9th Grade Tools for Common Core Centers

Fall Halloween Bundle

Over 150+ activities included in 9 packets for Fall and Halloween fun!

Descriptions:

Activity Packet 1: Halloween Coloring Sheets

40 pages

Halloween fun with 40 coloring sheets (nothing scary!) of:

pumpkins
scarecrows
friendly ghosts
haunted trees
haunted house
Dracula
Frankenstein
and more...

Non-controversial and with lesson plan ideas to encourage coordination, multi-tasking skills, writing, listening, reading, storytelling, puppet theater, and more. Great for introducing Halloween as a friendly holiday.

Activity Packet 2: Eerie Writing Prompts

21 pages

Eerie story starters to get your students in the mood for writing scary stories! Great visuals with one liner story starters. Colorful and imaginative prompts for creative writing practice and peer workshopping.

Includes:
Perhaps we could become friends...
Two eyes peered back at me...
I've had a very interesting life!
Come closer...
Let me tell you how I ended up here...
C'mon out...there's nothing to be afraid of!
Meet my new friend
The eerie glow of the pumpkin...
I know what you did!
Have a seat and let me tell you my story!
The howl of the wolf scared me.
Something went bump in the night
I started up the winding road...
The blaze lit up the night's sky...
Let me show you my castle!
"Help!" screamed the principal.
We found the shipwrecked boat...

Great Halloween writing prompts for practicing creative writing, storytelling, and peer workshopping skills!

Activity Packet 3: Get Fit Action Story: Frank N. Stein’s Haunted Horse

15 pages

Get students exercising and moving as they follow along with Frank N. Stein's move to a new neighborhood, where he finds new friends to help make his house a home. Action words include:

looked around
moped
juggled
skipped rope
frown
blow
shivered and shook
dropped to the ground
ran
slammed
quiver
danced
stood still
knock
jump
shook hands
waved
stepped to the right
boogied to the Monster Mash
shouted,
“Happy Halloween!”

Practice/assess coordination, comprehension, fitness, following directions, listening, and sight words with Get Fit Action Stories. Use for daily warm-ups, rainy day indoor activities, PE, reading, and learning styles. Fun and enjoyable for all!

Activity Packet 4: Write a Scary Story with Word Banks and Coloring Images

16 pages

16 Halloween coloring images with holiday word banks that include:

Cats
Bats
Dracula
Frankenstein
Ghosts
Pirate
Pumpkins
Trick or Treat
Witches
Zombies
and more...

Includes: Suggestions For Use sheet and template to create your own vocabulary word bank. Upper levels can use for poetry and contest writing. Fun way to assess writing skills in an ELA classroom. Grab a blanket and flashlight, turn on the lighted pumpkin, and have a classroom read-around of Halloween stories.

Activity Packet 5: Wacky Wayne’s Halloween I-Spy

11 pages

10 I-Spy Halloween pictures and items to help students with basic letters, hand-eye coordination, and matching skills. Can be colored and displayed. Includes:

Ghost
Frankenstein (2)
Bat
Haunted House
Mummy
Dracula
Scary Tree
and more...

Fun matching activities for early elementary students.

Activity Packet 6: Wacky Wayne’s Fall I-Spy

11 pages

10 I-Spy handouts with fall themes. Find and match basic letters and shapes. Includes:

Scarecrows
Farm
Farmer
Pumpkins
Squirrels
Leaves
Shapes
Basic Letters
and many more...

Handouts can be colored and displayed.

Activity Packet 7: Halloween Color, Count and Match Activities

22 pages

22 Halloween themed handouts for early learners to practice math skills, such as:

coloring/motor skills
counting
holiday
matching
numbers 1-10
sight words
themes
(No controversial or scary images!)

Find the correct Halloween symbol sheet to match the handout then cut, color, and paste. Practice basic numbers and sight words recognition, as well as matching symbols. Can be used for assessment. Includes extra activities and ideas for use of handouts.

Activity Packet 8: Fabulous Fall Activities

26 pages

25 fall themed creative writing handouts, poetry sheets, coloring activities, and more for elementary grades:

Includes:
Fall Scavenger Hunt
Classmate Scarecrow (Facebook page with Scarecrow)
"F is for"
My Pumpkin Poem (writing & craft activity)
Fall Acrostic Poem
What I love about fall
Create a Fall Feast party invitation
Write a Fall Story (with fall vocabulary word bank)
Write a tongue twister (with fall vocabulary word bank)
Draw a fall scene in the camera's lens
How many words can you make from "corn and oats"
Quack! Quack! If I were a duck...
Design a sign to sell your veggies/photos
My Fall Message for You
My Favorite thing to do in Fall
Fall interview
Fall newspaper
Fabulous Fall Recipe
Fall word search
& more...

Lots of creative and engaging handouts and activities for fall fun!

Activity Packet 9: Falling Leaf Spelling Activities

18 pages

15 Fall themed scenes that provide sight word/consonant and vowel practice. Falling leaves contain letters which can be written on the lines to make as many words as possible using consonants and vowels. Color the scenes, put together letters to make words, compare answers, small team game included.

Includes:

Fall scenes: trees, scarecrows, farm, farmer, pumpkins, squirrels, and more...
Basic alphabet letters: vowels and consonants
Directions with Optional Play and Use

Great for consonants, vowels, spelling, vocabulary, and writing practice, as well as assessments.

Fall Halloween Bundle includes over 150+ fun activities!

Help student writers understand and read their essays from readers' perspectives with this nine page presentation. The analogy of learning to drive is used to help writers understand that reading punctuation is like obeying road signs. Includes: Many roles of a writer Visually stimulating graphics Defining Writer as Reader Practicing Writer as Reader slides (indiividual/group activity) Peer Workshopping Following the steps of reading, listening, and correcting Excellent for introducing writers' roles, peer workshopping, and understanding punctuation.

22 story maps for illustrating storytelling to writing activities. These hobby and life maps are excellent as first week icebreakers, using oral narratives to start the writing process, and learning more about students. Use as individual/small/whole group activities. Meets CCSS. Includes: Directions Example 2 Teacher Maps Singer Traveler (Local, State, US, World) Artist Baseball Softball Basketball Soccer Football Reader Writer Technology Music Dancers (Male & Female) Science My Life Story 3 Blank Story Map Templates Students will have fun while being engaged as they learn about their classmates, draw symbols for life events, write captions, and use storytelling as part of their writing process.

Have you ever wondered how fake news makes such big headlines? Circular reporting, or false confirmation, is the term used to show how information spreads and becomes truth. This active learning, critical thinking, visual lesson plan and presentation introduces students to how we believe, and how false news spreads, as well as introduces how to define research sources. Students learn about primary, secondary, and tertiary sources for research and writing. Contains upper level current events content; use with appropriate ages and grades. Activities and Lesson Plan Includes: Teacher Lesson Plans with Step-by-Step Discussion Guide Evaluating Valid Information (Dr. Jeremy Dean) Class Poll: Gullible or Skeptical? False Advertisement by April Uno about Phillip Morris (Marijuana) Descartes and Spinoza 17th Century Debate on How We Believe Daniel Gilbert's 1993 Robbery Study Define: Circular Reporting and False Confirmation How False Information is Circulated 1994 Microsoft Hoax Benghazi and False Reporting Examples of False Information Reported as Truth How to Avoid Circular Reporting Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources (with labeling activity) Re-evaluating Beliefs and Class Poll Discussion Questions on Citing Sources and Social Media Optional Activities: Classic Telephone Game, Class Debate and Jury Trial, Evaluating Websites Excellent for teaching fact-based information, citing sources, propaganda in the news, journalism reporting, beliefs/ethics/morals, AP courses, Dual Credit, Philosophy. Lots of engaging, critical thinking activities for debates and discussions. Meets CCSS ELA.

Revised to include social media rules along with academic, creative, journalism. Help students categorize essays to determine what kind of guidelines to use. The 10 slide handout/presentation includes: Breakdown of 4 kinds of writing: academic, creative, journalism, and Texting When and How to use specific guidelines Easy Categorizing of essays Comparison of rules Printable Handout of Categories and Rules Activities Peer Workshopping Component Easy to understand and follow, great for standardized assessment strategies, and perfect for upper level/college bound students.

A 15 page resource for student publishing of essays and written works includes: Guideline checklist Author Tips Cover Sheet/Query Letter Publishing Tips Where to Send Work: Online, local, regional, national... Books for Publishing Help Blogging Self-Publishing Publishing Checklist to Guide Students through the Process Publishing Summary List (Keep up with correspondence) Can be used individually, small/whole group, with flipped classrooms, homework, assessment of writing processes, for peer workshopping, grammar reinforcements, and as real life writing assignment. Easy to follow and implement in ELA/Journalism classrooms.

Do your students need help defining,understanding, and identifying academic, scholarly research sources? This 16 page easy-to-follow lesson includes:

Discussion/Reflection on where students search for sources

What is scholarly research? (An Overview)

Table of Other Kinds of Sources: Popular, Trade, News & Opinion

Activity for Kinds of Resources

Types of Research Resources: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary

Activity for Types of Research Resources

Where to Locate Scholarly Research

How to Know if Your Research can be Used

Using Wikipedia--Yes or No?

Evaluating Wikipedia Bibliographies

Research Sources Checklist

Great for learning how to categorize and define scholarly research sources! Use with upper level, AP, dual credit, homeschool, college level students, and flipped classrooms.

A simple introduction to parallelism and how to use it in writing. Includes: Explanation Color-coded slides Why writers use parallelism Three activities: Define "parallel" and how it is used in writing, Finding Parallelism, Using Parallelism Peer workshopping component Excellent for mini-lessons, assessment writing, learning basic skills, enhancing writing, and progression of skills. Can be used individually or small/whole group.

Reinforce word origins by having students come up with their own made-up words! Use compound words, foreign words, prefixes/suffixes, shortened words, sound words, rhyming words, etc...for this fun, visual activity. Includes: Directions Definition Example from Classic Poem Student Examples Application Activity Publishing Activities Meets CCSS, improves vocabulary, uses decoding skills, and visualization. Use for individual or group activity.

Simple, to the point 5 slide presentation that walks students through using For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So (FANBOYS) in their writings. Includes: Rules Tips Practice Exercises Peer Workshopping Component Meets Common Core Standards for grammar usage.

Make learning prepositions and prepositional phrases fun and easy with this visual writing presentation. 13 pages/slides of active learning strategies for understanding and using prepositions and prepositional phrases along with commas. Includes: Definitions Poem Preposition List Preposition Chair Activity Preposition Walk around the School Campus Easy to use tips Prepositional Phrases Commas and Prepositions Lots of color coded, visual writing examples Practice activities for individual/small/whole group Peer Workshopping Easy for students to follow and use. Great for fllipped classrooms and homeschools. Activities can be used individually or in small or whole group settings. A stimulating visual learning approach to help students understand prepositions and phrases.

Step-by-Step How-To for complete film writing analysis. This 36 page guide has two parts: Getting Started and Writing Your Essay. This easy-to-follow guide includes: What is film analysis? Literary Analysis and Film Concepts Getting Started How to Watch and Take Notes Audience Theme Emotions Writing Your Essay Introduction Plot Summary Body Paragraphs Setting Mood Characters Film Techniques Sound Lighting Symbolism Foreshadowing, Directors and Writers Using Film Quotes Conclusion Peer Workshopping Activity slides for: planning, writing theme and subject, introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion Excellent for flipped classrooms, homeschooling, online learners, literacy centers, individual and group learning.

16 page presentation to help students define and understand what a ballad is, how it changed over time, its historical importance, Dand how to write a ballad. Includes: Definition with individual/group activity Examples of ballads throughout time periods Patterns/Rhyme scheme with example Critical thinking & fact based Individual/group activities Write your own ballad individual/group activity Research project with scoring rubric Extra Resources Complete interactive unit for defining, recognizing, teaching and writing ballads. Meets Common Core State Standards.

Help students understand literary criticism and what it is and is not. Includes: group/individual activity to define literary criticism examples of literary criticism journals compare and contract of "critic" definitions links to literary criticism journals where not to find literary criticism types and definitions of literary criticism Simple overview of literary criticism and where to find proper information for academic essays.

Introduce Semi-Colons, Colons, Dashes, and Hyphens with this 14 slide presentation. Includes: definitions examples practice sentences peer workshopping component comprehension checkpoint & answers extra resources This PowerPoint gives students everything they need to successfully use each of the "Other Punctuation Marks" within their essays! Easy to read and follow with color-coded examples. Can be used for ELL/GT/AP and flipped classrooms. Meets CCSS guidelines.

Students learn to write a thesis statement with this interactive presentation. Comes with: Handouts Examples Individual and group writing activities Peer Workshopping Answer Key Supplemental Resources Easy to understand, implement, and use as introduction, reinforcement, or assessment. Meets CCSS.

Interactive, peer workshopping approach to teaching Descriptive Writing. The PowerPoint has 21 slides and includes: Includes: Interactive Activities Descriptive Assignments Frequent checks for comprehension Crossword Puzzle Examples Figurative Language/Senses Peer Workshopping Resources Slide It defines, explains, introduces, and encourages descriptive writing through figurative language, five senses, tone, mood, show not tell, and visualization. Writing activities and handouts for scaffodling, assessment and comprehension of descriptive writing are included.

Using journal writing in the classroom takes know-how. This 41-page booklet takes teachers through the basics and introduces a model for successful journal writing. The how-to journal writing guide includes seven chapters: Just the Facts, How to Start Writing, Prompts, Student Examples, Assessing and Grading, What if..., and Resources. It makes journal writing enjoyable and easy for teachers and students. A great resource with student examples for teachers who want to use journal writing but are not sure where to begin or what to do. Beth Hammett's other works include: Natalie: Diary of a Senior Year, Developmental Writing Workshop, and educational articles for NADE, TCTELA, NCTE, and more. Join Beth at: www.bethhammett.blogspot.com

Are commas alien to your students? Are there not enough or too many commas? This 31 slide presentation uses a color-coded approach combined with peer workshopping and comprehension checks. The mini-lesson presentation addresses and includes: Research slide Extra Resources with practices Comma Comprehension Checks Commas in a List and Series FANBOYS Appositives Directly Speaking to a Person Dependent Clauses Adverbs and Transitions Parenthetical Expressions Adjectives Dates Cities/States Can be used as individual mini-lessons or as review. Provides peer workshopping component and comprehension checks to increase comma skills and usage. Interactive approach is easy to follow and is self-explanatory. Meets Common Core Standards.

Students are headed to college, but do they understand what college level writing is and how it is different from middle/high school writing? This 20 page presentation is just what is needed to reinforce what teachers have been explaining to college bound students--that expectations for college level writing are high! Includes: Activities for interactive learning throughout the presentation List of college level writing expectations Chart of middle/high school writing vs. college level writing Example of thesis from middle to high school to college level Compare/contrast of middle/high school vs. college writing Fill-in-the-blank format for analysis college level writing Tips from professors and students on how to be successful Where to find help with college level writing on campus Activities include: Individual/group define college level writing Compare/contrast middle/high school writing vs. college level writing Writing thesis for different levels of writers Fill-in-the-blank analysis template Give a writer's tip