Free 12th Grade English Language Arts Resources (by date, oldest first)

The S.T.E.A.L. anchor chart is a great visualization for students when making inferences in fiction. Print in color or black and white!

Use as an anchor chart in your classroom or for quick reference in a binder! TPCASTT is the perfect addition for any classroom reading poetry.

And check out these other resources!

• All Things English For Middle & High School Students
• Defending Disney Villains
• Revising & Editing Workbook
• Revising & Editing for Group Lessons
• Bell Ringers for the Semester
• Everything Writing

An easy to read format to get your students writing!

And check out these other resources!

• All Things English For Middle & High School Students
• Defending Disney Villains
• Revising & Editing Workbook
• Revising & Editing for Group Lessons
• Bell Ringers for the Semester
• Everything Writing

Dive into the captivating history of Halloween with this comprehensive, FREE resource designed for middle and high school students.  This freebie includes a detailed reading passage on the origins, symbols, and global celebrations of Halloween, complete with engaging questions and guided note-taking sheets to reinforce learning.  Whether you’re exploring the cultural significance or dispelling common misconceptions, this resource is perfect for helping students develop a deeper understanding of Halloween.  Ideal for use in history, social studies, or language arts classrooms, this set is fully ready to use, with no preparation required.

Dive into the excitement of the 2024 Summer Games with this comprehensive, free educational resource!  Perfect for upper middle school to high school students, this package includes a detailed reading passage on the upcoming Paris Games, a set of questions and answers to test comprehension, and note-taking sheets to help students organize their thoughts.  This resource is an excellent way to engage students in the rich history and cultural significance of the Olympics while enhancing their reading and critical thinking skills.

This detailed resource package includes a thorough reading passage on 9/11, exploring the causes, events, and consequences of this pivotal moment in history. It comes with 20 critical questions, an answer key, and note-taking sheets for students making this resource perfect for engaging your upper middle and high school students.

Dive into the timeless world of S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders with my engaging PowerPoint Presentation and Note-Taking Sheets!  This FREEBIE is perfect for teachers and students alike, designed to complement your literature curriculum and enhance students’ understanding of the novel.  The PowerPoint slides provide a comprehensive overview of key themes, character analysis, plot summaries, and important quotes, while the accompanying note-taking sheets encourage students to actively engage with the material, track their thoughts, and organize their insights.  Whether used in the classroom or for remote learning, this resource makes studying The Outsiders interactive and enjoyable.

Posters including 17 literary devices which are easy to print and use in your classroom. Add them to your word wall or brighten up a reading area.

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Dive into a world of positivity and creativity with these free Acts of Kindness Quotes coloring pages. This inspiring activity sheet set is a joyful collection designed to lift your spirits and spread kindness through the power of words and art.

To access the full range of Kindness Quotes Coloring Bundle, simply follow the link below:

-Printable Kindness Quote Coloring pages - Bundle Kindness Activities sheets:

https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Printable-Kindness-Quote-Coloring-pages-Bundle-Kindness-Activities-sheets-11182741

Kindness coloring sheets

Positive affirmations coloring pages

Insrirational Quotes Coloring Pages

Charity coloring pages

Empathy coloring sheets

Mercy coloring pages

Mindfulness coloring pages

Gratitude coloring sheets

Love and kindness coloring pages

Anti-bullying coloring pages

Increase critical thinking skills with this Thanksgiving-themed Costa's Levels of Inquiry activity! Students will categorize questions based on Costa’s Level 1, 2, and 3, promoting deeper understanding of Thanksgiving traditions and ELA skills. Perfect for engaging middle and high school students in critical analysis and creative thinking during the holiday season!

What's Included

• 10 Thanksgiving-themed questions for categorizing into Costa's Level of Questioning
• Answer key

Find this in...

✨AVID Bundle

✨Costa Bundle

✨November Early Finisher Packet

This back to school would you rather game is a great get to know you activity for the first week of school! Perfect as an icebreaker activity, debate, speech class, morning meeting activity, brain break, discussion starters, writing prompts or debate prompts. This is great for middle and high school students!

Get 30 more slides HERE :)

⭐Year Long Seasonal & Holidays Growing Bundle⭐

✨Save 30% with the Back to School Mega Activity Bundle!✨

✨Save 30% with the Would You Rather Bundle!✨

What's included:

• 3 would you rather slides
• 1 directions slide

Would You Rather Examples:

• Would you rather never have homework again OR have an extra hour of sleep every day
• always know the right answer OR always be able to make everyone laugh

More Back to School Resources...

Finish the Story

Four Corners

Dicebreakers

Find Someone Who & Stand Up

Table Talk

Gibberish

*Note this product may be used in brick and mortar classes as well as virtual systems like Outschool

This group work sheet can be used for any subject area. It is a very simple tool used for students to reflect on group work.

Students Will Write:

Plus- an area they did very well in

Delta- an area they could improve on for next time

Shout out- this is where they name a group member and what they did well

Stand out- this is where they share something that stood out to them from the experience with their groups

Click HERE to see our other AVID resources. We also have several great AVID bundle options available down below!

AVID Mega Growing Bundle

AVID Teambuilding Bundle

AVID Writing Bundle

*Note this product may be used in brick and mortar classes as well as virtual systems like Outschool

NEW IN 2020: Rigorous! Engaging! Thought-provoking! This EDITABLE slideshow will kindle a fascination with Fitzgerald's novel before your students even crack the cover of The Great Gatsby. Open your unit on Fitzgerald's masterpiece with this powerful 41-slide PowerPoint SLIDESHOW presentation on the life of F. Scott Fitzgerald's and the culture of 1920s America called "The Road to Gatsby: A Slideshow on F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Roaring Twenties."

While this slideshow can be downloaded for free, it is meant to be accompanied by a 9-page LECTURE that you can preview and/or purchase for $1.99 by clicking HERE!!

Here's a quick glimpse into each of the four sections featured in the slideshow:

• Part I. The Artist as a Young Man: This section features photographs of Fitzgerald from his childhood in Minnesota, his college years at Princeton, his military training at Camp Sheridan, and his romantic courtship of Zelda Sayre in Montgomery, Alabama. Your students will be fascinated by the parallels between Fitzgerald's life and Jay Gatsby's upbringing, military training, and romantic life. After all, it is only because Gatsby is wearing his military uniform — which erases the signs of his class status — that he can get close to Daisy Faye! (13 slides)

• Part II. New York in the Artistic Imagination: This section features photographs and paintings of the rapidly changing skyline of New York in the 1920s. Photographs by Alfred Stiegliz reveal how 5-story brownstones were replaced by 50-story skyscrapers. Paintings by Georgia O'Keefe and Howard Thain reveal how the invention of electric lights imbued the cityscape with color and romantic allure. (7 slides)

• Part III. The Characters as Readers: This section will not only prepare students to catch the literary allusions in The Great Gatsby but will get students thinking about what the books that various characters are reading might reveal about their personalities. What does his interest in Horatio Alger's rags-to-riches novels reveal about the character of Jay Gatsby? What does his interest in Lothrop Stoddard's The Rising Tide of Color reveal about the racist and xenophobic views of Tom Buchanan? (7 slides)

• Part IV. Drafting The Great Gatsby: This section features photographs of the mansions and parties that Scott and Zelda attended on Long Island in 1923. It also features Fitzgerald's handwritten drafts of the first and last pages of his novel, a list of the six titles that Fitzgerald rejected (plus the title he actually preferred but requested after the book had gone to print), and the painting by Fancis Cugat that Fitzgerald selected for the cover of The Great Gatsby. (12 slides)

This slideshow will come to you in a 41-slide EDITABLE PowerPoint presentation which you can customize to the needs of your students! The 9-page EDITABLE lecture accompanying the slideshow can be previewed and/or purchased for $1.99 by clicking HERE. (Sellers are only able to upload one document per TeachShare product, so I've had to upload the lecture under a separate product listing. Apologies in advance for the inconvenience). As a bonus for purchasing the lecture, you'll also get a Spotify playlist of the songs that characters listen to in The Great Gatsby.

Thank you for choosing “Rigorous Resources”!!

Happy teaching!

Adam Jernigan, Ph.D.

adamjernigan@gmail.com

Note: This slideshow and lecture also included in my Gatsby MEGA-Bundle. The bundle contains everything you'll need to deliver amazing and comprehensive lessons on Fitzgerald's novel: over 40 slides and over 240 pages of content-rich handouts and activities. If you've already purchased the bundle, you don't need to purchase this slideshow. Thanks!

Click to view the Gatsby MEGA-Bundle

Click to view my TeachShare store

This four-page handout introduces students to the themes which are most prominent in Mary Shelley's literary masterpiece, Frankenstein (1818). By having your students read and discuss this thematic introduction together, you will have them captivated by the complex questions invoked by Frankenstein before they open the novel's cover.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein asks a series of profound questions about human nature. Are human beings inherently benevolent or malevolent? Are humans better off when they live alone in isolation or when they live together in society? Can the development of modern technology have the effect of transforming human nature?

This handout is part of a larger bundle of Frankenstein resources which includes discussion questions, short writing prompts, vocabulary lists, daily quizzes, and an analytical writing assignment. To view my comprehensive bundle of Frankenstein resources, visit the following link:

https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Mary-Shelleys-Frankenstein-AP-Literature-3-WEEKS-of-DYNAMIC-Lesson-Plans-5293594

Thank you for choosing "Rigorous Resources"!

Happy teaching,

Adam Jernigan

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 4-page pre-reading handout provides students with important background information for understanding William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. This resource includes a two-page handout on the history of the Roman Republic. The resource also included is a comprehension check and answer key so that teachers can assess whether students have understood important details from the handout.

Learning about the history of the Roman Republic will provide students with the contextual information necessary for understanding certain lines in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. You could have students read this handout for homework before starting the play; or you could have students read the handout aloud together in class before giving them the comprehension check worksheet.

If you like this pre-reading handout, you'll definitely want to check out my 160-page Complete Teaching Unit on Julius Caesar. The complete unit features colorful and engaging worksheets on every scene in Shakespeare's play. Because the complete unit is both professionally designed and academically rigorous, it is especially well-suited for courses like Honors English and AP Lang.

Wishing you an amazing experience with teaching this complex play. If you have any questions along the way, please don't hesitate to get in touch. And don't forget to check out the Complete Teaching Unit on Julius Caesar....

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 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

This 3-page pre-reading handout introduces students to the most prominent themes in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. By having your class read and discuss this thematic introduction together, students will be captivated by the complex questions invoked in Shakespeare's play before they begin reading the enigmatic first scene.

If you like this 3-page pre-reading handout, you'll definitely want to check out my 200-page Complete Teaching Unit on Hamlet. The complete unit features worksheets on every scene in Shakespeare's longest play. Because the complete unit is both professionally designed and academically rigorous, it is especially well-suited for courses like Honors English and AP Literature.

Wishing you an amazing experience with teaching this complex play. If you have any questions along the way, please don't hesitate to get in touch. And don't forget to check out the Complete Teaching Unit on Hamlet...

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!

Please 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: This syllabus is for a year-long course in AP® English Literature and Composition. The curriculum features 10 units on works of literary merit written by diverse authors — works which appear frequently on the AP Literature Exam.

Core Texts: The literary texts featured on this syllabus — from Macbeth and Frankenstein through The Great Gatsby and Their Eyes Were Watching God — are guaranteed to motivate high engagement from modern-day teenagers! The curriculum was designed to be inclusive and intersectional with respect to race, class, and gender. Each unit features higher-order discussion questions, frequent writing tasks, literary device exercises, and longer writing assignments which amount to rehearsals of the FRQ essays on the AP Lit Exam.

Skills Objectives: This curriculum focuses on the six "big ideas" — as well as the advanced reading and writing skills — which the College Board has identified as the core components of AP Literature and Composition. It equips students with the terminologies and techniques for analyzing how six formal elements — character, setting, structure, narration, figurative language, and literary argumentation — deepen the content of a literary text.

Organization: The 10 units on this syllabus are organized chronologically, with the various texts corresponding to important literary movements: Renaissance, Romanticism, Modernism, Harlem Renaissance, Postmodernism, etc. But please feel free to re-organize and/or replace the units at your discretion. Because the syllabus is fully editable, you'll be able to customize the materials to suit your own literary tastes and/or the interests of your students — year after year!

Below is a list of the ten units and core texts featured in this AP Lit syllabus. Click on any link to view the complete teaching unit for that literary text....

Unit 1: The Renaissance

• William Shakespeare, Hamlet (1601) or Othello (1603) or Macbeth (1606)

• Stations Activity: Figurative Language in Shakespeare

• Discussion-Based Teaching Toolkit

Unit 2: Romanticism

• Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (1831)

• How to Write an Analytical Essay

• How to Embed Evidence

Unit 3: Traditional Verse Forms

• The Sonnet: Shakespeare, Keats, Rossetti, McKay, & Angelou

• FRQ1 Practice: How to Write a Poem Analysis Essay

Unit 4: Modernism & the American Dream

• F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925)

Unit 5: The Short Story: Minimalist Realism

• Ernest Hemingway, "Hills Like White Elephants" (1927)

Unit 6: The Harlem Renaissance

• Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1938)

Unit 7: Transnational Fiction

• Jhumpa Lahiri, "A Temporary Matter" (1999)

• Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner (2003)

Unit 8: Contemporary Fiction: Diverse Voices & the Polyphonic Novel

• Tommy Orange, There There (2018)

Unit 9: Modern & Contemporary Poetry

• American Poets: Dickinson, Frost, Hughes, Bishop, & Brooks

Unit 10: Exam Prep

• Figurative Language Stations

• FRQ1 Practice: How to Write a Poem Analysis Essay

If you like this syllabus, you'll love the full-year AP Literature Curriculum — a mega-bundle of teaching resources to get you through the entire school year! The year-long curriculum features over 1,500 pages of printable teaching resources: reading quizzes, higher-order discussion questions, detailed answer keys, and FRQ writing prompts for every book. And it's currently on sale for over 50% off!! Click to learn more about the AP Literature Curriculum!

For what it's worth, every literature unit in my store was designed with rigor suitable for AP Literature. So feel free to assemble a curriculum which features the texts you're most excited about. After all, it's your passions that will prove most inspiring to your students! How about Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing (1599)? Willa Cather's My Ántonia (1918)? Nella Larsen's Passing (1929)? J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye (1951)? Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun (1959)?

Rigorous Resources is your one-stop shop for top-quality resources on complex literature by diverse authors. Every resource was created by a Ph.D. in English who has taught for 20+ years and published award-winning essays on authors like Sylvia Plath and James Baldwin. If you have any questions about this syllabus or any of the unit plans, please don't hesitate to get in touch. I love hearing from fellow teachers who share a passion for great literature. And I'll be eager to do everything I can to make sure you have an amazing experience with teaching AP Literature!

Happy teaching,

Adam Jernigan

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!

P.P.S. This syllabus will always be free — so please don't hesitate to share the link with your colleagues and friends. If you'd be willing to leave a brief review of this free resource, I'd be sincerely grateful for your support!

This syllabus is for a course on African-American Literature. The year-long course features literary texts by some of the best African-American novelists, playwrights, and poets: Frederick Douglass, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Lorraine Hansberry, Toni Morrison, and more.

The curriculum is organized chronologically and was designed to highlight several important African-American literary and cultural movements: slave narratives, the Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Literature, Black Arts Poetry, etc. The curriculum is deliberately diverse in its representation of gender and brings an intersectional approach to the study of literary characters.

In addition, the curriculum features works by African-American authors written in a wide range of literary genres: novels, memoirs, plays, and poems. The daily lesson plans equip students with the terminologies and techniques for analyzing texts written in those different genres.

The units for each book listed on the syllabus can be found via the links below:

• Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845)

• Langston Hughes, Selected Poetry

• Nella Larsen, Passing (1929)

• Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1938)

• Gwendolyn Brooks, Selected Poetry

• Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun (1959)

• Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye (1972)

• Octavia Butler, Kindred (1979)

• Writing Analytical Papers

Rigorous Resources your one-stop shop for top-quality teaching resources on complex literature by diverse authors. Each unit was created by a Ph.D. in English who has taught for 20+ years and published award-winning essays on American literature.

Because this syllabus fully editable, you'll be able to customize this syllabus to suit your own literary tastes and/or the skill levels of your students — year after year! If you have any questions about the syllabus or any of the unit plans, please don't hesitate to get in touch via the email address below. I'm eager to do everything I can to make sure you have an amazing experience with teaching African-American Literature!

Finally, this syllabus will always be free — so please don't hesitate to share the link with your colleagues. If you'd be willing to leave a brief review, I'd be sincerely grateful for your support. I love hearing from the amazing teachers who share a passion for great literature!

Happy teaching,

Adam Jernigan

adamjernigan@gmail.com

This is a sample station from my A Sound of Thunder Escape Room! The Escape Room includes 7 stations; this is the one that analyzes Bradbury's use of diction and syntax. Hopefully it will give you a taste of what the whole product is like! Please check it out in a separate listing.