$10 - $20 9th Grade Unit Plans

Engage your middle and high school students with this 21-Day Multimedia Thematic Unit focused on Social Media and Mental Health! Designed for Grades 7 and up, this comprehensive unit weaves together ELA, social studies, and digital literacy through interactive lessons, activities, and assessments that explore the influence of social media on identity, mental health, and society.

This unit features a variety of multimedia resources, including TED Talks, informational articles, political cartoons, and the documentary The Social Dilemma. Students will develop critical thinking skills as they engage with different forms of media, reflect on their personal social media habits, and create meaningful projects like a political cartoon capstone.

What’s Included:

• Daily Lesson Plans for 21 days of engaging, standards-aligned instruction
• A range of activities including debates, Socratic seminars, and reflective writing
• Viewing guides and discussion prompts for multimedia content
• Informational text analysis with evidence-gathering strategies
• Step-by-step directions for creating a capstone political cartoon on social media’s impact
• Assessment rubrics and graphic organizers to support student learning

Aligned Standards:
This interdisciplinary unit is aligned with Common Core ELA Standards (including reading, writing, speaking, and listening), as well as ISTE Digital Literacy Standards. Perfect for cross-curricular learning, it encourages students to develop literacy skills, media analysis, and digital responsibility.

Why You'll Love This Unit:

• Interactive and Student-Centered: Students engage with real-world issues like social media usage, body image, and mental health in meaningful ways.
• Multimedia Integration: Incorporates TED Talks, articles, documentaries, and more to create a rich, dynamic learning experience.
• Project-Based Learning: Culminates with a creative capstone project where students design their own political cartoons, showcasing their understanding of the unit’s themes.
• Critical Thinking and Reflection: Encourages self-awareness as students reflect on their own social media habits and the impact on their mental health.

Who It’s For:

• Middle and high school teachers (Grades 7-12) looking for an engaging, interdisciplinary unit that addresses current issues.
• Educators seeking a Common Core-aligned and ISTE-aligned unit that integrates social media, mental health, and literacy skills.

Perfect for:

• ELA, social studies, and digital literacy classrooms
• Teachers looking for 21st-century skill-building units
• Classrooms wanting to address the impacts of social media on student well-being

This 21-Day Multimedia Unit will help students understand the impact of social media on their lives while improving essential academic skills. Get ready for insightful discussions, creative projects, and meaningful reflections that resonate with your students’ real-world experiences. Download now and bring relevant, standards-aligned learning to your classroom!

This bundle is a full modified Unit 11 (Surface Area & Volume) curriculum. These resources guide the student as they work. This is especially for students with a learning disability in math and require additional prompting.

This bundle contains notes, three practice assignments per topic, three quiz reviews, three quizzes, a study guide and a unit test that cover the following topics:

• Area of Plane Figures

• Composite Figures

• Area of Sectors

• Surface Area & Volume of Prisms

• Surface Area & Volume of Cylinders

• Surface Area & Volume of Cones

• Surface Area & Volume of Pyramids

• Surface Area & Volume of Spheres

• Similar Solids

Click to See More Resources

Are you wanting to use French comprehensible input in your classes, but:

• You are required to use a district textbook?
• You need a little bit of structure as you get your feet wet with comprehensible input?
• You are required to give a district final, but want to use CI to teach your classes?

If so, this comprehensible input unit for French is for you!

This unit is the perfect complement to a district curriculum or textbook - it covers some of the typical vocabulary and grammar taught in the first semester of French 1, but with a more communicative approach.  Work through the unit with circling and repetition and at the end of each unit, your students will be amazed at how much they can do with the language!

An introductory unit that can be used the very first week of class! Includes lesson plans for 8 days, beginning with basic greetings.

What's included:

• Lesson plan guide for each day

• PowerPoint with lesson for each day

• printable word wall vocabulary pages

• Student dictionary handout page

• Handout to practice writing introductions

• Handout to practice writing introductions about other people

• Handout for students to practice asking for people's names, nationalities, and places they are from

• Short story using vocabulary from the unit

• Cloze activities to accompany story - one with and one without word bank

• Running dictation game to accompany short story

• Handout for short story retell/rewrite

• animated video of short story

• Short assessments for unit: reading, listening, presentation speaking, interpersonal communication and presentational writing

• It's not fair Game for the unit story in English AND French

• Links to Quizlet/Blooket/Gimkit vocabulary practice sets

• NEW! Distance/online version of activities is included.

Use this unit as a jumping off point to start your year off comprehensibly!

Units 1-8 are available for level 1 and units 1-7 for level 2. Each unit builds on the previous units' vocabulary. A list of the vocabulary for each unit is available here: http://bit.ly/2Sg3tLK

Related Products
• J'aime - Comprehensible Input unit 2 for beginning French
• Le lycée - CI unit 3 for beginning French
• On va sortir - Comprehenisble Input unit 4 for beginning French

Click HERE to join my mailing list and get a free article about adapting a textbook to CI!

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 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!

La Comida Unidad Completa:

Includes 3 sections of vocabulary, quizzes, interactive activities, 3 worksheets, and enhanced visuals.

☀️Teach Food items like never before!☀️

✏️Creative

✏️Easy-to-use

✏️Engaging

✏️Authentic

✏️SUB-FRIENDLY

⭐NO PREP NEEDED

Have students practice LOS ALIMENTOS like never Before.

Includes a Prepositions section in order to engage in Interactive Lessons.

I believe in Game Based Learning and Project Based Learning in the classroom. This bundle is part of my GBL Program.

En Español ☀️☀️

Unleash your students' inner artist!

• Leave FEEDBACK so you will earn TeachShare credits, which may be applied to your future purchases.

This BUNDLE includes 180+ unique BUNDLE it! - Perspective Art Lessons/Units pages: Underwater Perspective Walkway, 2-Point Perspective City Scene, Bird's Eye View City Scene & 3-D Forms. Get students motivated and engaged in semi-difficult tasks with these eye-popping pages.

Please remember that using any of my original artworks for future commercial use is prohibited.

This is not a clipart product. This product cannot be used in any way for your own freebies or products.

This product is for personal use only and cannot be copied, redistributed or reposted by others.

If you enjoy these Perspective Art Lessons/Units, please check out my TeachShare store for more similar items.

I also have a unit for sale on Conscious Discipline, and another unit for sale on UDL & SEL.

This product focuses on the following areas:

This mental health curriculum includes suggested activities and tips to support mental health education and instruction for students in 8th through 12th Grade. Depending on students ability levels, this product could be used in 6th and 7th grade as well.

What's in this product:

Positive Self Talk - This product includes a brief teacher guide that discusses the importance of promoting self-care for mental health and overall well-being, suggestions are provided for short mindfulness exercises for teenagers, emotional responses to various situations that may arise - both positive self-talk and negative self-talk, the importance of being unable to change the situation, but changing the way we think about something and how we feel and act, students will take time to reflect on a time they felt upset about something and what happened when they used both negative and positive-self talk, the importance of our mental health, mood, and motivation are shared, examining unhealthy thinking styles, and recognizing negative-self talk in given situations that relate with jumping to conclusions, personalization, catastrophizing, shoulding, overgeneralization, labelling, emotional reasoning, magnification and minimization (the definition of each is provided along with examples). Students will then write down ways that they would challenge and change their negative self-talk in order for it to become positive self-talk to help improve mental health, mood, and motivation.
Resiliency Activities - This product emphasizes resiliency and how it is important for students to learn from adversity and become a stronger, wiser person and recover quickly from challenges, 7 activities that can be carried out with small groups or the entire class are included in this product - these 7 activities include a teacher's guide, tips, and templates (as required are included) to go along with the teacher's guide are also included in this product. Feelings are also discussed in this product. a feelings journal template is included in this product that allows students to document how they are feeling regarding each prompt that is asked each day. A blank template is also included in this packet if you want students to complete a free-write journal entry each day.

Communication Styles Adapted Notes and Review - This product provides students with skills to support effective communication skills, explore the importance of both verbal and nonverbal communication skills, identify the principles of effective communication, and learn the difference between the 4 communication styles - passive, passive aggressive, aggressive, and assertive. Students will answer short answer comprehension questions that compare the 4 communication styles. Students will learn about passive, passive aggressive, aggressive, and assertive communication, what each communicate style entails, how they differ from each other, what passive, passive aggressive, aggressive, and assertive communicators will do (body language, facial expression, etc.), the impact of each communication style in individuals is reviewed, what each communicator may believe and say to others, and tips on how to communicate with individuals who use the 4 kinds of communication styles to communicate.

Emotional Awareness - In this product, students will identify how powerful positive and negative words are and for students to build empathy. Students will talk about words and actions that can hurt someone's heart/feelings. Students will learn the power of words and how they impact others, students will discuss the meanings of words: bullying, cattiness, discrimination, gossiping, self-esteem, and teasing, a list of hurtful words and actions, and helpful words and actions are provided, and students will be required to add onto all of these lists, students will talk about the effects of hurtful words on the heart, when students are frustrated what they can do to feel better, and how to better handle situations in the future when someone uses a hurtful word or you go to use a hurtful word.

Mental Health Stigma Activities - This product provides students with information regarding stigma. Students will answer questions regarding technology and social media and how they can affect our ability to show compassion to others, why people forget to take care of themselves and show compassion for themselves, how to stop negative thoughts from happening. Students will review the meaning for stigma, stereotype, prejudice, and discrimination. Students will also review what negative things they have heard about people with mental illness, along with positive things. Talking about how others are different and that's what makes them unique, and how others are stigmatized based on how they look, act, etc. Examples of possible stigmas are presented. The meaning of self-stigma and what examples of self-stigma are presented. Students will also review health conditions or social differences that were stigmatized throughout history, and ways to reduce stigma to eliminate negative feelings.

Throughout this product, students will answer comprehension questions and will also be presented with social scenarios that they may encounter where they are asked how they would feel or what they would do. An attitude survey regarding mental health that contains 10 questions is also included in this product. Students will compare their results when they are finished and will go over the correct answers.

Gratitude Activity – Students will complete a gratitude scavenger hunt, where will they look for things in their environment that they are grateful for and students will answer questions about what they are grateful for such as something that they are thankful for that shows a vibrant color, something that makes them feel strong, something that they recently learned/discovered, etc. students will write about experiences in for which they feel gratitude and expand upon that experience.

Stress Response Adapted Notes - This product provides students with information regarding stress. Students will complete a stress test and reflect on what may cause them stress. Fight/flight/freeze response is also reviewed in this product and how it relates with stress. Once students have taken the stress test, they will analyze their results. Students will work in groups and complete the packet regarding the effects of stress. Students will answer questions such as how they felt when they were feeling stressed, etc. Students will review the effects of stress charts provided that include what happens when the body is in fight or flight compared to when it is relaxed. Students will also learn about the emotional, physical, and mental effects of stress and see how they differ from one another. Students will learn what stress and stressors are when they discuss coping with stress. Healthy and unhealthy strategies to cope with stress are included in this product. Students will take time to reflect on a time when they were stressed or if they were stressed and answer questions regarding making healthy or unhealthy choices to cope with stress.

Throughout this product, students will answer comprehension questions and will also be presented with social scenarios that they may encounter where they are asked how they would feel or what they would do. An attitude survey regarding mental health that contains 10 questions is also included in this product. Students will compare their results when they are finished and will go over the correct answers.

If you aren’t interested in this bundle, you may be interested in each product that is included in this bundle:

Positive Self Talk:

https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Positive-Self-Talk-Activities-and-Tips-9822221

Resiliency Activities:

https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Resiliency-Activities--9826305

Communication Styles Adapted Notes and Review:

https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Communication-Styles-Adapted-Notes-and-Review-9837662#show-price-update

Mental Health Stigma Activities:

https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Mental-Health-Stigma-Activities-9844604

Gratitude Activities:

https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Gratitude-Activities-9753926

Stress Response Adapted Notes:
https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Stress-Response-Adapted-Notes-and-Activities-9848108

If you like this product, please leave a positive review. :)

This is a bundle of my top-selling literature packet and quizzes for the novel, Monster, by Walter Dean Myers. The comprehensive literature guide was created to correspond with the three quizzes to form a cohesive unit for your study of this great novel!

Product Includes:

Literature Guide: This 35-page product features a complete literature guide for use while reading the novel.. Monster is such a fun book to teach students about the American justice system while bringing up many moral issues and thoughtful points for discussion. This packet provides an excellent basis for comprehension and vocabulary acquisition for Monster and encourages students to play along with the jury as they read. I am confident that it will increase your students' understanding of this spectacular novel dramatically.

This student packet includes:

• Student cover page
• Thoughtful anticipation guide
• 30 "Legal Lingo" vocabulary terms
• 70 Comprehension questions
• 4 Pages of juror's notes
• Full answer key

Quizzes: This product features 3 comprehensive quizzes for the novel.

Quizzes cover:

• Character Identifications (matching)
• Comprehension Questions (multiple choice)
• Vocabulary (fill-in-the-blank)

Full answer keys are also included.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Though it is recommended to purchase materials together, you can also purchase them separately:

Monster Literature Guide & Monster Quizzes for Entire Novel

_________________________________________________________________________________

Also, check out these great products to supplement your Monster unit by Language Arts Excellence:

⭐ Monster (Myers) Activity BUNDLE

⭐ Monster (Myers) Anticipation Guide & Lesson Plan

⭐ Monster (Myers) Socratic Seminar Lesson & Materials

⭐ Monster (Myers) vs. Murder on a Sunday Morning Compare Contrast Project

⭐ Monster (Myers) ESCAPE ROOM

_________________________________________________________________________________

Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence

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.

Introducing our NEW Accelertated Rock'n'Rollin'!

Accelerated Rock'n'Rollin' is designed for the beginning drummer in ages 13 and up, and even adults! The book is a combination of levels 1 and 2 which dives straight into reading music on the simplified staff with the abbreviations on circles (notes and moves students through reading drum music on the staff, learning note values, time signatures, and dynamics. In this book, patterns are called solos.

There are also a hand full of composing activities throughout the book. Remember that students should not be rushed through the book, and it is completely okay to keep students working on a certain section or pattern for a few weeks at a time until they’re comfortable.

To make sure they’re playing with accuracy, start off each pattern around 60bpm. You can adjust the tempo from there as they learn the patterns.

The book flows in the following order:

• Introduce the Instruments on a simplified 3-line staff.

• Moves to a traditional 5-line staff.

• Introduce notes as quarter notes on the staff, and changes cymbals to cross notes.

• Introduce Half Notes and Rests, Whole Notes and Rests, and Dotted half notes.

• Introduce Rudiments and Stickings.

  • From Book 2, “ROCK’N’RUDIMENTS” readies students to learn and play simple stickings in 4/4 and 3/4 times using Quarters, Whole, Halfs, and Eighth notes. These rudiments can be used for fills, and can be revisited later on. 

• Introduces beamed 8th notes (2 sounds in 1 beat.)

• Introduces Forte and Piano dynamics. 

Printing instructions are included on the first page, with a print authorization certificate on page 2. The book is pages 3-102 in the document. Duplication is Prohibited. E-mail us at: zsmusiceducation@gmail.com for more information.

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

LA COMIDA HUGE BUNDLE

You won't need anything else to teach about La Comida.

• Bingo Cards
• Interactive Games
• Worksheets
• Visuals Aids
• Enhanced Visuals
• Differentiation
• and so much more!

This product focuses on the following areas:

This mental health curriculum includes suggested activities and tips to support mental health education and instruction for students in 5th through 8th Grade. Depending on students ability levels, this product could be used in 4th and 9th grade as well.

What's in this product:

Mental Health Promoting Self Care and Strength Notes - This product includes a 2 page teacher guide with tips and tricks when teaching self-management - promoting self-care for mental health and overall well being, an activity that relates with self-management, and a 12 page teacher guide with tips and tricks when teaching resiliency - students will learn from adversity and become a stronger, wiser person. Students will learn about overcoming problems that have helped them to become stronger, sometimes when we have problems we get pushed down and there are different choices we can make. Those choices are reviewed in this product. Students will discuss the importance of learning life lessons, positive feedback, poor habits, and good habits. They will learn the importance of being open-minded and how being open-minded leads to change, growth, and new possibilities. Students are also presented with different words that will help them to remember to have an open mind. Students will learn how to express positive feelings about themselves to help build self-esteem, strengthen their own identity, appreciate positive traits about their peers, and practice appropriate use of social media and mobile technology tools. Students will be presented with a real-life situation about how one woman defined herself and found happiness, they will discuss this individuals feels, how positive traits inspired her, and how she built up her self esteem. Students will discuss positive and neutral character traits, they will identify unique character traits about themselves and discuss them further and how these positive traits promote their overall well being.

Understanding Emotions - In this product, students will discuss what to ask for help for oneself and others. Students will identify and express a variety of feelings, common emotions that students feel, compare their emotions to a roller coaster ride and why that may happen, examples of emotional highs and emotional lows, when we feel emotional highs and lows, we may feel more pressure, and as students grow and develop – they need to deal with pressure. When students feel pressured, they can read the list of healthful ways to handle pressure, the list of feelings that it is okay to feel, what it is never okay to do, feelings and their definitions are included: embarrassment, depression, awkwardness, isolation, confusion, disappointment, hopefulness, optimism, happiness, and excitement. The importance of controlling emotions, suggestions for handling emotions are provided, mood swings, feeling pressure, and irritability are discussed. Students will be presented with different situations where they are required to identify the feeling, helpful ways to deal with the feeling, and harmful ways to deal with the feeling. Transition from elementary to middle school and adolescence are discussed and reviewed. Better techniques that can be used to form healthful relations are taught. Gossiping and annoying behaviors are reviewed and why they are frowned upon is included in this product. Students will also identify emotions, have students describe their own feelings and act out emotions. 10 emotion scenarios are provided for students to identify how students would feel if they were in that situation, students will track their emotions in a 7 day journal that is provided in this packet, coping skills are discussed and how they help us handle emotions in productive and positive ways, so our actions match our behavior, a list of poor coping skills is included along with healthy coping skills. Comprehension questions are asked throughout this product for students. They can be answered individually or as a group and can also be used as a group discussion. A teacher’s guide along with tips and activities is included with this product.

Social Communication Skills Adapted Notes and Review - In this product, students will begin to understand what words mean to others, get students to learn to actively listen to someone telling them information or telling them to complete a task, get students to verbalize more clearly, and get students to effectively communicate. Students will work with a partner by following their partners directions, and after the activity, students will evaluate the easiest part of the activity, hardest part of the activity, and answering the question why communication is important when verbalizing or interacting with others, students will read communication starters using facial expression, intonation, and tone of voice, the importance of using facial expression, intonation, and tone of voice are discussed in depth when having a conversation with others, Examples of different tones of voice are included in this product. Students will practice saying an expression a few different ways so they can understand how tone of voice is important, when we are frustrated or annoyed about something our tone of voice changes as does our intonation and facial expression, therefore, alternative strategies students can implement in their day to day routine are provided for when they feel frustrated, and when talking to others, students will learn that by listening to their conversation partner that they will understand how they are feeling based on their facial expressions, intonation, and tone of voice.

Emotional Awareness - In this product, students will identify how powerful positive and negative words are and for students to build empathy. Students will talk about words and actions that can hurt someone's heart/feelings. Students will learn the power of words and how they impact others, students will discuss the meanings of words: bullying, cattiness, discrimination, gossiping, self-esteem, and teasing, a list of hurtful words and actions, and helpful words and actions are provided, and students will be required to add onto all of these lists, students will talk about the effects of hurtful words on the heart, when students are frustrated what they can do to feel better, and how to better handle situations in the future when someone uses a hurtful word or you go to use a hurtful word.

Forgiveness Activities - In this product, students will learn what forgiveness is, to understand what forgiveness looks like, to discuss what forgiveness means, discuss the benefits of forgiveness, and to strategize how to practice forgiveness. Students will talk about what forgiveness means and how forgiveness means letting go of anger or resentment, Elizabeth Eckford and Tariq Khamisa are discussed in this product and what happened to them, how forgiveness was important in their situations, how forgiveness is important in these situations. Comprehension questions are asked that relate with Elizabeth and Tariq's situations and how students would handle forgiveness in these situations. Students will learn when they may want to forgive someone, when you may want someone to forgive you, and who you are hurting if you don't forgive someone. Students will learn that forgiveness requires compassion, empathy, and courage, it takes time and that is okay. Students will learn what to say to someone when they forgive them, how to show someone that you forgive them, and how you can ask forgiveness.

Gratitude Activity – Students will complete a gratitude scavenger hunt, where will they look for things in their environment that they are grateful for and students will answer questions about what they are grateful for such as something that they are thankful for that shows a vibrant color, something that makes them feel strong, something that they recently learned/discovered, etc.

Feelings and Mental Health Activities and Tips - In this product, students will learn to ask for help for self and others, students will use their imagination and visualization to release bad feelings, recognize when a situation needs help, students will identify the adults in school to ask for help from, identify the adults out of school to ask for help from, understand what trusting a person means, students will learn how we are all connected, learn what it means to work as a team, learn about different forms of communication, and practice different forms of communication. Students will talk about stuck feelings and how they get stuck, because you don't know that they are there, or you don't know how to let them go, a story about stuck feelings will be presented to students, and they will be required to answer questions about how they would best solve the problem if they were in the characters shoes, students will talk about pulling out their feelings, sending them away, and letting them go, students will focus on one uncomfortable feeling and will discuss where they can send it to let it go, so it doesn't return, students will talk about what they can do when they feel an unpleasant feeling, they will work on a feelings survival kit that will help them handle a situation in the future where they feel unpleasant feelings, students will discuss the definition of trust and who they can trust to help them when they are feeling unpleasant feelings, they will complete activities such as a buddy walk, trust fall, and trust drawing to help build trust, and students will complete a human knot and will work together with their peers to get out of the knot. Upon completing the human knot, students will complete the journal questions that are included in this product. Students will talk about the importance of communication and how we effectively communicate with others both verbally and nonverbally. Students will play the games telephone, charades, and hello with partners/groups and will reflect on their communication skills in the journal included in this product.

You may like these products as well:

Mental Health Curriculum 5th – 8th Grade Bundle

https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Mental-Health-Curriculum-5th-8th-Grade-9777027

Individual Products:

Mental Health Promoting Self Care and Strength Adapted Notes

https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Mental-Health-Promoting-Self-Care-and-Strength-Notes-and-Activities-9662166

Understanding Emotions Activities:

https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Understanding-Emotions-Activities-9684291

Social Communication Skills Notes and Review:

https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Social-Communication-Skills-Notes-and-Review-9700711

Emotional Awareness:

https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Emotional-Awareness-9711191

Forgiveness Activities:

https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Forgiveness-Activities-9753807

Gratitude Activities:

https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Gratitude-Activities-9753926

Feelings and Mental Health Activities and Tips:

https://www.TeachShare.com/Product/Feelings-and-Mental-Health-Activities-and-Tips-9766418

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!

This 150-page EDITABLE unit on Arthur Miller's The Crucible promises to elicit dynamic engagement from all students without compromising on intellectual rigor. The daily discussion questions, vocabulary lists, literary devices quiz, and analytical writing assignment will challenge your students to dig beneath the surface of the text and generate profound interpretive insights! This unit was designed to have more than enough rigor for honors, IB, and AP courses!

Hold your students accountable for completing the nightly homework by beginning every class with a quick vocabulary and reading quiz. Challenge students to analyze how Arthur Miller constructs each of the main characters by engaging in short in-class writing exercises focused on pivotal passages. Invite students to explicate textual details using a wide range of interpretive lenses: historicist, psychoanalytic, feminist, etc. Facilitate dynamic discussions that inspire students to arrive at a whole new depth of insight!!

Everything you’ll need to teach Arthur Miller's masterpiece is included in this bundle. The abundance of materials will give you lots of options to play with, and will make the experience of teaching The Crucible not just easy but invigorating!

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

• Pacing Guide: Suggestions for how to pace the reading homework and organize the classwork for Arthur Miller's The Crucible. (2 pages)

• Pre-Reading Handouts: Two pre-reading handouts provide students with crucial background information about the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 as well as the HUAC Hearings of the 1950s. (4 pages)

• Discussion Question Handouts: Twenty 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 The Crucible. 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! (30 pages)

• Discussion Question ANSWER KEYS: The answer keys to the discussion questions are informed by the best scholarly articles on The Crucible. 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)

• Vocabulary Lists: Lists of 10 vocabulary words to accompany every nightly reading assignment, complete with a definition and a sample sentence with the word as used in The Crucible. A total of over 80 SAT-caliber words. (8 pages)

• Vocabulary & Reading Quizzes: Daily quizzes with 10 questions on the nightly reading homework plus another 10 questions on the vocabulary words. Even 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 easy and quick! They’re a great way to log 8 to 16 grades into your gradebook. Answer keys included. (32 pages)

• Literary Devices Quiz: This quiz challenges students to identify the types of literary devices — metaphor, simile, metonymy, symbolism, personification, hyperbole, etc. — used in 33 quotations from The Crucible. The curriculum also includes a glossary with definitions of the literary devices as well as examples of how they're used in Miller's play — 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 exercise. Answer key included. (5 pages)

• Quotation Race: Students work in pairs to identify the speakers of 25 quotes. Introduce this fun activity when you need to mix things up — or to review for the AP Exam. Answer key included. (4 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 choose from among three recent FRQ3 prompts that featured The Crucible 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 Miller's wonderfully complex play. Let students choose from one of three profoundly thought-provoking sample topics — or invite them to develop an original topic of their own. Rubric included. (7 pages)

This unit is filled with dozens of visual images that shed light on important scenes from Miller's play: lithographs representing the Salem Witch Trials, transcriptions of suspects being interrogated by John Hathorne, photographs of Arthur Miller testifying before HUAC, etc. But what really distinguishes this unit is how the discussion questions, close-reading exercises, and writing assignment are all designed to deepen students' thinking and help them arrive at profound interpretive insights!

The entire 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 needs of particular 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!

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 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 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

This 75-page EDITABLE unit has everything you'll need for profoundly stimulating lessons on Marjane Satrapi's The Complete Persepolis. Invite your class to engage in student-driven discussions without compromising on intellectual rigor. The discussion questions, quick writes, daily quizzes, and final 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? 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, coming-of-age novels, cross-cultural encounters, and the social and political history of Iran!

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 Complete Persepolis is included in this bundle:

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

• Graphic Novel Glossary: A glossary of literary elements that are unique to the genre of the graphic novel: panel, tier, gutter, etc. Help your students learn to use the correct terminology when referring to the different features on any given page. (1 page)

• Discussion Questions: Eighteen of higher-order discussion questions guaranteed to inspire profoundly thoughtful class discussions! This unit features double-sided handouts containing 8-10 questions for each of the novel's 9 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! The questions could be used to focus students’ thinking prior to beginning a discussion, to foster in-class quick writes, or to assign written reflections for homework. Guaranteed to elicit student engagement and foster profound discussions! (18 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. (9 pages)

• Image Analysis Worksheet: A two-page worksheet inviting students to analyze 10 visually complex panels from Persepolis. Students will reflect on how Satrapi builds meaning by drawing on a distinctive palette of literary and artistic techniques: symbolic imagery, dramatic irony, high contrast, patterning, juxtaposition, etc. Students are challenged to analyze how the visual aesthetics of different panels contributes to the book's meaning. Answer key included. (4 pages)

• Quotation Race Worksheets: Students work in pairs to identify the speakers of 25 quotations. One worksheet features 15 memorable quotes from the main characters. A second worksheet features 10 challenging quotations from secondary characters. Introduce this fun activity when you need to mix things up. Answer key included. (4 pages)

• Vocabulary Lists: Lists of 10-12 vocabulary words accompany each nightly reading assignment. Every word comes with a definition as well as a sample sentence with the word as used in Persepolis. A total of over 100 words. (9 pages)

• Vocabulary & Reading Quizzes: Daily quizzes with 10 questions to follow each nightly reading assignment. Each quiz contains 7 questions on vocabulary words plus another 3 questions on reading comprehension. Grading these quizzes is simple and quick — an easy way to log 9 grades into your gradebook. Answer key included. (18 pages)

• Analytical Writing Assignment: Challenge students to take their interpretations one step further by writing an analytical paper on Satrapi's wonderfully complex graphic novel. Let students choose from one of five profoundly thought-provoking sample topics — or invite them to develop a topic of their own. Rubric included. (3 pages)

• Writing Schedule & Rubric: A writing schedule with instructions for completing each stage of the writing process. Rubric included. (2 pages)

Yes, this complete teaching unit covers both volumes of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. In fact, the pagination in this unit corresponds to the page numbers in Satrapi's compilation, The Complete Persepolis. While I would highly recommend that you teach both volumes of Persepolis — as the two volumes complement one another in important ways — you can still utilize this top-quality unit if you're only teaching one volume of Persepolis.

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 your students' skill levels — year after year! If you don't have Microsoft Word, you'll still be able to access all of the materials in PDFs, which are easy to navigate and quick to print!

My store is called “Rigorous Resources” because the units feature rigorous content guaranteed to yield an abundance of interpretive insights. The preview for this resources provides direct access to over 30 pages of 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!

Rigorous Resources is your one-stop shop for top-quality resources on highly engaging texts. Every unit was designed by a Ph.D. in English with over 20 years of teaching experience. Feel free to check out these comprehensive units on literary texts by diverse authors:

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

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UPDATED FOR THE 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR: Rigorous! Discussion-based! Informed by the latest cutting-edge scholarship!....

This 200-page EDITABLE curriculum has everything you'll need for profoundly stimulating lessons on Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God! Invite your class to engage in student-driven discussions without compromising on intellectual rigor. The discussion questions, daily reading quizzes, literary terms exercises, vocabulary lists, and analytical writing assignments 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 200-page editable curriculum:

• Discussion Question Handouts: Thirty pages of deeply thought-provoking discussion questions! One 2-page handout featuring 8-10 questions for each of the novel's 9 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! (30 pages)

• Discussion Question Answer Key: A sixty-page answer key featuring in-depth answers to almost every discussion question. The answer key has been informed by articles and books by Hurston scholars such as Henry Louis Gates Jr., Mary Helen Washington, Hazel Carby, Carla Kaplan, and others. Of course, 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. Your students are likely to come up with better answers than mine! (60 pages)

• Vocabulary Lists: Lists of 10 vocabulary words for every nightly reading assignment, complete with definitions and sample sentences with the words as used in Their Eyes Were Watching God. A total of 90 SAT-worthy words. (9 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 9 grades into your gradebook. Answer keys included. (36 pages)

• Literary Devices Quizzes (x3): These three quizzes challenges students to identify the literary devices used in sixty quotations from Their Eyes Were Watching God. For example, the quiz on figurative language features thirty quotations that contain the following figures of speech: metaphor, simile, personification, symbolism, apostrophe paradox, and more. The quiz on sound devices features fifteen quotations that contain alliteration, assonance, consonance, and onomatopoeia. This bundle also features a glossary with definitions of the literary devices as well as examples of how each device is used in Hurston's novel — so you can review the devices with students before they tackle the quiz. Answer key included. (8 pages)

• Quotation Race: Students work in pairs to identify the speakers of 25 key quotations from Their Eyes Were Watching God. 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)

• Poetry Pairing: Deepen your engagement with the themes in Their Eyes Were Watching God by reading and discussing several poems written by friends of Hurston who were involved in the Harlem Renaissance: Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and Countee Cullen. This poetry mini-unit Includes two homework packets with a total of 10 poems, discussion questions, answer keys, and poetic device quizzes. (30 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 of three recent FRQ3 prompts that featured Their Eyes Were Watching God 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 Hurston's wonderfully complex novel. Let students choose from one of five 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 content-rich lessons guaranteed to boost your students' close-reading and critical-thinking skills. At the same time, these lessons are filled with dozens of historically relevant visual images: paintings and photographs by preeminent African-American artists, portraits of Hurston, and much more. But what really distinguishes this unit is how the discussion questions, literary device quizzes, and writing assignments are designed to help student arrive at an abundance of interpretive insights!

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 every page 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 files, which are easy to navigate and quick to print!

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:

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