Middle School End of Year Lesson

This bundle includes the in-class and digital versions of our End of Year ELA Escape Room!

There is no wonder why escape rooms are so popular; they are 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 End of Year ELA Escape Room in the classroom and at home for distance learning with this meticulously-crafted bundle. All tasks are skills-based so that with these fun lessons, learning is not sacrificed. Whether they are in school or at home, 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 with these activities!

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. (Note that in the paper version, task is MLA All Day: In the second task, students must fill in an MLA Works Cited Page with fictional, contemporary sources. Once completed correctly, letters within the sources will 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!)

Digital Resource Includes:

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

- Digital Student Workbook

- Digital Teacher Answer Keys

Paper Version 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

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Can't get enough escape rooms? Check out more themed escapes by Language Arts Excellence here:

⭐ Spring Break ELA Escape Room

⭐ Back to School ELA ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Halloween ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Thanksgiving ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Christmas ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ New Year's ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Valentine's Day ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ St. Patrick's Day ESCAPE ROOM

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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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Why is it that calling out sick can actually mean more work as you scramble to come up with a plan for your substitute teacher?

This product features a bundle of 6 (mostly) print & go emergency lesson plans that are ideal for days prior to and returning from vacations, between units, emergency sub plans, or simply those days when you just "can't." (And let's face it, we've all been there!)

Each lesson plan maintains a high standard for student learning and engagement with minimal preparation on your end. Plans are varied yet cohesive and allow for differentiation within your classroom. It is recommended that you read through each lesson plan prior to the start of class to make sure that you have all materials ready as photocopying and in some cases moderate set-up is required. While plans work well for substitutes, you may find that they are so much fun that you will want to experience them with your students yourself!

Purchasing these resources as a bundle saves 20% off the cover price!

Products included in this bundle:

⭐ "Still I Rise" (Angelou) Lesson Plan & Materials -- A best-selling product!

This lesson plan on Angelou's poem can be used in a variety of ways throughout the school year. For instance, the lesson is the perfect jumpstart for your unit on slavery, Civil Rights, poetry, or Women's Rights in America. It can also be used as a stand-alone lesson to get your students to reflect upon and discuss overcoming their own personal obstacles. Given the theme of the poem, the lesson even acts as a great medium for discussing how to to rise above bullying in a society where bullying is sadly so prevalent. These meticulously laid-out materials and lesson plan will have your students thinking, speaking, reading, and writing all in one class period and interacting deeply with one of the most beautiful and resounding works of American poetry.

⭐ We Didn't Start the Fire Activity

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!

⭐Shakespeare's "Death Lines" Activity

In this full-length lesson plan, students will closely examine the final lines of Shakespearean characters before their deaths (if you know Shakespeare, there are quite a few!). Following a mini-lesson on the importance of these final words, students will take part in the classic game, Mafia, with a unique, Shakespearean twist. I invented the take on this game several years ago and it has become one of my students' and my favorite days of the whole school year. There is truly nothing like seeing students having a great time while studying Shakespeare. I am confident that your students will love it too!

⭐"Literature Talk" Lesson Plan

This product features an engaging "Literature Talk" activity that will have your students thinking, writing, speaking, and moving all in one class period. In this activity, they must choose between 6 different quotes about books and articulate why the quote aligns with their own perspective. They will have a chance to discuss their opinions in small groups and as part of a full class discussion. The full-length lesson plan can literally be used any day of the school year and is sure to spark thoughtful discussion among your students.

⭐Collaborative Writing Activity

"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 evocative 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.

⭐Poe's Annabel Lee Poetry/Song Pairing

Who in the world knows more about love and loss than Edgar Allan Poe? This resource features a full-length lesson plan and accompanying materials for a song/poem pairing of "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe and popular song, "Sad Beautiful Tragic." Lesson plan is Common Core aligned and centers around rhyme scheme, repetition, figurative language, and theme. This student-tested activity is the perfect addition for any unit on Edgar Allan Poe and is guaranteed to enlighten your students on the timelessness of Poe's poetry in an engaging and contemporary way.

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⭐Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence⭐

This bundle includes the in-class and digital versions of our Shakespeare Escape Room.

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 Shakespeare Escape Room at home for distance learning or in the classroom with this meticulously-crafted resource. Whether they are in school or at home, your students will be having so much fun that they won’t even realize how much they are learning about the Bard while trying to escape!

How does it work?

In order to escape from Elizabethan England and return to the present day, your students must escape your classroom by solving 6 different puzzles, discovering a hidden message, and finding clues along the way.

• Shakespeare FAQs: In the first task, students must complete a crossword puzzle with questions about Shakespeare. Once complete, they must unscramble shaded boxes to reveal the first code.
• The Globe: In the second task, students must correctly identify components of the Globe Theater. Shaded boxes within the correct answers reveal the second code.
• Name That Play: In the third task, students must match fictional newspaper headlines with the Shakespearean play they represent. This task is in the form of a mat puzzle and the code is revealed when students have matched all plays correctly.
• My Mistress' Eyes: In the fourth task, students must analyze one of Shakespeare’s most famous sonnets, My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing like the Sun. The letters of the multiple choice questions about the sonnet will form the fourth code.
• Jig Saw Quote: In the fifth task, students must assemble a jig saw puzzle with a quote from one of Shakespeare’s plays.
• Putting it all Together: The final task brings the first 5 tasks together. Students will learn that each of the codes represent an aspect of one of Shakespeare’s plays. The name of the play is the key to escape Elizabethan England and return to the present day!

In-Class Escape Room Includes:

- Escape Room Basics

- Detailed Day-Of Instructions

- Escape Room Print Checklist

- Student Teams Chart

- Welcome Sign for Your Door

- Materials for 6 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 Booklets (small and large options)

- Teacher Answer Keys

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

Digital Escape Room Includes:

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

- Materials for 6 Tasks: digital task signs, detailed task instructions, and supplementary materials

- Digital Student Worksheets

- Digital Teacher Answer Key

**Please be aware that both escape rooms are designed for use with internet access. The purpose of the escape rooms are to learn about Shakespeare, his plays, and the Globe Theater and therefore many aspects will not be common knowledge. It is therefore highly recommended that computers or tablets are available for student use.**

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Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence

This bundle includes the in-class and digital versions of our Poetry Escape Room.

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 Poetry Escape Room at home for distance learning or in the classroom with this meticulously-crafted resource. Whether they are in school or at home, your students will be having so much fun that they won’t even realize how much they are learning about poetry while trying to escape!

How does it work?

The ghosts of Walt Whitman, Edgar Allan Poe, Langston Hughes, William Shakespeare, and Maya Angelou have risen from the grave to lock your students inside your classroom. They are upset because they believe that students spend too much time talking about (fill in the blank with whatever is cool with students these days... probably making TikToks) and not enough time reading and writing poetry. Students cannot escape until they complete 5 poetry-based tasks to show these ghosts of poets past that they do in fact know their poetry.

• Match 'Em Up: In the first task, students must match up poetic terms and devices with their definitions. Letters intersected by the lines between the terms and definitions will reveal their first code.
• Figuratively Speaking: In the second task, students must correctly identify the figurative language used in poem excerpts. When matched correctly, shaded boxes reveal their second code.
• Television: In the third task, students must closely read the poem, Television, by Roald Dahl. Then, they must correctly identify poetic terms and devices within the poem. When matched correctly on a chart, the third code is revealed.
• Playground Blues: In the fourth task, students must perform a close reading of Back in the Playground Blues by Adrian Mitchell. Letters of the multiple choice CCSS-aligned question answers following the poem reveal their fourth code.
• Jig Saw Quote: In the final task, students must assemble a jig saw puzzle that forms a quote about poetry. Once the puzzle is assembled and students bring the quote to you, they may escape the room.

In-Class Escape Room 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 Booklets (small and large options)

- Teacher Answer Keys

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

Digital Escape Room Includes:

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

- Materials for 5 Tasks: digital task signs, detailed task instructions, and supplementary materials

- Digital Student Worksheets

- Digital Teacher Answer Key

This escape room is suitable for middle and high school students and is ideal any time during your poetry unit. Students will need to know definitions of poetic devices and terms in order to complete the activity. Some of the terms covered: alliteration, imagery, free verse, internal rhyme, tone, mood, stanza, stress, onomatopoeia, allusion, hyperbole, syntax, extended metaphor, haiku, oxymoron....

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This bundle includes the in-class and digital versions of our Spring Break ELA Escape Room!

There is no wonder why escape rooms are so popular; they are 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 Spring Break ELA Escape Room in the classroom and at home for distance learning with this meticulously-crafted bundle. All tasks are skills-based so that with these fun lessons, learning is not sacrificed. Whether they are in school or at home, 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 with these activities!

How does it work?

Your students are trapped in your classroom and cannot leave for spring break until they solve 5 Language Arts skills-based tasks about spring!

• Spring to Life: In the first task, students must fill in the blanks with the spring-inspired idioms.
• Figurative as a Flower: In the second task, students identify the figurative language devices used in excerpts from beautiful spring poems (like After the Winter by Claude McKay).
• Edna's Spring: In the third task, students must perform a close reading of Spring by Edna St. Vincent Millay, the perfect poem to study as the days get warmer, and answer multiple choice questions about the poem.
• Spring Fever: In the fourth task, students will read 8 quotes about spring and identify the part of speech of underlined words within each quote.
• Jig Saw Quote: In the final task, students must solve a jig saw puzzle that reveals a provocative quote about spring. Once they figure out the quote and share the file with you, they may escape to spring break!

In-Class Escape Room 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 Sheet

- Teacher Answer Keys

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

Digital Escape Room Includes:

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

- Materials for 5 Tasks: digital task signs, detailed task instructions, and supplementary materials

- Digital Student Worksheets

- Digital Teacher Answer Key

These escape rooms are suitable for middle and high school students and are ideal for any day from March through June as the sun begins to shine a little brighter and the crocuses peep their heads out from the soil.

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Can't get enough escape rooms? Check out more themed escapes by Language Arts Excellence here:

⭐ End of Year ELA ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Halloween ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Thanksgiving ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Christmas ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ New Year's ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Valentine's Day ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ St. Patrick's Day ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Back to School ELA ESCAPE ROOM

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This resource features a bundle of all of our lesson plans, materials, and activities for Paolo Coelo's inspirational best-selling novel, The Alchemist. Each product is thoughtfully crafted and allows students to think outside the box by delving deeply into the novel's themes, characters, and plot development. Lessons have all been classroom-tested and allow for differentiation while encouraging optimal student engagement. You will not find tedious lists of comprehension questions and vocabulary words in this bundle; instead you will find materials that will bring the novel to life!

Included in this Bundle:

⭐ The Alchemist "Silent Conversation" Quote Pass Activity

This product features a thoughtful and engaging activity for use during the study of The Alchemist. Centering around 5 different provocative passages from the book, this lesson provides your students with a chance to think, reflect, and respond to their peers without ever saying a word. This creative approach is a great way to differentiate instruction among your students and allows even your most quiet students to shine. I am confident that this no-prep lesson will become a must-do activity within your unit on The Alchemist!

⭐ The Alchemist Anticipation Guide & Lesson Plan

This product features an anticipation guide for The Alchemist, and a meticulously-explained lesson plan that is in my opinion, the absolute best way to approach a new novel. Using a non-intimidating method called "Numbered Heads", this activity will get your students thinking, writing, conversing, and reporting about themes you will be encountering during your study of The Alchemist.

⭐ The Alchemist Bell Ringer Journal Prompts

This resource features a set of 25 reader response journal prompts for use during your unit on The Alchemist. Each bell ringer is comprised of a quote from the novel and a thoughtfully crafted question that encourages students to personally connect with his inspirational words. Prompts can be used as bell-ringers (most popular and mean the first 5 minutes of every class for a month are planned for you!), summarizers, stations, full class or small group discussion questions, for homework, task cards, sub plans, as a filler activity… the possibilities are endless!

⭐ The Alchemist ESCAPE ROOM

This meticulously-crafted resource features all of the materials you need to conduct a full-length Escape Room for The Alchemist. Planning an escape room may seem like quite the daunting task, but this product provides everything from the basics and set-up instructions to answer keys so that yours runs smoothly from start to finish. The activity involves movement, energy, creative thinking and most of all, collaboration. All tasks are skills-based so that with this fun lesson, 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!

⭐ The Alchemist Quote Posters

Make your classroom pop with this set of 20 gorgeous posters featuring quotes from The Alchemist. Each 7.5 x 7.5 (square) poster contains a provocative quote from the novel imposed over a stunning photograph meant to inspire your students and motivate them to follow their dreams. The square format is reminiscent of Instagram and makes for an eye-catching arrangement on your wall or bulletin board. I suggest laminating the posters and using them not just during your Alchemist unit, but all year long!

⭐ The Alchemist Socratic Seminar Materials

This resource features lesson plans and materials to conduct a formal set of Socratic Seminars for The Alchemist. Socratic Seminars (or "Fish Bowl" Conversations as referred to in this resource) are higher order ways of assessing whether your students are able to understand and react to your class texts. These seminars rely on the power of inquiry and allow students to take the lead in their learning and discussion. The only problem? They require a great deal of preparation. Fortunately, this student-tested resource includes everything you need to conduct a structured and formal set of Socratic Seminars in your classroom surrounding The Alchemist... and no preparation is required by you at all.

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