Farah Karim-Cooper (King’s College London), Indira Ghose (Fribourg), and others. (50 pages)

These workbooks and answer keys will come to you in two separate formats: Word Docs *and* PDFs. Because the Word docs are fully editable, you'll be able to customize them to match the skill levels of your students — year after year! If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to access PDF versions — which are easy to navigate and quick to print.

Rigorous Resources is your one-stop shop for top-quality resources on William Shakespeare. Wishing you an amazing experience with teaching Much Ado. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch. I love hearing from fellow teachers who share a passion for great literature! 

Happy teaching!

Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.

adamjernigan@gmail.com

P.S. Remember to “follow” my store to receive email updates on new products by Rigorous Resources. New products will be 50% OFF for the first 24 hours!

Feel free to check out these complete units on Shakespeare's masterpieces:

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Romeo and Juliet

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Julius Caesar

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Macbeth

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Othello

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Hamlet

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Much Ado About Nothing

INTRO TO SHAKESPEARE: Biography, Globe Theater, Language, & Meter

These student workbooks feature everything you'll need to deliver profoundly engaging lessons on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. These workbooks, with their colorful design and rigorous content, are guaranteed to have your students falling in love with Shakespeare's tragic tale of star-crossed lovers!

Every page of these teacher-friendly workbooks is fully editable. So you'll be able to customize the materials to match the skill levels of your students — year after year. Recover weeks of prep time while amplifying student engagement with these rigorous and colorful literature workbooks!

Best of all, every page of this workbook comes with a detailed and insightful answer key! The answer keys are brimming with interpretative expertise from leading Shakespeare scholars who teach at universities like Harvard and Cambridge. You'll have every student reading like a professor!

Here's what you'll find in this editable 100+ page teaching resource:

• Pacing Guide: The pacing guide features brief summaries of every scene in the play. It also provides suggestions about which scenes to assign for homework so that students' nightly workload will be manageable while every class session will be maximally productive. The pacing guide also includes a sample homework posting which teachers can copy and paste into their school's learning management system. (3 pages)

• STUDENT WORKBOOKS on Romeo and Juliet: The 50-page workbook features highly engaging worksheets on every scene in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Each worksheet is divided into sections which invite students to engage with the text in a variety of different ways:

• The Passage Analysis section invite students to analyze one or two key passages from each scene.
• The Evidence Hunt challenges students to answer an interpretive question by finding the best textual evidence to support their answer.
• The Comparing Quotations section invites students to make connections between quotations from different scenes in the play.
• The Discussion Question section features three higher-order questions designed to foster lively discussions and interpretive debates among students.
• The Quick Writes challenge students to compose short arguments that require the support of carefully selected textual evidence — leading to keen interpretive insights!

The workbook is guaranteed to foster skills in close reading, thoughtful analysis, and lively discussion. It will have your students feeling genuinely excited to study Shakespeare every day! (50 pages)

• WORKBOOK ANSWER KEY: The 50-page answer key to the workbook provides detailed answers to the passage analysis, evidence hunt, and comparing quotations sections. The answer key is informed by the best books and articles written by leading Shakespeare scholars: Marjorie Garber (Harvard), Stephen Greenblatt (Harvard), Emma Smith (Oxford), Coppélia Kahn (Brown), Catherine Belsey (Cambridge), Susan Snyder (Swarthmore), David Bevington (Chicago), Dympna Callaghan (Syracuse), and many others. (50 pages)

These workbooks and answer keys will come to you in two separate formats: Word Docs *and* PDFs. Because the Word docs are fully editable, you'll be able to customize them to match the skill levels of your students — year after year! If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to access PDF versions — which are easy to navigate and quick to print.

Rigorous Resources is your one-stop shop for top-quality resources on William Shakespeare. Wishing you an amazing experience with teaching Romeo and Juliet. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch. I love hearing from fellow teachers who share a passion for great literature! 

Happy teaching!

Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.

adamjernigan@gmail.com

P.S. Remember to “follow” my store to receive email updates on new products by Rigorous Resources. New products will be 50% OFF for the first 24 hours!

Feel free to check out these complete units on Shakespeare's masterpieces:

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Romeo and Juliet

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Julius Caesar

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Macbeth

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Othello

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Hamlet

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Much Ado About Nothing

INTRO TO SHAKESPEARE: Biography, Globe Theater, Language, & Meter

UPDATED FOR THE 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR: Finally, a poetry unit designed for high-school English that teenagers genuinely love!! Your students' skills in close reading and literary analysis of poems will skyrocket....

The 3-week unit features 60+ canonical poems written by a diverse spectrum of English-speaking poets. The poems and accompanying lesson plans are organized into 12 thematic packets which can be used in sequence over two weeks. That's over 200 pages worth of editable poetry resources!

This unit promises to elicit dynamic engagement from all students without compromising on intellectual rigor. The discussion questions, quick writes, literary device quizzes, and analytical writing assignments will challenge your students to dig beneath the surface of the text and generate profound interpretive insights!!

Here are some highlights from this editable 200-page curriculum:

• Homework Packets with Poems (5-6 Poems per Packet): The 12 homework packets contain a total of 71 poems by a diverse range of award-winning poets such as William Shakespeare, John Keats, Christina Rossetti, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Robert Hayden, Theodore Roethke, Maya Angelou, Audre Lorde, Mary Oliver, Gary Soto, Li-Young Lee, Ada Limón, Elizabeth Acevedo, and others. The poems are collected into ten reading packets that focus on prominent literary devices and themes: 1) poems using sensory imagery, 2) poems using figurative language, 3) love poems, 4) poems on ethical dilemmas, 5) poems on complex parent-child dynamics, and 6) poems on cultural identity. Because teenagers have a lot to say about these themes, the poems will set the stage for your class to have fascinating and profoundly productive discussions!! (75 pages)

• Literary Devices Glossary: A glossary with definitions and examples of the various types of figurative language, imagery, stanzas, and syntactic devices. Many teachers already have a glossary of literary devices, but I'm providing this in case you need one. (2 pages)

• Literary Devices Quizzes: A total of ten quizzes, each with 10 questions about a wide range of literary devices: metaphor, personification, symbolism, imagery, alliteration, etc. Open each class with a quiz to assess whether your students can accurately identify the literary devices used in the poems from the homework packets. Answer keys included. (24 pages).

• Discussion Questions: This bundle features a list of discussion questions for the first poem in each of the homework packets. The discussion questions will ensure that every class discussion starts on a productive foot. Every discussion question is grounded in concrete textual details and challenges students to arrive at lucid interpretive insights! The questions lend themselves to a range of different pedagogical uses: 1) to focus students’ thinking prior to beginning a discussion, 2) to prompt in-class writing, 3) to assign written reflections for homework, etc. Guaranteed to elicit student engagement and foster deep thinking! Answer keys included. (60 pages)

• Quick Writes: The quick writes give students an opportunity to capture and refine the best ideas generated in the discussion. Quick writes can also help reticent students to gather their thoughts so they'll feel ready and eager to contribute. (24 pages)

• Analytical Writing Assignment: Challenge students to take their interpretations one step further by writing an analytical paper on a poem of their choice. The assignment sheet contains detailed instructions for how to generate a formalist analysis of a poem (analyzing how the poem's formal features contribute to its meaning). This kind of formalist analysis is exactly what students are asked to generate on the AP Literature exam! Sample paper included. (15 pages)

This entire resource packet will come to you in two separate formats: Word docs *and* PDFs. Because the Word docs are fully editable, you'll be able to customize the materials to suit the skill levels of your students — year after year! If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to access all of the materials as PDF documents — which are easy to navigate and quick to print!

My store is called “Rigorous Resources” because all of the resources contain rigorous content that will motivate students to engage in thought-provoking and productive discussions. Thank you for choosing Rigorous Resources.

Happy teaching!

Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.

adamjernigan@gmail.com

Should you prefer to purchase the poetry units individually, here are links to the five poetry units:

Poetry Unit #1: Sensory Imagery in Poetry

Poetry Unit #2: Figurative Language in Poetry

Poetry Unit #3: Love Poems

Poetry Unit #4: Poems on Ethical Dilemmas

Poetry Unit #5: Poems on Family Relationships

Poetry Unit #6: Poems on Cultural Identity

Store: https://www.TeachShare.com/Store/Rigorous-Resources

This bundle includes an imagery unit plan, a question trail, an analysis of "Never Shall I Forget" from chapter 3, an analysis of "Juliek's Violin" by Cyrus Cassells (to use with chapter 6), and a Socratic Seminar for Elie Wiesel's Night. Please check out each product individually. Thank you!

Please help my little business grow!

Did you know that you can receive $ credit towards future TeachShare purchases by reviewing this product? Please leave a review at the product page or through "My Purchases" under "My Account" at TpT. Thank you!

This 150-page EDITABLE curriculum has everything you'll need to deliver profoundly stimulating lessons on Nella Larsen's Passing. Invite your class to engage in student-driven discussions without compromising on intellectual rigor. The discussion questions, daily quizzes, literary device exercises, and analytical writing assignment will challenge your students to dig beneath the surface of the text and generate profound interpretive insights!!

Hold your students accountable for completing the nightly homework by beginning every class with a quick vocabulary and reading quiz. Facilitate dynamic discussions that motivate students to become attached to the thrill generating shared knowledge. Challenge students to explicate textual details using a wide range of interpretive lenses: formalist, psychoanalytic, etc. Inspire students to arrive at a whole new depth of insight!!

Here are some highlights from the 150-page editable curriculum:

• Discussion Question Handouts: Twenty pages of deeply thought-provoking discussion questions! One 2-page handout containing 8-10 questions for each of 6 sections of the novel. The discussion questions are the beating heart of these lesson plans. Every discussion question is grounded in concrete textual details and challenges students to arrive at lucid interpretive insights! The questions could be used to focus students’ thinking prior to beginning a discussion, to foster in-class writing such as stop-and-jots, or to assign written reflections for homework. Guaranteed to elicit student engagement and foster profound discussions! (18 pages)

• Discussion Question Answer Keys: The answer keys to the discussion questions are informed by the best academic articles written by scholars who specialize in African-American women writers of the Harlem Renaissance: Deborah McDowell, Cheryl Wall, Bell Hooks, Judith Butler, and others. Of course, there is rarely a single "correct" answer for any question; rather, the discussions questions are made up of higher-order questions designed to foster lively exchanges and interpretive debates among students. They challenge students to build interpretive arguments that require the support of carefully selected textual evidence. (50 pages)

• Quick Writes: A "quick write" can be used at any time in a class to get students to pause and reflect on the text in writing. Introduce a quick write before you begin a discussion to allow students to collect their thoughts. Or roll one out toward the end of a discussion to let students capture and refine their best ideas. (6 pages)

• Vocabulary Lists: Lists of 10 vocabulary words for each of the novel's 6 sections , complete with definitions and sample sentences with the words as used in Passing. A total of 60 SAT-worthy words. (6 pages)

• Reading & Vocabulary Quizzes: Daily quizzes with 10 questions on the nightly reading homework plus another 10 questions on the vocabulary words. If you choose not to have your students study vocabulary, you can still use the portion of the quiz devoted to reading comprehension. Grading these quizzes is simple and quick. They’re an easy way to log 6 to 12 grades into your gradebook. Answer keys included. (24 pages)

• Figurative Language Worksheets (x3): Three worksheets challenge students to identify the type of figurative used in fifty quotations from Passing. The types of figurative language include metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, paradox, and oxymoron. This bundle also features a glossary with definitions as well as examples of how each type of figurative language is used in Passing — so you can review them with students before they tackle the worksheets. Each worksheet can be used either as a quiz or as a fun refresher. Answer keys included. (12 pages)

• Quotation Race: Students work in pairs to identify the speakers of 50 key quotations from Passing. Introduce this fun activity when you need to mix things up, or to refresh students' memories in preparation for the AP exam. Answer key included. (6 pages)

• Q3 Practice Essay: Designed for teachers of AP Literature, this in-class practice essay will allow students to rehearse the "Q3" essay from the AP Literature and Composition Exam. The assignment asks students to write a 40-minute in-class essay in response to one amongst three recent Q3 prompts that featured Passing as one of the recommended works of literary merit. (5 pages)

• Analytical Writing Assignment: Challenge students to take their interpretations one step further by writing an analytical paper on Larsen's Passing. Let students choose from one of 5 thought-provoking sample topics — or invite them to develop a similar topic of their own. Rubric included. (4 pages)

The entire resource packet will come to you in two separate formats: Word docs *and* PDFs. Because the Word docs are fully editable, you'll be able to customize the materials to suit your teaching style and/or your students' skill levels — year after year! If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to access the entire unit in PDF format, which is easy to navigate and quick to print.

Finally, I believe that teachers should be able to see what they'll be getting before they purchase. So the preview for this resource provides direct access to over 25 pages from the bundle. Click on the green “preview” button to see exactly what you’ll get....

Thank you for choosing “Rigorous Resources”!!

Happy teaching!

Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.

adamjernigan@gmail.com

P.S. The current school year is an especially good time to teach this novel because a cinematic adaptation of Passing was just released on Netflix in 2022. The film is directed by Rebecca Hall and features talented actors like Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga. If you're considering teaching this thematically powerful and aesthetically beautiful novel, my enthusiastic advice is to do it!

P.P.S. Don't forget to click “follow” for email updates on new products by Rigorous Resources. New products will be 50% OFF for the first 24 hours!

Rigorous Resources is your one-stop shop for resources on American literature. Every unit was designed by a Ph.D. with a research specialization in American literature. Feel free to check out these complete units on canonical texts by diverse American authors:

Complete Unit on Tommy Orange's There There

Complete Unit on Arthur Miller's The Crucible

Complete Unit on Frederick Douglass's Narrative

Complete Unit on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

Complete Unit on Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

Complete Unit on Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun

Complete Unit on Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye

Complete Unit on Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese

This 135-page EDITABLE unit has everything you'll need for profoundly stimulating lessons on Willa Cather's My Ántonia!! Invite your class to engage in student-driven discussions without compromising on intellectual rigor. The pre-reading handouts, discussion questions, daily quizzes, and analytical writing assignment will challenge your students to dig beneath the surface of the text and generate profound interpretive insights!!

Hold your students accountable for completing the nightly homework by beginning every class with a quick vocabulary and reading quiz. Facilitate dynamic discussions that motivate students to become attached to the thrill generating shared knowledge. Challenge students to explicate textual details using a wide range of interpretive lenses: historicist, psychoanalytic, feminist, etc. Inspire students to arrive at a whole new depth of insight!!

Here are some highlights from the 135-page editable curriculum:

• Portrait of the Author: Willa Cather: This pre-reading handout will provoke students to make connections between Cather's life and central themes in My Ántonia — without spoiling any of the plot details. Includes a follow-up quiz with answer key. (4 pages)

• Discussion Question Handouts: Thirty-five of higher-order discussion questions guaranteed to inspire profoundly thoughtful class discussions! This unit features double-sided handouts with with 8-10 discussion for each of the novel's 12 sections. The discussion questions are the beating heart of these lesson plans. They challenge students to build interpretive arguments that require the support of carefully selected textual evidence — leading to keen interpretive insights! (35 pages)

• Vocabulary Lists: Lists of 10-12 vocabulary words for every section of the novel, complete with definitions and sample sentences with the words as used in My Ántonia. A total of over 120 SAT-worthy words. (12 pages)

• Vocabulary & Reading Quizzes: Quizzes with 10 questions per reading assignment. Build students’ vocabularies while holding them accountable for the nightly reading homework. Each quiz contains 7 questions on vocabulary words plus another 3 questions on reading comprehension. Grading these quizzes is simple and quick. They’re an easy way to log 12 grades into your gradebook. Answer keys included. (24 pages)

• Literary Devices Quiz: This quiz challenges students to identify the literary devices used in fifteen quotations from My Ántonia. The literary devices include metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, allusion, onomatopoeia, and more. This bundle also features a glossary with definitions of the literary devices as well as examples of how each device is used in Cather's novel — so you can review the devices with students before they tackle the worksheet. The worksheet can be used either as a quiz or as a fun refresher. Answer key included. (3 pages)

• Quotation Race: Students work in pairs to identify the speakers of 50 key quotations from My Ántonia. Introduce this fun activity when you need to mix things up, or to refresh students' memories in preparation for the AP exam. Answer key included. (6 pages)

• FRQ3 Practice Essay: Designed for AP Lit teachers, this in-class practice essay will allow students to rehearse the "FRQ3" essay from the AP Literature and Composition Exam. The assignment asks students to write a 40-minute in-class essay in response to one amongst three recent Q3 prompts that featured My Antonia as one of the recommended works of literary merit. (5 pages)

• Analytical Writing Assignment: Challenge students to take their interpretations one step further by writing an analytical paper on Willa Cather's wonderfully complex novel. Let students choose from one of eight profoundly thought-provoking sample topics — or invite them to develop a similar topic of their own. Rubric included. (4 pages)

My store is called “Rigorous Resources” because the units feature content-rich lessons guaranteed to boost your students' close-reading and critical-thinking skills. This unit filled with dozens of historically relevant visual images: documentary photographs of dugouts and sod houses from the 1870s and 1880s, portraits of Red Cloud and other historical figures, paintings by the prairie-born painter Harvey Dunn, and much more. But what really distinguishes this unit is how the pre-reading handouts, discussion questions, exercises on literary devices, and writing assignment are all designed to help student arrive at an abundance of interpretive insights!

The entire 135-page unit will come to you in two separate formats: Word Doc *and* PDF. Because the Word doc is fully editable, you'll be able to CUSTOMIZE the materials to suit your teaching style and/or the skill levels of your students — year after year! If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to access the entire unit as a PDF — which is easy to navigate and quick to print!

As someone who great up in the midwest, I love teaching Cather's masterpiece about life on the Nebraska prairie. And I also love hearing from teachers who share a passion for great literature. If you have any questions while teaching this novel, please don't hesitate to reach out via email. Wishing you an amazing experience with My Ántonia!

Happy teaching!

Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.

adamjernigan@gmail.com

P.S. Don't forget to click “follow” for email updates on new products by Rigorous Resources. New products will be 50% OFF for the first 24 hours!

Rigorous Resources is your one-stop shop for resources on American literature. Every unit was designed by a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago with a research specialization in American literature. Feel free to check out these complete units on canonical texts by diverse American authors:

Complete Unit on Tommy Orange's There There

Complete Unit on Arthur Miller's The Crucible

Complete Unit on Frederick Douglass's Narrative

Complete Unit on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

Complete Unit on Nella Larsen's Passing

Complete Unit on Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

Complete Unit on J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye

Complete Unit on Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun

Complete Unit on Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye

Complete Unit on Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese

This 90-page EDITABLE unit has everything you'll need for profoundly stimulating lessons on Frederick Douglass's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass! Invite your class to engage in student-driven discussions without compromising on intellectual rigor. The daily quizzes, discussion questions, exercises on literary devices, and writing assignment will challenge your students to dig beneath the surface of the text and unlock profound interpretive insights!

Hold your students accountable for completing the nightly homework by beginning every class with a quick vocabulary and reading quiz. Challenge students to explicate textual details using a wide range of interpretive lenses: formalist, historicist, feminist, psychoanalytic, etc. Facilitate dynamic discussions that inspire students to arrive at a whole new depth of insight!!

Everything you’ll need to teach Douglass's memoir is included in this 90-page bundle:

• Unit & Pacing Guide: Suggestions for how to pace the reading homework and organize the classwork for Douglass's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. (2 pages)

• Discussion Questions: Fifteen pages of higher-order discussion questions guaranteed to inspire profoundly thoughtful class discussions! This unit features double-sided handouts with 8-10 discussion questions for each section of Douglass's Narrative! The discussion questions are the beating heart of this curriculum. Every question is grounded in concrete textual details and challenges students to think critically about their significance. They challenge students to build interpretive arguments that require the support of carefully selected textual evidence — leading to keen interpretive insights! Guaranteed to foster deep thinking and dynamic discussions! (15 pages)

• Discussion Questions ANSWER KEYS: The answer keys to the discussion questions are informed by cutting-edge scholarship by professors who specialize in African-American literature and especially Frederick Douglass: Henry Louis Gates, Saidiya Hartman, Fred Moten, David Blight, etc. Of course, there is rarely a single "correct" answer for any question; rather, the discussions questions are made up of higher-order questions designed to foster lively exchanges and interpretive debates among students. They challenge students to build interpretive arguments supported by carefully selected textual evidence. (35 pages)

• Vocabulary Lists: Lists of 10-12 vocabulary words for every section of the book, complete with definitions and sample sentences with each word as used in Douglass's Narrative. A total of over 60 SAT-worthy words. (5 pages)

• Vocabulary & Reading Quizzes: Build students’ vocabularies while holding them accountable for the nightly reading homework. Each quiz contains 7 questions on vocabulary words plus another 3 questions on reading comprehension. Grading these quizzes is simple and quick. They’re an easy way to log an additional 5 grades into your gradebook. Answer key included. (10 pages)

• Literary Devices Quiz: This quiz challenges students to identify the literary devices used in thirty quotations from Douglass's memoir_._ The literary devices include metaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, apostrophe, allusion, and more. This bundle also features a glossary with definitions of the literary devices as well as examples of how each device is used in Douglass's memoir — so you can review the devices with students before they tackle the quiz. The quiz can be used either for assessment or as a fun refresher. Answer key included. (5 pages)

• Academic Scholarship: Excerpts from scholarly articles and monographs focused on specific scenes from Douglass's memoir. (1 page)

• Writing Assignment: Challenge students to take their interpretations one step further by writing an analytical paper on Douglass's powerful memoir. Let students choose amongst 5 thought-provoking sample topics — or invite them to develop an original topic of their own. Writing schedule included. Rubric included. (5 pages)

• Poetry Pairing: Seven thematically relevant poems by three twentieth-century African-American poets: Robert Hayden, Lucille Clifton, and Natasha Trethewey. (9 pages)

This unit is filled with dozens of visual images that shed light on important scenes from Douglass's memoir: illustrations from early editions of Douglass's memoir, documentary photographs of antebellum plantations, lyrics from the slave song that motivated Douglass to liberate himself, the masthead of Douglass's abolitionist newspaper, etc. But what really distinguishes this curriculum is how the discussion starters and writing prompts deepen students' thinking and help them arrive at profound interpretive insights!

This resource packet will come to you in two separate formats: Word docs *and* PDFs. Because the Word docs are editable, you'll be able to customize them to suit your teaching style and/or the skill levels of your students — year after year! If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to use the PDF version — which is easy to navigate and quick to print!

Finally, I believe that teachers should be able to see what they'll be getting before they purchase. So the preview for this resource provides direct access to dozens of actual pages from the unit. Click on the green “preview” button to see exactly what you’ll get...

Thank you for choosing “Rigorous Resources”!!

Happy teaching!

Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.

adamjernigan@gmail.com

P.S. Don't forget to click “follow” for email updates on new products by Rigorous Resources. New products will be 50% OFF for the first 24 hours!

Rigorous Resources is your one-stop shop for resources on American literature. Every unit was designed by a Ph.D. with a research specialization in American literature. Feel free to check out these complete units on canonical texts by diverse American authors:

Complete Unit on Tommy Orange's There There

Complete Unit on Arthur Miller's The Crucible

Complete Unit on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

Complete Unit on Nella Larsen's Passing

Complete Unit on Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

Complete Unit on Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun

Complete Unit on Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye

Complete Unit on Octavia Butler's Kindred

Complete Unit on Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese

This 180-page EDITABLE unit has everything you'll need to deliver profoundly engaging lessons on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The colorful workbooks will enable you to capture and hold the attention of modern-day students. The higher-order questions will help you pivot from reading comprehension to interpretive analysis and critical thinking. Deliver top-quality lessons while inspiring students to fall in love with Shakespeare's Hamlet!!

Every page in this teacher-friendly unit is fully editable! So you'll be able to customize the materials to suit the skill levels of your students — year after year! The unit also includes an answer key filled with insights from Shakespeare scholars at universities like Harvard and Cambridge. Your students will be reading like a professor!

Here's what you'll find in this editable 180-page complete unit:

• Introduction to Shakespeare's World: The 30-page introduction includes five handouts covering topics like Shakespeare's biography, the language of Renaissance England, the construction of the Globe Theater, how to recognize iambic pentameter, and more. Every handout is followed by a comprehension check, practice exercise, or quiz. You could spend up to a week with the introductory handouts — or skip them altogether. Answer keys included. (30 pages)

• STUDENT WORKBOOKS on Hamlet: The 50-page workbook features rigorous & highly engaging worksheets on every scene in Hamlet. Each worksheet is divided into sections which invite students to engage with the text in a variety of different ways:

• The Passage Analysis section invite students to analyze one or two key passages from each scene.
• The Evidence Hunt challenges students to answer an interpretive question by finding the best textual evidence to support their answer.
• The Comparing Quotations section invites students to make connections between quotations from different scenes in the play.
• The Discussion Question section features three higher-order questions designed to foster lively discussions and interpretive debates among students.
• The Quick Writes challenge students to compose short arguments that require the support of carefully selected textual evidence — leading to keen interpretive insights!

The worksheets are guaranteed to foster skills in close reading, thoughtful analysis, and lively discussion. They will have your students feeling genuinely excited to study Shakespeare every day! (50 pages)

• Workbook ANSWER KEYS: The 50-page answer key to the workbook provides detailed answers to the passage analysis, evidence hunt, and comparing quotations sections. The answer key is informed by the best books and articles written by leading Shakespeare scholars: Stephen Greenblatt (Harvard), Marjorie Garber (Harvard), Philip Fisher (Harvard), Coppélia Kahn (Brown), Dympna Callaghan (Syracuse), A. C. Bradley (Oxford), Frank Kermode (Cambridge), Michael Neill (Auckland), and many others. (50 pages)

• Figurative Language Quiz: The quiz challenges students to identify 8 types of figurative language — metaphor, simile, metonymy, paradox, oxymoron, personification, apostrophe, and hyperbole — used across 25 quotations from Hamlet. Also included is a glossary with definitions of the types of figurative language as well as examples of how they're used in the early scenes of Shakespeare's play — so you can begin reviewing the types of figurative language with students before they tackle the quiz. Answer key included. (5 pages)

• Analytical Writing Assignment: Challenge students to take their interpretations one step further by writing an analytical paper on Shakespeare's Hamlet. Let students choose from one of 5 thought-provoking sample topics — or invite them to develop a topic of their own. Writing schedule, outline template, and rubric included. (8 pages)

• Pacing Guide: The pacing guide provides suggestions about which scenes to assign for homework to make sure the nightly workload is manageable while each class session is maximally productive. (2 pages)

This unit is hot off the presses! It was created in 2024 and is informed by the most recent academic scholarship on Hamlet. While the colorful worksheets will make it highly engaging for all students, the unit was also designed to have more than enough rigor for Honors, IB, and AP Literature courses. What a great time to revitalize your approach to this complex play!

The entire 180-page unit will come to you in two separate formats: Microsoft Word *and* PDF. Because the Word docs are fully editable, you'll be able to customize them to the skill levels of your students — year after year. If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to access the entire unit in PDF format — which is easy to navigate and quick to print.

Rigorous Resources is your one-stop shop for top-quality units on canonical literary texts by diverse authors. Inspire students to arrive at a whole new depth of insight while falling in love with Shakespeare!

Happy teaching!

Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.

adamjernigan@gmail.com

P.S. Remember to “follow” my store to receive email updates on new products by Rigorous Resources. New products will be 50% OFF for the first 24 hours!

Feel free to check out these complete units on Shakespeare's masterpieces:

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Romeo and Juliet

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Julius Caesar

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Macbeth

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Othello

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Hamlet

COMPLETE UNIT with Workbooks on Much Ado About Nothing

INTRO TO SHAKESPEARE: Biography, Globe Theater, Language, & Meter

This 175-page EDITABLE curriculum has everything you'll need for profoundly stimulating lessons on Art Spiegelman's The Complete Maus!! Invite your class to engage in student-driven discussions without compromising on intellectual rigor. The pre-reading handouts, discussion questions, vocabulary lists, and analytical writing assignment will challenge your students to dig beneath the surface of the text and generate profound interpretive insights!!

The graphic novel is an aesthetically innovative genre in which meaning is created through the interplay of image and text. How do we read a novel in which two narrative channels — one verbal, the other visual — interact? And how do graphic novels challenge readers to expand the set of interpretive techniques that make up “close reading”? This bundle will help students understand complex questions about literary genres, aesthetic form, social and political history, and the responsibilities that come with representing historical atrocities like the Holocaust.

Here are some highlights from the 175-page curriculum:

• Pre-Reading Activity: Open this unit by reading and discussing Art Spiegelman's early 3-page comic, "Maus" (which was published in an underground comics magazine called Funny Animals in 1972). In addition to the 3-page comic itself, this unit features a double-sided Image Analysis Worksheet in which students encounter questions that will deepen their engagement with Maus. Answer key included. (10 pages)

• Discussion Question Handouts: Thirty-five pages of deeply thought-provoking discussion questions! One double-sided handout containing 8-10 questions for each of the book's 10 sections. The discussion questions are the beating heart of these lesson plans. Every discussion question is grounded in concrete textual details and challenges students to arrive at lucid interpretive insights! The questions could be used to focus students’ thinking prior to beginning a discussion, to foster in-class writing such as stop-and-jots, or to assign written reflections for homework. Guaranteed to elicit student engagement and foster profound discussions! (25 pages)

• Discussion Question Answer Keys: The answer keys to the discussion questions are informed by cutting-edge scholarship by historians and literature professors who specialize on topics like the Holocaust and Spiegelman's Maus. Of course, there is rarely a single "correct" answer for any question; rather, the discussions questions are made up of higher-order questions designed to foster lively exchanges and interpretive debates among students. They challenge students to build interpretive arguments that require the support of carefully selected textual evidence. (50 pages)

• Quick Writes: A "quick write" can be used at any time in a class to get students to pause and reflect on the text in writing. Introduce a quick write before you begin a discussion to allow students to collect their thoughts. Or roll one out toward the end of a discussion to let students capture and refine their best ideas. (10 pages)

• Image Analysis Worksheets: Three double-sided worksheets challenge students to analyze 10 visually complex panels from Maus. Students will reflect on how Spiegelman builds meaning by through the use of aesthetic strategies such as visual parallels, visual puns, symbolism, strategic ambiguity, the interweaving of past and present, etc. Help students figure out what it means to "close read" a graphic novel. Answer keys included. (10 pages)

• Quotation Race Worksheet: Students work in pairs to identify the speakers of 30 key quotations from Maus. Introduce this fun activity when you need to mix things up, or to refresh students' memories in preparation for the AP exam. Answer key included. (4 pages)

• Vocabulary Lists: Lists of 8 vocabulary words for every chapter, complete with definitions and sample sentences with the words as they are used in Maus. A total of 80 words. (10 pages)

• Reading & Vocabulary Quizzes: Daily quizzes with 10 questions on the nightly reading homework plus another 5 questions on the vocabulary words. If you choose not to have your students study vocabulary, you can still use the portion of the quiz devoted to reading comprehension. Grading these quizzes is simple and quick. They’re an easy way to log 10 grades into your gradebook. Answer keys included. (40 pages)

• Analytical Writing Assignment: Challenge students to take their interpretations one step further by writing an analytical paper on Art Spiegelman's complex graphic novel. Let students choose from one of four thought-provoking sample topics — or invite them to develop a similar topic of their own. Writing schedule and rubric included. (4 pages)

The resource packet will come to you in two separate formats: Word docs *and* PDFs. Because the Word doc is editable, you'll be able to customize the materials to suit your teaching style and/or the needs of particular students — year after year. If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to access the PDF version, which is easy to navigate and quick to print!

Finally, because I believe that teachers on TeachShare should be able to see what they'd be getting before they make a purchase, the preview for this resource provides access to 50 pages from this 170-page bundle. Click on the green “preview” button to see exactly what you’ll get....

Thank you for choosing “Rigorous Resources”!!

Happy teaching!

Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.

adamjernigan@gmail.com

P.S. Don't forget to click “follow” for email updates on new products by Rigorous Resources. New products will be 50% OFF for the first 24 hours!