Poor TACKY THE TURKEY has been caught and will be eaten on Thanksgiving if you don’t save him first! Help Free the Bird by answering trivia questions that reveal mystery words. The trivia questions pertain to knowledge of famous authors and texts as well as literary terms and parts of speech. The object of the game is to FREE THE BIRD by earning the most points. There are FIVE rounds of this game total. Each round consists of FIVE literary trivia questions that reveal a letter for the mystery word, phrase, title, or name. For each round of the game, an assigned group member will shout out “GOBBLE” when he/she has figured out the mystery word. The first team to get the mystery word earns THREE points; the second team earns TWO points, and the third team earns ONE point. The remaining teams earn ZERO points for that round. The team with the MOST POINTS by the end of the class period (or the end of the five rounds) will FREE THE BIRD and win a prize! Teachers can decide on the prize to be won. Suggestions include candy, a homework pass, bonus points, or just good ole “brownie points”! Note that some questions reference Gatsby, Romeo and Juliet, and other titles that your students may or may not know, depending upon the grade you teach. However, the questions are stacked so that students can still figure out most answers without knowing all of the trivia questions.

This product contains a list of topics and related themes for Shakespeare's play Macbeth. Use this list of themes and topics as a springboard for discussions and essays. After students have completed a piece of literature, I have them compile a Topics/Themes list that they keep in their Writer's Notebooks. To do this, they first brainstorm a list of topics and then convert them into theme statements. Then, we share the list as a class. Afterwards, students then select a theme to use as the thematic claim in a literary analysis essay. I do this in lieu of giving my students essay prompts because it taps into their motivation by allowing them the freedom to choose their own essay topics based upon their own interpretations of the piece of literature. It's also an excellent strategy for enabling a more organic writing process. Use this document as a key, or differentiate this activity by giving students the list and allowing them to select a theme for an essay. The Topics/Themes list a versatile tool that is sure to enrich students' interaction with the play.

This product contains a close reading activity for the "Declaration of Independence." This close reading activity will target comprehension and analytical skills while exposing students to historical non-fiction. Skills assessed in this close reading include: Context Clues Non-fiction Structure & Purpose Rhetorical Devices & Effect Textual Evidence Have your students try it individually and then with a group to compare answers. For teachers in the states still taking the PARCC exam, it is important that students practice reading the diction and style of American "foundational texts" and authors because they are included on the "Simulated Research" portion of the exam. The "Declaration of Independence" can be a challenging read and is accompanied by 18 multiple-choice close reading questions that use Common Core/ PARCC question stems. Answer key included.

In this document, you will find over 200 sample question stems to use as templates for close reading that will target the Common Core while simultaneously encouraging critical thinking about fiction and non-fiction. These question stems target skill such as: Text Purpose, Structure, and Audience Literary Elements Literary Techniques Rhetorical Devices Non-fiction & Informational Texts Textual Evidence Word Meaning in Context Drawing Conclusions Making Inferences Summarizing and MORE! For the high school PARCC exam, students must write both a literary analysis essay and synthesize an argument using various pieces of foundational non-fiction. The sample essay prompts included in this packet will enable you to focus your essay prompts on writing tasks for college readiness. However, these question stems are not just for PARCC! Use them for prepping students in Advanced Placement as well as other non-Common Core state exams where close reading and writing are assessed for graduation. Sign up for the Bespoke ELA newsletter and find more lesson ideas at: www.bespokeclassroom.com. Also, follow my broadcasts on Periscope @bespoke_ela

I was feeling inspired by the winter and started researching classic poems about the season. What I came to realize is that winter is a polarizing season-- people either love it or hate it-- and writers reflect this in their work. Winter is complex. While the snow and ice bring much beauty, that beauty represents death and destruction. And so, many writers have found winter (as well as spring) to be powerful tools in symbolizing both positive and negative thematic claims. In this unit, I have included TEN poems by classic authors that involve winter in some respect. Some poems use winter to symbolize absence, others age, and still others unity. Five of these poems have a more positive representation of winter while the remaining five have a more negative representation of winter-- however, this is debatable! And that is exactly what students are going to do! Students are to: 1. Annotate the poems using the TPCASTT chart included. 2. Categorize the poems as either having a positive view of winter or a negative view of winter. 3. Debate the view of winter in one or more poems. 4. Write an explication essay on a winter poem of their choice-- sample essays, assignment, and rubric included! 5. Create a group presentation in which they compare/contrast two winter poems of their choice-- assignment and rubric included! 6. Write their own original winter poem along with an explication paragraph in which they explain how they communicate their thematic claim through selected literary devices-- assignment, student sample, and rubric included! This unit is modifiable for students of all levels and can also be shortened into a few days or extended into a few weeks. Teachers can choose which poems and activities to complete with their classes and really delve into this season that brings unity amidst destruction. I have also included my annotation notes for ALL TEN POEMS!!! Use these to guide discussions or to modify lessons for your students. Please note that my annotations do not represent the only possible interpretations of these poems and that my classification of poems is highly debatable!! Common Core Standards are included on the assignment sheets throughout this packet! This is a great unit to target nearly 100% of the Common Core!!

Lesson Plan Enduring Understandings To make connections between Shakespeare's style and modern music To use figurative language to communiate a theme To experiment with Shakespeare's language and English sonnet form To understand how the parts of an English sonnet are organized to create a central message To understand how tone shift impacts the thematic message in poetry To create an original English sonnet around a central theme Common Core Skills R1-6, 9, 11/ W 1-2/ 4-5 (6), 10-11/ SL 1, 4/ L 1-6 Procedure This activity assumes that students have prior knowledge and experience with Shakespearean sonnets. Students will first need to have a basic understanding of English sonnet form and Shakespeare's language. I would recommend this activity at the end of a Shakespearean sonnet unit. The pop sonnet began as an internet sensation and went on to become a popular book. The author had the idea to "Shakespearify" modern pop songs and morph them into sonnets. The result? A whole new level of depth for (mostly) simple songs with simple themes. Shakespeare would have been proud because this was Shakespeare's process-- to take simple ideas such as love and give them more complexity and sophistication. In this activity, students will explore pop sonnets via the (now famous) pop sonnet blog where it all started. They will then set out to select their very own pop songs to morph into Shakespearean sonnets. Students may choose to do this activity in pairs-- depending upon the level of the class. After crafting their own pop sonnets, students will then answer a series of questions that takes them through explaining and analyzing their original poems. Consider having students publish their pop sonnets online (via individual or class blogs) along with the original song lyrics and their analyses. Another fun and interactive way for students to share their pop sonnets is to have a read aloud in which the class tries to guess the title of the original song that inspired the sonnet. Differentiation Crafting a Shakespearean sonnet can be quite tricky due to the rhyme scheme and meter. Consider having students try one or the other, not both. Another option would be to give students an assortment of pop sonnets from the blog and have them analyze one of those in lieu of writing their own sonnets.

In this mega Beowulf Bundle, you will find 25 lessons and activities that include very thorough answer keys with textual evidence where applicable to take your Beowulf unit to the next level. This bundle includes the following items: 1. Beowulf Anticipation Guide: Heroism 2. Beowulf Cultural Discovery: An Introduction to the Anglo-Saxons 3. Beowulf WebQuest and Wordle Poem 4. Anglo-Saxon History Notes 5. Anglo-Saxon History Quiz 6. Anglo-Saxon Values and Vices Chart 7. Beowulf Journal Prompts 8. Beowulf Reading and Discussion Questions 9. Beowulf Reading Checks 10. Beowulf “Connecting the Dots” Graphic Organizers 11. Beowulf vs. the Epic Hero Cycle 12. Beowulf Rhetoric Activity 13. Bias and Propaganda in Beowulf 14. Intertextuality Activity: Beowulf and Wilbur’s Poem 15. Beowulf and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 16. Beowulf Agree/ Disagree Activity 17. Beowulf Debatable Statements Activity 18. Beowulf Essay Brainstorming Activity— Topics/ Themes Chart 19. Beowulf Essay Thesis Statements 20. Literary Criticism: “Subversive Female Power in Beowulf” 21. Beowulf Essay Prompts + Outline Form and Rubric 22. Beowulf Kenning Activity 23. Anglo-Saxon Boast Writing Assignment 24. Beowulf Comic Book Project 25. Beowulf Skills Application Test

I have spent the past TWO YEARS of my life compiling this bundle. No joke! This bundle contains 20 mini-lessons in 22 files/ 200+ pages to help guide your high school English students to success on the Literary Analysis Essay. Writing workshop is the cornerstone of the English Language Arts classroom. As English teachers, we are charged with the task of teaching students how to write effective essays across different modes of writing. One of these modes, the academic literary analysis essay, can present challenges for both teachers and students. How does the teacher identify, scaffold, and assess the skills needed to write a literary analysis essay? And how does the student know where to start and how to organize the writing process? That’s where this bundle comes in. Throughout my teaching career, I have developed a step-by-step guide for writing a literary analysis essay that is practical and easy to follow for both teachers and students. In this bundle, I have compiled 20 mini-lessons that take students through the entire writing process, step-by-step, from reading samples, to brainstorming, to drafting, to editing and revising, and to reflecting. In fact, these lessons are built so that they are reproducible for teachers. You can simply take each mini-lesson and photocopy it for your students to complete as homework and/or in class. To make this guide even more accessible for teachers, each mini-lesson also contains differentiated modifications for you to use as needed, and there are also answer keys and models included where applicable. So, let’s get started! It’s the “write” time. Table of Contents Mini-lesson #1: Student Sample Essays Mini-lesson #2: Introduction to the Literary Analysis Essay Mini-lesson #3: Grading Expectations Mini-lesson #4 The Thesis Statement Mini-lesson #5: Textual Evidence Mini-lesson #6: Putting the Thesis Statement Together Mini-lesson #7: The Introduction Paragraph Mini-lesson #8: The Body Paragraph Mini-lesson #9: Topic & Concluding Sentences Mini-lesson #10: Selecting & Organizing Textual Evidence Mini-lesson #11: Blending Quotations Mini-lesson #12: Crafting Commentary Mini-lesson #13: Putting Together the Body Paragraph Mini-lesson #14: The Conclusion Paragraph Mini-lesson #15: Initial Revisions & Editing for “Academese" Mini-lesson #16: Grammar Editing Mini-lesson #17: MLA Format Mini-lesson #18: Final Revision Forms Mini-lesson #19: Revisiting the Rubric & Final Submission Form Mini-lesson #20: Metacognition Literary Analysis Sample Essay Pack Writing Folder Progress Checklist Teacher Approval Form