handout Archives - The Teachers' Library

Writing Topic Sentences about Theme

Lauren Crowley — Sun, 12 Mar 2017 15:17:26 +0000

I wish I could take credit for this idea below, but it’s a great idea I’ve seen others do, so I decided to make this handout for myself, changing a thing or two to fit the needs of my students. Below is a handout that models a formula for creating powerful and coherent topic sentences to introduce a particular literary theme.

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Of Mice and Men Unit Reading Packet and Activities

Lauren Crowley — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 13:43:26 +0000

Of Mice and Men is one novel that I have had consistent success teaching to students of many different backgrounds. I’ve taught this book to ELLs, struggling readers, gifted readers, reluctant readers; it’s one of my favorites. Students are able to grasp the symbolism, over-arching allegory, and get really invested in the story.

The most challenging aspect is that when this novel is commonly taught, most students have not completed U.S. history and have a pretty vague understanding of The Great Depression. As a pre-reading activity, I put students into groups and have them read an informational article about the era and either present an oral summary, or make a poster for a gallery walk.

The summative assessment of the unit is an essay requiring students compare the social stratification so apparent in the novel to our current society. I ask students to provide specific examples from current events to support their claims. This year, we discussed BLM, the Women’s March, marketing of products to extend youth and beauty, assisted suicide and other issues that parallel to the novel.

Included in the packet:

Pre-reading texts to build background and historical context of the time period
Vocabulary charts for pre-teaching key words
Chapter reading questions that include comprehension questions, interpretation questions, and a written response requiring textual evidence
Character graphic organizer
Dialect decoder for reference
Summative assessment prompt and rubric
Cover page in case you want to bind it all into a packet

Here’s an example of Chapter 1 reading questions:

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[insert_php]
// INSTRUCTIONS: array(“url”,”title”,”type”,”size”),
// AND only the last array() line does NOT have a comma at the end
$downloads = array(
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/omam-pdf.zip”,”Download all documents as PDF”,”zip”,”2mb”),
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/omam-msword.zip”,”Download all documents as MSWord”,”zip”,”6mb”)
);
insertDownloads($downloads);
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I’ve also had pretty good success with the movie adaptation, even though it’s from 1992. With some classes, I’ve had students enjoy the movie Cool Hand Luke; however, I’ve never had students write an essay analyzing and comparing the two stories. It’s something I’ve always wanted to try, and when I do, I’ll share the results!

The post Of Mice and Men Unit Reading Packet and Activities appeared first on The Teachers' Library.

Creative Writing Workshop Unit

Lauren Crowley — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 15:08:06 +0000

Below are some the resources that I use when assigning creative writing projects. I put some of them together in a kind of general, one-size-fits-all group of handouts that can help students organize their creative writing.

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[insert_php]
// INSTRUCTIONS: array(“url”,”title”,”type”,”size”),
// AND only the last array() line does NOT have a comma at the end
$downloads = array(
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/creative-writing.pptx”,”Download PowerPoint introduction to creative writing”,”pptx”,”2mb”),
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/character-development-outline-2.pptx”,”Character Development Outline – Download printable PowerPoint with graphic organizer, plot chart, and storyboard”,”pptx”,”154kb”),
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/writing-workshop-checklist-1.pdf”,”Download creative writing checklist”,”pdf”,”363kb”),
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/writing-workshop-checklist-1.docx”,”Download creative writing checklist”,”docx”,”86kb”),
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/peer-review-1.pdf”,”Download peer review handout”,”pdf”,”774kb”),
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/peer-review.docx”,”Download peer review handout”,”docx”,”256kb”),
);
insertDownloads($downloads);
[/insert_php]

The post Creative Writing Workshop Unit appeared first on The Teachers' Library.

Reading for Vocabulary

Lauren Crowley — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 14:25:43 +0000

Below is a handout I give to students when I ask them to do some independent reading. It can work in small groups and in isolated lessons, or over a longer period of independent reading.

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Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl

Lauren Crowley — Sun, 30 Oct 2016 14:27:19 +0000

Below is a PowerPoint and vocabulary organizer I use when teaching Roald Dahl’s Lamb to the Slaughter, usually as part of a larger short story unit. It’s a great model text for showcasing plot twist, irony, and characterization.

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Close Reading Task Cards

Lauren Crowley — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 11:23:41 +0000

Below are some task cards that I have put together using MS Publisher. They are intended to be used with any fiction text: poem or prose. You can change the wording to make them more directed or text-specific by clicking within the text within the larger box. Print them and cut them out. The are intended to be two-sided, with a colorful number on one side and a corresponding close reading question on the flip side, and then laminated.

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I ask that my students respond to nearly everything in a a complete sentence, and therefore I have provided some sentence frames to get them started, and so the cards can be differentiated for ability. My students are not required to use the sentence frames, but many find them helpful.

One more note: The long fill-in-the-blank-style underscores are to indicate that yes, a written response is expected. (A few of the lettered directions ask them to re-read something closely and therefore do not require a written response.)

[insert_php]
// INSTRUCTIONS: array(“url”,”title”,”type”,”size”),
// AND only the last array() line does NOT have a comma at the end
$downloads = array(
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/close-reading-task-cards-1.pub”,”Download as Publisher”,”pub”,”186kb”),
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/close-reading-task-cards.pdf”,”Download as PDF”,”pdf”,”765kb”),
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/task-cards-general.pub”,”Download template – empty set of task cards to write on or type in, that can be used for any content area”,”pub”,”172kb”)
);
insertDownloads($downloads);
[/insert_php]

The post Close Reading Task Cards appeared first on The Teachers' Library.

Very Valuable Vocabulary Handout

Lauren Crowley — Sun, 16 Oct 2016 05:11:30 +0000

If you’d like to encourage your students to incorporate more precise, sophisticated or fun vocabulary into their writing, here is a printable resource that they can stick in the front of their binders or folders. Or you could laminate them and stick them on tables for quick and easy reference.

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[insert_php]
// INSTRUCTIONS: array(“url”,”title”,”type”,”size”),
// AND only the last array() line does NOT have a comma at the end
$downloads = array(
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ditch-very-1.docx”,”Download vocabulary handout”,”docx”,”76kb”),
array(“https://www.theteacherslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ditch-very-1.pdf”,”Download vocabulary handout”,”pdf”,”190kb”)
);
insertDownloads($downloads);
[/insert_php]

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Because I Could Not Stop For Death Lined Poem and Handout

Lauren Crowley — Sat, 06 Aug 2016 10:41:11 +0000

This is a ready-made handout of one of Emily Dickinson’s most commonly studied poems. The poem is lined, has some vocabulary break-down, comprehension questions, symbolism chart, and a short paragraph response. Feel free to use as-is, or change it to fit your students or your own classroom.

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The post Because I Could Not Stop For Death Lined Poem and Handout appeared first on The Teachers' Library.

handout Archives - The Teachers' Library

Writing Topic Sentences about Theme

Of Mice and Men Unit Reading Packet and Activities

Pre-reading texts to build background and historical context of the time period

Vocabulary charts for pre-teaching key words

Chapter reading questions that include comprehension questions, interpretation questions, and a written response requiring textual evidence

Character graphic organizer

Dialect decoder for reference

Summative assessment prompt and rubric

Cover page in case you want to bind it all into a packet

Creative Writing Workshop Unit

Reading for Vocabulary

Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl

Close Reading Task Cards

Very Valuable Vocabulary Handout

Because I Could Not Stop For Death Lined Poem and Handout