12th Grade Close Reading Literature Circles (by date, latest first)

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

Rigorous! Thought-provoking! Discussion-based! This 20-page EDITABLE curriculum has everything you'll need for profoundly stimulating lessons on Jhumpa Lahiri's extraordinary short story, "A Temporary Matter"! Invite your class to engage in student-driven discussions without compromising on intellectual rigor. The reading quiz, discussion questions, 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 homework by beginning class with a quick reading quiz. Then facilitate a dynamic discussion that motivates 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, cultural studies, etc.

Here are some highlights from this 20-page curriculum:

• Reading Quiz: The reading quiz contains 10 questions focused on important details from the plot of "A Temporary Matter." For this story, I chose to create a fill-in-the-blank quiz that takes the form of a summary of the story's plot. There are 10 blank lines within the summary where students are expected to provide a missing word, name, or number. As a result, grading this quiz is simple and quick. Answer key included. (2 pages)

• Discussion Question Handout: One double-sided handout featuring 12 discussion questions on Jhumpa Lahiri's "A Temporary Matter." The discussion questions are the divided into 5 sections, each of which focuses on a different literary element or theme: characterization, setting, sharing secrets, etc. As with all of my resources, the discussion questions are the beating heart of this lesson plan. Every question is grounded in concrete textual details and challenges students to arrive at lucid interpretive insights! (2 pages)

• Discussion Question Answer Key: This unit features a detailed answer key that's informed by many of the best scholarly essays on "A Temporary Matter." But please note that there is rarely a single "correct" answer for any question. Rather, the discussions questions are 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! (8 pages)

• Analytical Writing Assignment: Challenge students to take their interpretations one step further by writing an analytical paper on Lahiri's wonderfully complex story. Let students choose from one of two 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 all of the units feature rigorous, content-rich lessons guaranteed to boost your students' close-reading and critical-thinking skills. What distinguishes this unit is how the discussion questions and writing assignment are designed to help student arrive at an abundance of interpretive insights!!

This entire 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 your students' skill levels — year after year! If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to access the unit as a PDF — which is easy to navigate and quick to print. 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. in English with a research specialization in American literature. Check out these 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 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

This 38-page EDITABLE poetry unit promises to elicit dynamic engagement from all students without compromising on intellectual rigor. The 10 poems in this mini-unit all focus on different kinds of ethical dilemmas.

Because teenagers are genuinely intrigued by ethical dilemmas, these poems will set the stage for your class to have authentic discussions that inspire a whole new depth of reflection. The literary devices quizzes, discussion prompts, and analytical writing assignment will challenge your students to dig beneath the surface of the text and generate profound interpretive insights!

Here are some highlights from this 38-page curriculum:

• Homework Packets with Poems about Ethical Dilemmas: The two homework packets contains a total of 10 poems by a diverse range of award-winning poets such as Robert Frost, William Stafford, Ada Limón, Jan Beatty, Ross Gay, and others. Every poem focuses on some kind of ethical dilemma. Because teenagers are genuinely intrigued by ethical dilemmas, these poems will set the stage for your class to have fascinating and profoundly productive discussions!! (10 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: Open each class with a quiz of 10 questions to assess whether your students can accurately identify the literary devices used in the poems from the nightly homework packets: metaphor, personification, symbolism, imagery, alliteration, etc. The digital versions of the quizzes on Google Forms will grade every student's work and generate a list of their scores. Answer keys included. (4 pages).

• Discussion Questions: This bundle features a list of discussion questions for the first poem in each of two nightly 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. (7 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 38-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! Finally, as a free bonus, I'm including links to digital copies of every document in user-friendly platforms like Google Docs and Google Forms.

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

This is a complete unit on Romeo and Juliet.

In this bundle you will find the following:

- Romeo and Juliet study guide flip book

-Romeo and Juliet Characterization flipbook

- Romeo and Juliet Escape Room

- Romeo and Juliet Jeopardy Powerpoint

- Romeo and Juliet Quizzes for each Act

- Romeo and Juliet Vocabulary quiz

- Shakespeare Tragedies powerpoint

- Romeo and Juliet Graphic Organizers

-Film Adaptation Worksheet

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Introducing the Othello Complete Teacher's Unit - the ultimate tool for teaching Shakespeare's classic tragedy! This comprehensive package contains everything you need to engage and educate your students, including a Shakespearean Tragedies Power Point, Historical and Cultural Context worksheet, Flip Book Study Guide, Characterizations Flip Book, 5 quizzes by act, Escape Room, Vocabulary quiz, and graphic organizers - all totaling a whopping 115 pages!

The Shakespearean Tragedies Power Point provides a detailed analysis of the literary elements and devices used in Shakespeare's tragedies such as irony, iambic pentameter, and more. The Historical and Cultural Context worksheet offers a fascinating insight into the world of Elizabethan England, exploring the cultural and societal influences that shaped Shakespeare's writing. The Flip Book Study Guide provides a handy resource for students to track their progress through the play, with sections for note-taking, analysis, and reflection.

The Characterization Flip Book is a fun and interactive way to help students deepen their understanding of the complex characters in Othello. With sections dedicated to each major character, this tool encourages students to explore and analyze the motivations, relationships, and personalities of each character.

The 5 quizzes by act provide a comprehensive assessment tool, allowing you to gauge your students' understanding of the play as they progress through it. The Escape Room is a fun and engaging activity that challenges students to solve puzzles and clues related to the play, encouraging critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

The Vocabulary quiz tests students' understanding of key words and phrases from the play, while the graphic organizers provide a visual tool for organizing and analyzing key themes and ideas.

With the Othello Complete Teacher's Unit, you have everything you need to create a rich and engaging learning experience for your students. Whether you're teaching the play for the first time or looking to deepen your students' understanding of this classic tragedy, this package is an essential resource for any teacher of Shakespeare.

This is a growing bundle. It currently includes a powerpoint, study guide, characterization flipbook, escape room, and quizzes. More shall be added as I finish more products.

Covering the Hamlet? Don't know where to get started? This bundle includes everything you need for your students to analyze the text for plot development, characterization, language, and more. Makes learning Shakespeare fun and easy for your students.

Complete Unit.

Covers the entire play of Hamlet !

Includes Graphic Organizers, Video Clips, Quizzes, a Game, Flip books, and MORE!

Great for differentiation.

Includes:

⭐Shakespeare Tragedies (All Plays)

⭐Hamlet Study Guide

⭐Hamlet Characterization Flip book

⭐Hamlet Vocabulary and Quiz

⭐To Be or Not To Be Soliloquy Analysis

⭐Hamlet Escape Room

⭐Hamlet Acts 1-5 Quizzes

⭐Analyzing Song Lyrics for Ophelia

⭐Film Adaptation Wkst (Any Novel)

Shakespeare Ultimate Bundle. Includes resources for the following plays: Hamlet, As You Like It, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth, A Midsummer's Night Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, and The Twelfth Night. Great for covering Shakespeare at multiple grade levels or multiple plays. Includes different activities, study guides, games, and more. Works great as a school resource.

Covering the The Skin I'm In? Don't know where to get started? This bundle includes everything you need for your students to analyze the text for plot development, characterization, language, and more. Makes learning fun and easy for your students.

Complete Unit.

Covers the entire novel of The Skin I'm In !

Great for differentiation.

Includes:

⭐The Skin I'm In - Introduction Power Point

⭐The Skin I'm In Flip book Study Guide

⭐The Skin I'm In - Characterization Flip book

⭐The Skin I'm In - Vocabulary lists, crossword puzzles, and quizzes

⭐The Skin I'm In - Graphic Organizers

Complete Teaching Unit for Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing.

Everything you need to cover the entire play with your students. Comes complete with answer keys. Differentiated instruction to ensure comprehension to meet your students needs.

Includes:

Much Ado About Nothing Context Powerpoint

Much Ado About Nothing Interactive Flipbook

Much Ado About Nothing Escape Room

Much Ado About Nothing Characterization

Much Ado About Nothing Act 1 Quiz

Much Ado About Nothing Act 2 quiz

Much Ado About Nothing Act 3 Quiz

Much Ado About Nothing Act 4 Quiz

Much Ado About Nothing Act 5 Quiz

Much Ado About Nothing : Benedick Soliloquy Analysis

Shakespeare Comedies Power point

Much Ado About Nothing Final Project and Rubric

Teaching The Joy Luck Club? Don't know where to start? This bundle includes many activities to do before, during, and after reading the novel. This is a complete unit for the novel The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. Don't miss this multiple point of view novel filled with touching stories between mothers and daughters .

5 multiple choice questions and 2 short answer questions on Act 2 of the play Taming of the Shrew Complete with Answer Key

5 multiple choice questions and 2 short answer questions on Act 2 of the play Julius Caesar. Complete with Answer Key.

5 multiple choice questions and 2 short answer questions on Act 1 of the play Macbeth. Complete with Answer Key.

5 multiple choice questions and 2 short answer questions on Act 4 of the play Macbeth. Complete with Answer Key

5 multiple choice questions and 2 short answer questions on Act 5 of the play Macbeth. Complete with Answer Key

5 multiple choice questions and 2 short answer questions on Act 3 of the play Julius Caesar. Complete with Answer Key.

5 multiple choice questions and 2 short answer questions on Act 4 of the play Julius Caesar. Complete with Answer Key.

5 multiple choice questions and 2 short answer questions on Act 3 of the play Taming of the Shrew Complete with Answer Key

5 multiple choice questions and 2 short answer questions on Act 4 of the play Taming of the Shrew. Complete with Answer Key