This resource features a highly engaging, and memorable way to reflect on the year with your high school or middle school students using the lyrics to Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire!

This step-by-step two-day lesson plan encourages students to consider what defines their generation and then create their own lyrics to Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire." Every year, this lesson has been a huge hit with my students especially on the last two days of school. Your students will appreciate your taking the time to allow them to step back and reflect upon their world. You will love it because no preparation is needed at all for this very memorable activity!

Product Includes:

• Step-by-step lesson plan
• Graphic organizers for assignment

Note that lyrics cannot be included with this resource as they are copyright protected. They can be found easily online.

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Make sure to check out these great resources to end your school year on the best note ever!

⭐ End of Year ELA Escape Room

⭐ End of Year ELA Escape Room - Pop Culture Edition

⭐ End of Year "Book Talk" Activity

⭐ End of Year Mad Libs

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Celebrate the end of the school year with these fun End of Year Mad Libs!

No matter the age of your students, everyone loves a good Mad Lib. This resource features a fun Mad Lib about the end of the school year and serves as excellent grammar practice for learners of all ages. Your students will have a blast showing off their grammar skills as they reminisce about the wonderful year you shared together.

Product Includes:

• - End of Year Mad Libs Story (appropriate for all ages)
• Blank Mad Libs sheet for students to fill out (2 to a page to save paper during printing)
• Real Student Example to make you smile ____________________________________________________________________________________

More resources and activities for the end of the school year:

⭐ End of Year ELA Escape Room

⭐ End of Year ELA Escape Room - Pop Culture Edition

⭐ We Didn't Start the Fire Activity

⭐ End of Year "Book Talk" Activity

⭐ End of Year "Science Talk" Activity

⭐ End of Year "Music Talk" Activity

⭐ End of Year "Math Talk" Activity

⭐ End of Year "History Talk" Activity

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Can't get enough Mad Libs? Check these out from Language Arts Excellence:

⭐ Back to School Mad Libs

⭐ Mother's Day Mad Libs

⭐ Father's Day Mad Libs

⭐ Valentine's Day Mad Libs

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If you are looking for the perfect way to end the school year and send your students off to summer vacation on a high note, look no further than this End of Year ELA Digital Escape Room for use with Google Drive!

There is no wonder why escape rooms are so popular; they are highly engaging and encourage people to work together and think creatively in order to solve different puzzles... all while trying to beat the clock! Now, you can facilitate our popular End of Year ELA Escape Room at home for distance learning or in the classroom using your school's technology (thereby cutting down on paper and valuable prep time) with this meticulously-crafted resource. Each task is skills-based so that with this fun activity, learning is not sacrificed. Distance learning can certainly be a struggle for both students and teachers, so this escape room aims to provide a welcome break from the monotony while encouraging higher order thinking skills and a fun review of ELA material.

How does it work?

Your students must escape your digital classroom by solving 5 different Language Arts skills-based puzzles, discovering a hidden message, and finding clues along the way.

• Literary Crossword: In the first task, students must complete a crossword puzzle with questions about literary devices. Once complete, they must unscramble shaded boxes to reveal the first code.
• Words of Wisdom: In the second task, students must identify parts of speech in different funny and inspirational quotes from famous figures. When matched correctly, shaded boxes reveal the second code.
• Figuratively Speaking: In the third task, students must identify the figurative language device used in pop songs by current artists like The Chainsmokers, Coldplay, and Ed Sheeran. Shaded letters in the correct answers form the third code.
• A Dream Deferred: In the fourth task, students must perform a close reading of Langston Hughes' "A Dream Deferred." This is perfect for the end of the school year as students reflect upon their dreams for the future. The letters of the multiple choice questions about the poem will form the fourth code.
• Jig Saw Quote: In the fifth and final task, students must assemble a jig saw puzzle with a famous and inspirational quote. (We can't give that away here!)

Product Includes:

- Instructions for how to access and share escape room and answer key through Google Drive

- Digital Student Workbook

- Digital Teacher Answer Keys

This product requires free accounts through Google Drive and is completely paperless.

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⭐⭐⭐For the escape room enthusiasts out there, you can now build your own bundle at 20% off the cover price of 3 or more escape rooms! Click the link to check out all of the escape rooms Language Arts Excellence has to offer: Build Your Own Escape Room BUNDLE⭐⭐⭐

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If you are looking for the perfect way to end the school year and send your students off to summer vacation on a high note, look no further than this End of Year Escape Room for ELA!

There is no wonder why escape rooms are so popular; they are highly engaging and encourage people to work together and think creatively in order to solve different puzzles... all while trying to beat the clock! This meticulously-crafted resource features all of the materials you need to conduct a full-length ELA Escape Room. Planning an escape room may seem like quite the daunting task, but this product provides everything from the basics and set-up instructions to signs and answer keys so that yours runs smoothly from start to finish. The activity involves movement, energy, creative thinking and most of all, collaboration. Plus, all tasks are skills-based and aligned to the Common Core so that with the escape room, learning is not sacrificed. Your students will be having so much fun that they won’t even realize the higher order thinking skills they are applying in the playing of this game!

How does it work?

In order to graduate from your ELA class and make it to summer vacation, your students must escape your classroom by solving 5 different Language Arts skills-based puzzles, discovering a hidden message, and finding clues along the way.

• In the first task, students must complete a crossword puzzle with questions about literary devices. Once complete, they must unscramble circled boxes to reveal the first code.
• In the second task, students must fill in an MLA Works Cited Page with fictional, contemporary sources (like Bruno Mars' "MLA? That's What I like!"). Once completed correctly, letters within the sources will reveal the second code.
• In the third task, students must identify the figurative language device used in pop songs by current artists. Shaded letters in the correct answers form the third code.
• In the fourth task, students must perform a close reading of Langston Hughes' "A Dream Deferred." This is perfect for the end of the school year as students reflect upon their dreams for the future. The letters of the multiple choice questions about the poem will form the fourth code.
• In the fifth and final task, students must assemble a jig saw puzzle with a famous and inspirational quote. (We can't give that away here!)

Product Includes:

- Escape Room Basics

- Detailed Day-Of Instructions

- Escape Room Print Checklist

- Student Teams Chart

- Welcome Sign for Your Door

- Materials for 5 Tasks: task signs to be folded upright, task instructions (2 per page for easy printing), and necessary information to be kept at stations

- Student Answer Booklet

- Teacher Answer Keys

- Code Word Theme Open Response for homework or in-class writing activity

- Escape Room Reflection for homework or in-class writing activity

Although this escape room is ideal for the end of the school year, it can be used at any time throughout the year without modification.

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⭐⭐⭐For the escape room enthusiasts out there, you can now build your own bundle at 20% off the cover price of 3 or more escape rooms! Click the link to check out all of the escape rooms Language Arts Excellence has to offer: Build Your Own Escape Room BUNDLE⭐⭐⭐

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Like this escape room? You will LOVE the Pop Culture and Second Editions!

⭐ End of Year ELA Escape Room - Pop Culture Edition

⭐ End of Year ELA Escape Room SECOND EDITION

⭐ End of Year Grammar Escape Room

⭐ End of Year ELA Digital Escape Room

Overachiever? Start planning the upcoming year with a Back to School Escape Room:

⭐ Back to School ELA ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Back to School ELA ESCAPE ROOM - Pop Culture Edition

Check out more great resources for the end of the school year:

⭐ End of Year "Book Talk" Activity

⭐ End of Year Mad Libs

⭐ Escape to Summer Vacation ELA Escape Room

⭐ We Didn't Start the Fire Activity

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End of Year "Book Talk" Activity for Middle and High School Students This resource features an engaging "Book Talk" activity that will have your students thinking, writing, speaking, and moving all in one class period during the last week of school! In this activity, they must choose between 6 different quotes about literature and articulate why the quote aligns with their perspective on reading. I use this lesson at the end of every year to see how my students' perspectives on reading have developed and matured throughout the school year. This is perfect if you are looking for an engaging lesson plan during the one of the toughest weeks of the year! Product includes: - Comprehensive Lesson Plan - "Book Talk" Sheet for students to fill out - 6 Corresponding "Book Quote" signs to hang up around your room Though I utilize this product during the last week of school, it really can be used all year long. I hope that it is as successful in your class as it is in mine! ___________________________________________________________________________________ Check out these related resources by Language Arts Excellence for your ELA classroom: ⭐ End of Year ELA Escape Room ⭐ End of Year ELA Escape Room - Pop Culture Edition ⭐ End of Year Mad Libs ⭐ Figurative Language Challenge Game
⭐ Figurative Language in 2017 Hit Music Task Cards
⭐ Guess Your Grade - Effective Effort Form
⭐ Emergency ELA Lesson Plan BUNDLE
⭐ Peer Edit Forms and Lesson Plan ___________________________________________________________________________ ⭐Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence⭐

Celebrate summer with this engaging communal story-telling activity!

"Summer Collaborative Story Time" is a communal story-telling activity in which students practice using Freytag's Pyramid plot structure in their own narrative writing. In this activity, each student begins a story inspired by a unique summery-themed photograph. They are prompted to write the exposition of the tale by introducing the setting and main characters. After the allotted amount of time, the story is then passed to another student who is prompted to write the inciting incident or conflict and begin to detail the rising action. The paper is passed from student to student twice more until the story is resolved. When the stories are finished, the worksheet is returned to the original student who can then make edits and is responsible for producing a final draft.

With this intrinsically engaging activity, each student has the chance to tap into their creativity while applying knowledge of the 7 steps of Freytag's Pyramid. It is a great activity to introduce or reinforce the plot diagram and is ideal for the end of the year or in summer school. Since it runs itself, the lesson is also great for substitute plans or on those days when you need a quick plan to get you through the day. I trust you will find that your students will ask for this activity again and again!

Product Includes:

• 31 unique "Collaborative Story Time" worksheets with summer pictures and photographs (2-sided)
• 1 blank worksheet so that you may include your own picture or photograph

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Since your students will be BEGGING to do this activity again:

⭐ Collaborative Writing Activity

⭐ Fall Themed Collaborative Writing Activity

⭐ Halloween Collaborative Writing Activity

⭐ Winter Themed Collaborative Writing Activity

⭐ Christmas Collaborative Writing Activity

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