THE GIVER MOCK CEREMONY OF TWELVE: This is a fun and engaging activity to do with your students as you read The Giver, by Lois Lowry. This Mock Ceremony of Twelve allows your students to actively engage with the novel as they play the roles as citizens of the community. There is a writing portion of the activity that encourages persuasive writing, as well as a public speaking aspect. The packet includes instructions and a "script" for you, guidelines and worksheets for the students, and job assignments. If you need an activity to really get them interested in the novel, this is the one!

THE OUTSIDERS 10-QUESTION CHAPTER QUIZZES: I am not a huge proponent for multiple choice assessment, but sometimes with novel units, you do need a quick way to hold them accountable and to asses their comprehension. These are BASIC QUESTIONS* about the chapters, so if they are actually reading, they will get these correct. (*I note this because they are very basic plot and character elements used just as an assessment to make sure they are following along. The EXAM I offer in my store is much more detailed and thorough). There are three comprehension quizzes that cover Chapters 1-4, 5-8, and 9-12. There are ten multiple choice questions per quiz and an Answer Key is included. *****************************************************************************

Middle School Christmas Activity: Letter Writing (Exploring Cultural Traditions) This is a thoughtful and engaging activity with the Christmas and other Holiday Seasons in mind. In the month of December, Christmas is the holiday that tends to take precedence as we count down the final weeks to the holiday break. While many students celebrate Christmas, I think it is important to recognize our students who may celebrate a different holiday. This activity was created in order to give students the opportunity to explore and appreciate other cultures and their traditions. HANUKKAH KWANZAA CHRISTMAS BODHI DAY Activity Includes: Prompts to help students brainstorm how to express their gratitude Letter Templates to help structure the letter Facts Sheet with information for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and Bodhi Day Easy, thoughtful activity with NO PREP for you! Have a Happy Holiday!

**MIDDLE SCHOOL CHRISTMAS & HOLIDAY ACTIVITY: CROSSWORD AND WORD SEARCH (6th, 7th, 8th Grades) ** Three fun and easy activities for your students to do before the Holiday Break. The Crossword and Word Search Puzzles include Holiday Vocabulary. This packet now includes a Multicultural Word Search. Not all students celebrate Christmas, so it is important to be inclusive of all during the Holiday season! I hope you enjoy the updated packet! CHRISTMAS HANUKKAH KWANZAA BODHI DAY Happy Holidays!

Get ready for a laugh… This Parts of Speech Christmas Writing Activity is based on the popular and fun game of “Mad Libs!” Students LOVE this silly game, and you will too! In this Christmas version, students will rewrite the story of The Night Before Christmas by using different parts of speech: ADJECTIVES NOUNS VERBS IDIOMS This activity is one of the most popular products from my store–a student and teacher favorite! If you enjoy this one, be sure to purchase the Valentine’s Day version! :) Happy Holidays!

MIDDLE SCHOOL CHRISTMAS & HOLIDAY ACTIVITY: ACROSTIC POEM (6th, 7th, 8th Grades) Have your students create a Holiday Acrostic Poem using the Holiday of their choice. (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Bodhi Day). Easy-to-read instructions on how to craft an acrostic poem, as well as a short acrostic example provided. Easy, thoughtful activity with NO PREP for you! Have a Happy and Blessed Holiday!

**The Diary of Anne Frank (The Play) Lessons Complete Unit Bundle This is a UNIT BUNDLE for The Diary of Anne Frank: The Play (by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich). The packet includes the following: ** INTRODUCING THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK: VIDEO AND ACTIVITY This introductory activity includes a video presenting ten slides of images related to the Holocaust and Anne Frank’s story. Students will be asked to write down their immediate thoughts and reactions as they view the images within the slides. TIMELINE UNIT PROJECT This project encourages student engagement throughout the entire progression of the play. PLOT ENGAGEMENT: MAKING INFERENCES Your students will make inferences about the plot based on a short section of the play they are given. CHARACTER ANALYSIS/CHARACTERIZATION ACTIVITY This is a deeply engaging activity for your students to not only learn how to analyze/characterize literature but learn how to reflect and grow as individuals through reading. **VOCABULARY PACKET AND PRESENTATION: **This packet provides a great way to integrate vocabulary and reading comprehension as students are asked to find, define, illustrate, and present their own vocabulary words throughout the play. INTEGRATING GRAMMAR: Students will use the play to review the 8 parts of speech. CREATIVE WRITING: Reinventing a Scene: This activity not only helps them to further engage in the play but also allows them to work on Creative Writing. LETTER WRITING: Letter to a Character: This lesson will help students think critically about how characters are driven by plot. WORD SEARCH Word search with character names and terms for review. ** 50 QUESTION UNIT EXAM AND ESSAY** 50 question unit exam that includes 25 multiple choice comprehension/critical thinking questions, 15 character and terminology matching questions, and 10 grammar and vocabulary questions (optional). Answer key provided. This packet also includes an Essay prompt.

Christmas Activities for Kindergarten: Word Search (Two Levels in Color / B&W) Simple Word Search with two levels for your different learners. The worksheets come in color and in grayscale. Answer Key included!

Christmas Activities Word Search Puzzles NOUNS ADJECTIVES VERBS for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Grades (ENGLISH ELA) Three Christmas Theme Word Search Puzzles for students to practice NOUNS, ADJECTIVES, and VERBS. WORDS INCLUDED: NOUNS: ELF SANTA WREATH GIFT REINDEER TREE CANDY MAGIC TINSEL SLEIGH ADJECTIVES: SNOWY COLD MERRY JOLLY MAGICAL COZY ICY FESTIVE YUMMY JOYFUL VERBS: SING WRAP DECORATE GIVE TWINKLE BAKE CELEBRATE EAT REJOICE JINGLE

THE OUTSIDERS: JOHNNY ON TRIAL: Mock Trial: This is one of the most fun, yet academically engaging lessons I have done with my kids. With this activity, they are challenged to go deep into the novel and interact with characterization and plot development.This activity also challenges them to engage their writing, group collaboration, and public speaking skills. The activity is a Mock Trial for Johnny Cade and his role in the murder of Bob Sheldon. It is the students' job to decide if Johnny acted in self defense or if he is guilty of second degree murder. The packet guides the students through the process of the trial with easy-to-follow instructions which means no prep for you! A grading rubric is also included. (I have noted the duration is two days, but this activity can be extended for longer if needed). The packet includes the following: 1) Instructions/Note for the Teacher 2) General Instructions and Steps for the students 3) Terminology sheet of basic "Courtroom Lingo" 4) Character Role sheets for the following: *Johnny Cade *Ponyboy Curtis *Randy Adderson *Arresting Officer (not a true character to the novel) *Defense Lawyer *Prosecuting Lawyer *Judge *Jury Member Optional Roles include: *Cherry Valance *Marcia *Dally Winston *Darry Curtis 5) Jury Member Official "Verdict" Votes 6) Easy-to-Read GRADING RUBRIC

THE GIVER UTOPIA PROJECT: Activity for introducing the novel Get your students excited about reading this novel by starting off the unit with The Utopia Project. . .While this is a project designed to introduce students to the novel, it may be done during any portion of the unit. The purpose of this project is to not only introduce the novel, but to get your students actively thinking about the setting and theme of a Utopian vs. Dystopian world. Included in this product are guidelines to help your students create an advertisement or visual depiction of their perfect, Utopian society. Also included is a Rubric for quick and easy grading. THIS IS A *PDF FILE

**Creative Writing Short Stories: A Guide / Organizer for the Short Story Process for Grades 6-12. Plot Development Visuals ** This packet offers your students detailed Graphic Organizers for the Short Story Process. This packet is READY TO GO! All you have to do is print! The organizers walk the students through each step of the writing process by brainstorming and organizing each part of the plot. Each organizer also gives a helpful description of the plot point with guided prompts to help your students get started. These tools could be used in grades 6-12. The Packet guides the students through: 1) BRAINSTORMING –Topics and Ideas for my short story – Word Web 2) EXPOSITION –Creating Characters, setting, conflict –How do I start? 3) THE RISING ACTION –Important Events/Moments of my short story –How do these moments affect the conflict? 4) THE CLIMAX, THE FALLING ACTION, AND THE RESOLUTION –How is the conflict resolved? –How does the resolution answer all the reader’s questions?

THE GIVER CHAPTER VOCABULARY AND QUIZZES: This is a comprehensive unit packet of Vocabulary with over 50 Vocabulary terms used in the novel. Providing students with this packet allows for closer reading and engagement with the novel. The Vocabulary Graphic Organizer is a column chart that instructs the students to write how the word is used in context with the book (page numbers included), provide a definition, and create a new sentence.

**THE OUTSIDERS 40-QUESTION UNIT EXAM PLUS ESSAY: 40-Question Unit Exam that includes 15 multiple choice comprehension/critical thinking questions, 15 character and terminology matching questions, 5 true/false, and 5 plot diagram questions (optional). Easy-to-read Answer Key. Also included is an Essay prompt that may be used as part of the exam (based on how much time your class periods allow for assessment) or assigned as an individual take-home or in-class essay. A Rubric, a Brainstorming Sheet, an Outline Sheet, and a Final Draft Sheet are provided. (The latter three are optional based on your preference.)

5th, 6th, 7th, 8th Middle School English ELA Thanksgiving Activity! “Thankful” Letter Writing LETTER OF GRATITUDE: "I AM THANKFUL FOR…" This is a thoughtful and engaging activity with the Thanksgiving holiday in mind. This activity will allow students to reflect on that one, special person who has had a positive impact on their lives. Not only will this help students realize how they should show appreciation for others, but it will also allow them to reflect on their own sense of self, as well as how to structure a letter. Activity Includes: Prompts to help students brainstorm how to express their gratitude Letter Templates to help structure the letter Easy, thoughtful activity with NO PREP for you! Have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

MIDDLE SCHOOL THANKSGIVING ACTIVITIES: CROSSWORD AND WORD SEARCH (6th, 7th, 8th Grades) Two fun and easy activities for your students to do before the Thanksgiving Break. The Crossword and Word Search Puzzles include 15 Thanksgiving-related vocabulary words: **MAYFLOWER APPLE CIDER NATIVE AMERICANS TURKEY GIVING THANKS PILGRIMS NOVEMBER CORNUCOPIA STUFFING CRANBERRIES MASHED POTATOES PUMPKIN PIE THANKSGIVING AUTUMN FEAST** Answer keys always included in my products! Happy Thanksgiving!

5th, 6th, 7th, 8th MIDDLE SCHOOL ENGLISH ELA HALLOWEEN ACTIVITY: HALLOWEEN WORD SEARCH Now includes BONUS ACTIVITY!! Create Your Own Halloween Word Search! Save yourself some time (and sanity!) with this quick “time-filler” for the crazy week around Halloween. Includes 15 Halloween-related words! This activity now includes a “CREATE YOUR OWN HALLOWEEN WORD SEARCH ACTIVITY” with detailed student instructions. HOCUS POCUS GHOST HAUNTED HOUSE ZOMBIE TRICK OR TREAT WITCH HAYRIDE COSTUME SUPERSTITION BROOMSTICK PUMPKIN HALLOWEEN CANDY BLACK CAT OCTOBER Answer Key provided!