Middle School Short Stories Activities

This resource features a comprehensive literature guide for use while reading Edgar Allan Poe's creepy classic tale, The Black Cat. The packet provides an excellent basis for comprehension and vocabulary acquisition for the short story and encourages students to think critically about plot structure, literary elements, figurative language, and the superstitions within the story. The wide range of activities in this guide will keep your students engaged and help them to gain a deep understanding of one of the most highly regarded tales of American literature.

Product Includes:

• Attractive cover page for student packet
• Anticipation guide - "Debate Statements"
• Vocabulary
• Vocabulary drawing activity
• Comprehension questions
• Freytag’s pyramid worksheet
• "History of the Black Cat" extension article and comprehension questions
• "Putting it all Together" short essay question
• Literary elements worksheet
• Figurative language worksheet
• Unreliable Narrator of The Black Cat Lesson Plan
• Full answer keys for teacher use

While this literature guide is Common Core aligned for eighth grade, it is appropriate for students in seventh-tenth.

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Will you be teaching “The Tell-Tale Heart” during your Edgar Allan Poe unit as well? Save money on cohesive literature guides for both short stories by purchasing them together:

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart and The Black Cat Literature Guides BUNDLE

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Check out these great products to supplement your study of The Black Cat:

⭐ The Black Cat ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe "Breaking News" Article and Illustration Activity

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart/The Black Cat Socratic Seminar Materials

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart/The Black Cat Compare Contrast Essay

⭐ Lamb to the Slaughter & The Black Cat Compare Contrast Essay

More resources to round out your Edgar Allan Poe unit:

⭐ Introduction to Edgar Allan Poe PowerPoint

⭐ Introduction to Edgar Allan Poe Scavenger Hunt

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Bell Ringer Journal Prompts

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Crossword Puzzle

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Brochure

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe's Obituary

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Quote Posters

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Resource Bundle

But why stop with one story? We have enough Edgar Allan Poe resources to frighten your students for months!

⭐ The Raven Literature Guide

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart Literature Guide

⭐ The Pit and the Pendulum Literature Guide

⭐ The Cask of Amontillado Literature Guide

⭐ The Fall of the House of Usher Literature Guide

⭐ The Masque of the Red Death Literature Guide

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Short Story BUNDLE

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⭐Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence⭐

If you are looking for the perfect way to introduce or review dystopian literature for your students with a rigorous yet engaging activity, look no further than our Escape from Dystopia 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! This meticulously-crafted resource features all of the materials you need to conduct a full-length Dystopia Escape Room. Planning an escape room may seem like quite the daunting task, but this product provides everything from the basics and set-up instructions to signs and answer keys so that yours runs smoothly from start to finish. The activity involves movement, energy, creative thinking and most of all, collaboration. 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!

How does it work?

In order to escape from your dystopian classroom of despair and destruction, your students must escape your room by solving 5 different utopian and dystopian related puzzles, discovering a hidden message, and finding clues along the way.

• Dystopia FAQs: In the first task, students must complete a crossword puzzle with questions about dystopian and utopian societies. Once complete, they must unscramble circled boxes to reveal the first code.
• Trending Now: In the second task, students must match an actual current law, statistic or trend with the dystopian novel that shows what, if taken to the extreme, could happen to our world. Once completed correctly, letters within the shaded boxes will reveal the second code.
• Word Maze: In the third task, students must complete a word maze. Letters collected along the way will reveal a theme of dystopia and act as the third code.
• Unknown Citizen: In the fourth task, students must perform a close reading of W. H. Auden's The Unknown Citizen. This is the perfect poem for discussing the totalitarian aspects of dystopian societies and how citizens can completely lose their individuality within them. The letters of the multiple choice questions about the poem will form the fourth code.
• Dys/U topia?: In the fifth and final task, students must assemble two charts for Utopia and Dystopia using hypothetical elements of both types of society. Letters of the correct answers reveal the final code phrase to escape the classroom!

Product Includes:

- Escape Room Basics

- Detailed Day-Of Instructions

- Escape Room Print Checklist

- Student Teams Chart

- Materials for 5 Tasks: task signs to be folded upright, task instructions (2 per page for easy printing), and supplementary materials 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

This escape room can be used as an introduction to or as a review of dystopia, however students will need at least a fundamental understanding of utopian and dystopian societies prior to engaging in the escape room. Therefore, this 30-slide Introduction to Dystopia Powerpoint is included to be taught a day or two prior to this lesson.

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We've gone digital! Check out the digital version to support distance learning here:

⭐ Escape from Dystopia Digital ESCAPE ROOM & PowerPoint

Also, check out these great products for your unit on DYSTOPIA by Language Arts Excellence:

⭐ Dystopian Literature Socratic Seminar

The Handmaid's Tale

⭐ The Handmaid's Tale "Hot Seat!"

⭐ The Handmaid's Tale "Silent Conversation" Quote Pass Activity

⭐ The Handmaid's Tale Anticipation Guide & Lesson Plan

⭐ The Handmaid's Tale Journal Prompts

⭐ The Handmaid's Tale Quote Posters

⭐ The Handmaid's Tale Socratic Seminar Lesson Plan and Materials

The Lottery

⭐The Lottery Activity Bundle

⭐ The Lottery Social Media Materials

⭐ The Lottery Socratic Seminar Lesson Plan and Materials

⭐ The Lottery "Tossing Lines" Anticipation Guide

Harrison Bergeron

⭐ Harrison Bergeron 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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Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence

This POWERPOINT Hispanic Heritage bundle includes 4 digital lessons: an introduction to Hispanic Heritage, *plus* 3 introductory vocabulary lessons to short stories written by prestigious HISPANIC authors. The short stories are semi-autobiographical in nature, reflecting the author's life influence.

Each prereading POWERPOINT provides digital pre-reading information for author, genre, and setting; hi-lighting the UNIQUE CULTURE of the author. Each story lesson also includes vivid vocabulary slides, printable grammar and vocab practice with assessments.

--PDF Links to stories included--

• The Circuit by Francisco Jimenez
• The Jacket by Gary Soto
• Eleven by Sandra Ciseneros

The digital MINI-LESSON contains :

10 colorful slides introducing elements of Hispanic culture such as language, music, geographic location, food, religion, Hispanic-American contributors and authors. Each slide is filled with photos, maps, as well as, music and video links. This is the perfect prelude to the following short story lessons .

EACH of the 3 SHORT STORY POWERPOINT LESSON contains:

1. **Author Bio:** To connect vocabulary with real-world context, we provide author biographies related to each short story. This adds depth to the lesson, allowing students to appreciate the words in the context of the author's life experience.

2. **Setting**: highly informative slides include maps, historical images and intriguing video links to prepare students to have a deeper understanding of the location and time period in which the story takes place. This is a crucial element when preparing students to read outside their own worldview.

3. **Vocab with Concise Definitions :** Our PowerPoint lesson provides clear and concise definitions for challenging vocabulary words, ensuring that students understand the meaning of each word in context as it appears in the text.(Look at individual lessons for vocabulary words.)

4.**Bold Photos:** Visual learners will thrive with our visually appealing slides, featuring bold and relevant images that help reinforce vocabulary concepts and make learning more engaging.

5.**Parts of Speech:** Understanding the parts of speech is crucial for effective language comprehension. Our lesson includes sections dedicated to identifying the part of speech for each vocabulary word.

6. **Grammar Review & Sort** Strengthen language skills with integrated grammar review sections, ensuring students can apply the vocabulary words correctly in their own writing and communication.

7. **Connotation Review & Sort** Dive deeper into vocabulary nuances by exploring the connotations of words, helping students grasp the subtle shades of meaning and usage.

8.**Context Clues Sentences:** Our lesson includes carefully curated sentences that employ context clues, enabling students to decipher word meanings from surrounding text. This fosters independent comprehension skills. These worksheets can be used for practice or assessment.

9.**Quizlet Practice:** Reinforce learning and encourage self-assessment with Quizlet practice sets tailored to the vocabulary words covered in the lesson. This interactive tool allows students to review and quiz themselves.

10**PDF file** 9 organizers, activities, and quizzes

11 **Fun Fact** photos and video links are inserted throughout to bring important elements of the story into context and aid comprehension

DIGITAL USES IN THE CLASSROOM:
· Introduce new story
· Provide backstory to text
· Stimulate group discussion/prediction
· Create predictions about text
· Use as distance learning resource
· Post on webpage for review
· Add to electronic notebooks
· Provide test review
· Prompt Writing or Research assignments
· Grammar study / parts of speech
· Discuss Word Connotation

PRINTABLE USES: word walls and interactive notebooks

Our goal is to prepare each student to read rigorous literature by front-loading story elements critical to comprehension aligned to standards This resource can be used whole group, small group, or independent work for regular ed, learning support, ESL or virtual classroomsThis bundle is also available in Google Slides

Enjoy -from Kiwious About Vocab!

This product features a comprehensive literature guide for use while reading Edgar Allan Poe's gruesome story, The Tell-Tale Heart. The activity bundle provides an excellent basis for comprehension and vocabulary acquisition for the short story and encourages students to think critically about plot structure, literary elements, perspective, and figurative language within the story. With newly added material like the Snap Chat graphic organizer and Figurative Language Challenge, the wide range of activities in this guide will keep your students engaged and help them to delve into the mind of one of the most notorious unreliable narrators of all time!

Product Includes:

• Attractive cover page for student packet
• The Tell-Tale Heart Anticipation Guide and Lesson Plan
• Vocabulary
• Vocabulary drawing activity
• Comprehension questions
• Freytag’s pyramid graphic organizer
• Literary elements graphic organizer
• Figurative language graphic organizer
• The Tell-Tale Heart Creative Writing Assignment on Perspective
• Snap Chat Story Graphic Organizer
• The Tell-Tale Heart Figurative Language Challenge Activity
• Full answer keys for teacher use

While this literature guide is Common Core aligned for eighth grade, it is appropriate for students in seventh-tenth.

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Looking for a fun way to end the study of this tale? Check out:

⭐ The Tell-Tale Heart ESCAPE ROOM

More resources to round out your Edgar Allan Poe unit:

⭐ Introduction to Edgar Allan Poe PowerPoint

⭐ Introduction to Edgar Allan Poe Scavenger Hunt

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe ESCAPE ROOM

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Bell Ringer Journal Prompts

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Brochure

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe's Obituary

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Quote Posters

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Resource Bundle

But why stop with one story? We have enough Edgar Allan Poe resources to frighten your students for months!

⭐ The Raven Literature Guide

⭐ The Pit and the Pendulum Literature Guide

⭐ The Cask of Amontillado Literature Guide

⭐ The Fall of the House of Usher Literature Guide

⭐ The Masque of the Red Death Literature Guide

⭐ Edgar Allan Poe Short Story BUNDLE

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Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence

PURPOSE: These 5 Google Slide lessons provide digital pre-reading resources, historical background info, vocabulary word study, practice, and assessment for 5 classic stories: THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL, A CHRISTMAS MEMORY, THE GIFT OF THE MAGI, KIDNAPPED SANTA, BURGLAR’S CHRISTMAS.

GOAL: to prepare each student to read rigorous literature by front-loading story elements critical to comprehension aligned to standards

AUDIENCE: whole group, small group, or independent work for regular ed, learning support, ESL or virtual classrooms

PDF FILE. Plus, each ZIP file comes with a PDF folder containing 8 printable worksheets to be used with the PPT lesson! These printables include Connotation and Grammar sort, Word Study, and Vocabulary Quiz with optional word bank and answer key.

EACH Google Slide Lesson:

1. **Author Bio:** To connect vocabulary with real-world context, we provide author biographies related to each short story. This adds depth to the lesson, allowing students to appreciate the words in the context of the author's life experience.

2. **Setting**: highly informative slides include maps, historical images and intriguing video links to prepare students to have a deeper understanding of the location and time period in which the story takes place. This is a crucial element when preparing students to read outside their own worldview.

3. **Vocab with Concise Definitions :** Our PowerPoint lesson provides clear and concise definitions for challenging vocabulary words, ensuring that students understand the meaning of each word in context as it appears in the text. (See Individual lesson for vocabulary words)

4.**Bold Photos:** Visual learners will thrive with our visually appealing slides, featuring bold and relevant images that help reinforce vocabulary concepts and make learning more engaging.

5.**Parts of Speech:** Understanding the parts of speech is crucial for effective language comprehension. Our lesson includes sections dedicated to identifying the part of speech for each vocabulary word.

6. **Grammar Review & Sort** Strengthen language skills with integrated grammar review sections, ensuring students can apply the vocabulary words correctly in their own writing and communication.

7. **Connotation Review & Sort** Dive deeper into vocabulary nuances by exploring the connotations of words, helping students grasp the subtle shades of meaning and usage.

8.**Context Clues Sentences:** Our lesson includes carefully curated sentences that employ context clues, enabling students to decipher word meanings from surrounding text. This fosters independent comprehension skills. These worksheets can be used for practice or assessment.

9.**Quizlet Practice:** Reinforce learning and encourage self-assessment with Quizlet practice sets tailored to the vocabulary words covered in the lesson. This interactive tool allows students to review and quiz themselves.

10**PDF file** 9 organizers, activities, and quizzes

11 **Fun Fact** video link are inserted throughout to bring important elements of the story into context and aid comprehension

DIGITAL USES IN THE CLASSROOM:

· Introduce new story

· Provide backstory to text

· Stimulate group discussion/prediction

· Create predictions about text

· Use as distance learning resource

· Post on webpage for review

· Add to electronic notebooks

· Provide test review

· Prompt Writing or Research assignments

· Grammar study / parts of speech

· Discuss Word Connotation

PRINTABLE USES: word walls and interactive notebooks

This bundle is also available in PowerPoint!

Enjoy -from Kiwious About Vocab!

"The Raven," "The Tell-Tale Hear" and "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe: these introductory Google Slide lessons provide digital pre-reading information for the author, genre, and setting. The lessons also include vocabulary study, practice, and assessments.

-PDF Link included

GOAL: to prepare each student to read rigorous literature by front-loading story elements critical to comprehension aligned to standards

AUDIENCE: whole group, small group, or independent work for regular ed, learning support, ESL or virtual classrooms

EACH GOOGLE SLIDE LESSON:

1. **Author Bio:** To connect vocabulary with real-world context, we provide author biographies related to each short story. This adds depth to the lesson, allowing students to appreciate the words in the context of the author's life experience.

2. **Setting**: highly informative slides include maps, historical images and intriguing video links to prepare students to have a deeper understanding of the location and time period in which the story takes place. This is a crucial element when preparing students to read outside their own worldview.

3. **Vocab with Concise Definitions :** Our PowerPoint lesson provides clear and concise definitions for challenging vocabulary words, ensuring that students understand the meaning of each word in context as it appears in the text.

4.**Bold Photos:** Visual learners will thrive with our visually appealing slides, featuring bold and relevant images that help reinforce vocabulary concepts and make learning more engaging.

5.**Parts of Speech:** Understanding the parts of speech is crucial for effective language comprehension. Our lesson includes sections dedicated to identifying the part of speech for each vocabulary word.

6. **Grammar Review & Sort** Strengthen language skills with integrated grammar review sections, ensuring students can apply the vocabulary words correctly in their own writing and communication.

7. **Connotation Review & Sort** Dive deeper into vocabulary nuances by exploring the connotations of words, helping students grasp the subtle shades of meaning and usage.

8.**Context Clues Sentences:** Our lesson includes carefully curated sentences that employ context clues, enabling students to decipher word meanings from surrounding text. This fosters independent comprehension skills. These worksheets can be used for practice or assessment.

9.**Quizlet Practice:** Reinforce learning and encourage self-assessment with Quizlet practice sets tailored to the vocabulary words covered in the lesson. This interactive tool allows students to review and quiz themselves.

10**PDF file** 9 organizers, activities, and quizzes

11 **Fun Fact** photos and video links are inserted throughout to bring important elements of the story into context and aid comprehension

DIGITAL USES IN THE CLASSROOM:
· Introduce new story
· Provide backstory to text
· Stimulate group discussion/prediction
· Create predictions about text
· Use as distance learning resource
· Post on webpage for review
· Add to electronic notebooks
· Provide test review
· Prompt Writing or Research assignments
· Grammar study / parts of speech
· Discuss Word Connotation

PRINTABLE USES: word walls and interactive notebooks

This bundle is also available in PowerPoint.

Enjoy -from Kiwious About Vocab!

Hello!

Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder" might be my FAVORITE short story of all time. This bundle gives you three products: a Speed Dating Discussion, a Mystery Escape Room, and a multiple choice quiz. Please check out each product individually and ask if you have any questions!

This Figurative Language Short Passage BUNDLE includes four passages with 3 close reading and writing worksheets each - for a total of 12 high-quality worksheets! Answer Keys Included!

Figurative Language Short Passage Sets are a no-prep, printable close reading activity that's perfect for middle school and high school. Each passage has between 206-226 words and is filled with between 14-19 examples of figurative language, such as hyperbole, metaphor, simile, and personification. I’ve found that although my students can tell me the definition of these terms, simile is the only one they can truly pick out in a text. As a result, their writing is filled with overused similes that need work! These figurative language passage sets are rigorous, use higher-level words and phrases, and in addition to merely identifying the different types, students will be asked to discuss the impact it has on the reader, as they’re asked to do on standardized testing.

***Check out all my figurative language passage activities here!

Simply print and go! There is truly no preparation needed, which is why this set is perfect to leave for sub plans, bell ringers, homework, test prep, review or assessment!

*As an optional review activity, use my No-prep Four Corners Figurative Language Activity resource for a fun whole-group game, then use this passage set for assessment!

Activity:
Students can complete all three worksheets in each set as part of a packet, but I suggest using one each day. If you teach allusion, alliteration, idiom, or onomatopoeia, you can ask students to include those in Task 2 where they will be asked to continue the passage using a similar writing style. I have left some blanks on the checklist for this very purpose.

Reflection:
The class can review the answers and comments as a whole group when the activity is complete. You’ll be surprised how much better they’ll get at figurative language after being exposed to some high-quality examples!

WHAT'S INCLUDED...

12 Printable Worksheets

Each set includes...

► Task 1: Read and Highlight a Figurative Language Passage

► Task 2: Write a Similar Figurative Language Passage Using a Checklist

► Task 3: Figurative Language Analysis Graphic Organizer

⭐️ LOOKING FOR RELATABLE READING ACTIVITIES FOR TEENS?

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⭐️ Crocs

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6-Page Article & Activity Sets - Includes 8 Sets!

Each set includes...

► 1-page pop culture article

► Reading Comprehension - 7 multiple choice questions

► Critical Thinking - 5 short answer questions

► Crossword Puzzle

► Design Page

► Impossible MAZE

This Pop Culture Bundle for Middle School will make your students WANT to work and stay on task as they read about high-interest trending topics among teens. Also available for High School and Upper Elementary School.

Have a question?

Please check out the Q&A section or message me and I'll get back to you within 24 hours.

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**For personal and single classroom use only. If using with multiple classrooms, please purchase additional licenses at the discounted rate.**

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Check out my bundle of four Christmas play scripts - usually $5.50 each.

Firstly, a funny Christmas play that revolves around Holly the Elf. After being accidentally taken to the North Pole one Christmas Eve, she stayed until adulthood and grew up thinking she was an elf herself. One day she found out she was a human, and decided to go and visit her biological father. On arrival she wasn’t welcomed by her father but soon the family grew to like Holly, and she also found a boyfriend. But then everything changed when she fell out with her father and she decided to leave. However, as she was walking alone, she heard a crash; when she went to investigate, she noticed it was her good friend, Santa. Her family catch up with her and together they all manage to lift Christmas spirit and power Santa’s sleigh.

⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻

Secondly, we have a play script for A Christmas Carol, however it is a modern remake that is based in a school - with the head teacher being Ebenezer Scrooge - you can change the names of the characters to teachers in your school, or to rhyme with teachers in your school as I did (if they have a sense of humour)! There are song recommendations throughout the script, with a mixture of traditional Christmas songs and modern songs. There are 20-22 speaking parts, with additional non-speaking roles too.

⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻

Then, we have a funny play called Santa's Successor. The script follows the story line of a man who accidentally disrupts Santa's deliveries and has to take over his route before finding his way to Santa's work shop. He then slowly starts turning into Santa, which everybody else finds hard to believe! There are song recommendations throughout the script, with a mixture of traditional Christmas songs and modern songs. There are 20-22 speaking parts, with additional non-speaking roles too. The play is around 40-50 minutes long.

⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻

And finally a play script for A Christmas Carol; it is a traditional version that follows Ebenezer Scrooge's hauntings through the night of Christmas Eve. There are song recommendations throughout the script and roles for 20-22 speaking parts.

⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻

Links to the individual play scripts are below:

• Holly the Christmas Elf
• Santa's Successor
• A Christmas Carol (A School Remix)
• A Christmas Carol (Traditional Version)
• The Grouch

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For more great resources follow my store ⇉⇉ CLICK HERE

Also, don't forget to leave feedback to earn TeachShare credits to spend!

This Bundle includes materials to teach 4 of my favorite Science Fiction short stories. I use them in my high school Science Fiction Elective Class, but you could incorporate this mini unit into a wide array of classes and grade levels. Please check out each product individually!

This resource features a bundle of all of our lesson plans, materials, and activities for Roald Dahl's ironic tale of an enraged housewife, Lamb to the Slaughter. Each product is thoughtfully crafted and allows students to think outside the box by delving deeply into the story's themes, characters, vocabulary, and plot development. Lessons have all been classroom-tested and allow for differentiation while encouraging optimal student engagement. This activity bundle provides a week's worth of material to bring the story to life!

Included in this Bundle:

⭐ Lamb to the Slaughter Literature Guide: This resource features a comprehensive literature guide for the study of the story. The numerous activities provide an excellent basis for comprehension and vocabulary acquisition for the short story and encourages students to think critically about literary elements, theme, and a great emphasis on irony. A social media activity will encourage your students to bring the story to modern day and a formal open response question is included to ensure deep thinking and close reading of the text. Of course, a full answer key is provided for all lessons and worksheets. The wide range of activities in this literature guide will keep your students engaged and help them to gain a deep understanding of this cheeky tale.

⭐ Lamb to the Slaughter Escape Room: This meticulously-crafted resource features all of the materials you need to conduct a full-length Escape Room for Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl. Planning an escape room may seem like quite the daunting task (and it is!), but this product provides everything from the basics and set-up instructions to signs and answer keys so that yours runs smoothly from start to finish. The activity involves movement, energy, creative thinking and most of all, collaboration. 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.

⭐ Lamb to the Slaughter Anticipation Guide & Lesson Plan (also included within Literature Guide): This resource features an anticipation guide and a meticulously-explained lesson plan that I believe is the absolute best way to approach a new story. 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 Lamb to the Slaughter and your overall short story unit. I am confident that your students will enjoy this thoughtful, engaging activity and beg you to begin reading this creepy yet cheeky tale.

⭐ BONUS {FREE} FILE: Lamb to the Slaughter & The Black Cat Compare Contrast Essay: For this assignment, students will need to think critically and specifically about the similarities and differences between the two famous stories of marital strife taken to the extreme. A comprehensive chart is provided to prompt students to take a close look at both tales and to think beyond the obvious (like the fact that they are written by different authors) and consider the deeper similarities and differences (plot structure, mental state of the narrators, and elements of suspense, etc.) between them. These thoughtfully-constructed materials will help students develop exemplary compare/contrast essays that they can be proud of!

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Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence

This product is a bundle of three of my products for Roald Dahl's famous short story "The Landlady". It includes a mystery puzzle escape room, a foreshadowing strip activity, and everything you need to run a fishbowl Socratic Seminar discussion in your classroom. Please check out the links to each product above. Thank you so much, and please let me know if you have any questions!

Please help my little business grow!

Did you know that you can receive $ credit towards future TeachShare purchases by reviewing this product? Please leave a review at the product page or through "My Purchases" under "My Account" at TpT. Thank you!

Are your students addicted to escape rooms? Do they love high-interest, action-packed short stories? Are YOU looking for a fun yet rigorous way to analyze the texts? Please check out my bundle of 2 Mystery Escape Rooms for Ray Bradbury's "The Veldt" and "A Sound of Thunder"! Check out each product below using the links, and let me know if you have any questions!

Please help my little business grow!

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This bundle includes the in-class and digital version of our The Lottery Escape Rooms!

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 The Lottery Escape Rooms in the classroom and at home for distance learning with this meticulously-crafted bundle. Planning an escape room may seem like quite the daunting task, but this product provides everything from the basics and set-up instructions to signs and answer keys so that yours run smoothly from start to finish. 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 how much they've learned about the short story.

How does it work?

In this escape room, students will try to escape the picturesque American town with a dark secret by solving 5 different skills-based puzzles, deciphering an encrypted message, and finding clues along the way.

• Close Read: In the first task, students must answer challenging multiple choice questions about The Lottery. The corresponding letters of the correct answers reveal their first code.
• Vocab Challenge: In the second task, students must fill in the blanks with vocabulary words from the text. Shaded boxes within the correct answers form their second code.
• Character IDs: In the third task, students must fill in a blank character chart about important characters in the story. When assembled correctly, letters of the correct answers reveal the third code.
• Criss-Cross: In the fourth task, students must solve a crossword puzzle with questions about literary elements and plot events of the story. Circled boxes on the crossword once unscrambled will reveal the code.
• Encrypted Message: In the fifth and final task, students must decipher an encrypted message (a quote from The Lottery) using clues they collected during the first four tasks. When the message is written on the scroll, final question is answered, and booklet brought to you, they can finally escape before it is their turn to pick from the dreaded black box.

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 Booklet

- Teacher Answer Keys

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

- Theme Reflection for homework assignment or in-class writing activity

Digital (Paperless) 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 worksheets

- Digital Student Answer Booklet

- Digital Teacher Answer Key

*Note that this is the digital version of the escape room; tasks are identical, just reformatted for digital experience. Requires use of Google Slides.*

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Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence

Say goodbye to last-minute lesson planning stress with No Prep Sub Plans Bundle. Packed with engaging activities and ready-to-use lesson plans, this all-in-one bundle is meticulously designed to ease the burden of substitute teacher planning while keeping students engaged and motivated. You get 4 days of lessons that include both reading and writing. The Behavior Reward Tickets ensure a seamless teaching experience for substitute teachers.

How to use the Reward Tickets:

Don't have the time or patience to put together a sub binder? Don't worry! When I have to step out, all I leave on my desk is any work for my students and place this Sub Note sheet on top....it's everything my sub needs to see on one easy note sheet. Fun, tear-off reward tickets that students can redeem for a small prize when the teacher returns will have students fighting to behave in order to earn one of the five coveted tickets! This will be a game-changer in your classroom!

WHAT'S INCLUDED...

12 Printable Worksheets

Each set includes...

► Task 1: Read and Highlight a Figurative Language Passage

► Task 2: Write a Similar Figurative Language Passage Using a Checklist

► Task 3: Figurative Language Analysis Graphic Organizer

► Answer Keys

The Four Figurative Language Short Passage sets have 3 close reading and writing worksheets each - for a total of 12 high-quality worksheets! *Answer Keys Included! Figurative Language Short Passage Sets are a no-prep, printable close reading activity that's perfect for middle school and high school. Each passage has between 206-226 words and is filled with between 14-19 examples of figurative language, such as hyperbole, metaphor, simile, and personification. I’ve found that although my students can tell me the definition of these terms, simile is the only one they can truly pick out in a text. As a result, their writing is filled with overused similes that need work! These figurative language passage sets are rigorous, use higher-level words and phrases, and in addition to merely identifying the different types, students will be asked to discuss the impact it has on the reader, as they’re asked to do on standardized testing.

• Sub Note Sheet with tear-off reward tickets for good behavior!

***CHECK OUT THE PREVIEWS FOR MORE DETAILS!***

Simply print and go! There is truly no preparation needed, which is why this set is perfect to leave for sub plans, bell ringers, homework, test prep, review or assessment!

*As an optional review activity, use my No-prep Four Corners Figurative Language Activity resource for a fun whole-group review game, then simply leave these sub plans whenever you are going to be out!

Activity:
Students can complete all three worksheets in each set as part of a sub packet, but if you don't see them for a full block then assign only one page each day you're out (you'll get even more bang for your buck!) If you teach allusion, alliteration, idiom, or onomatopoeia, you can ask students to include those in Task 2 where they will be asked to continue the passage using a similar writing style. I have left some blanks on the checklist for this very purpose.

⭐️ LOOKING FOR RELATABLE READING ACTIVITIES FOR TEENS?

Check out the Pop Culture ACTIVITY BUNDLE - your solution to no-stress lesson planning and easy print and go sub plans.

INCLUDES THESE HIGH-INTEREST TOPICS FOR TEENS...

⭐️ Crocs

⭐️ Netflix

⭐️ Takis

⭐️ Fortnite

⭐️ MrBeast

⭐️ Air Jordans

⭐️ TikTok

⭐️ OpenAI

6-Page Article & Activity Sets - Includes 8 Sets!

Each set includes...

► 1-page pop culture article

► Reading Comprehension - 7 multiple choice questions

► Critical Thinking - 5 short answer questions

► Crossword Puzzle

► Design Page

► Impossible MAZE

This Pop Culture Bundle for Middle School will make your students WANT to work and stay on task as they read about high-interest trending topics among teens. Also available for High School and Upper Elementary School.

Have a question?

Please check out the Q&A section or message me and I'll get back to you within 24 hours.

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**For personal and single classroom use only. If using with multiple classrooms, please purchase additional licenses at the discounted rate.**

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Craft the ultimate narrative writing journey for your students with our Seasonal Narrative Writing Bundle! This comprehensive collection is designed to spark creativity and enhance writing skills across grades 4-6 throughout the year. Each season brings a unique set of picture prompts that invite students into worlds of imagination, exploration, and storytelling.

Spring Picture Prompts: Dive into the renewal and wonders of spring with our Spring Picture Prompts resource. It features 23 engaging slides that guide students through the elements of a plot diagram, the importance of showing vs. telling, and offers 10 unique, spring-inspired photo prompts. Each image is paired with a comprehensive writing guide to brainstorm settings, characters, and conflicts, cultivating well-structured stories that bloom like the season.

Summer Picture Prompts: Turn up the heat on narrative writing with our Summer Picture Prompts toolkit. This sun-drenched resource walks students through the narrative writing process with warmth and adventure as their backdrop. From mysterious summer camps to beach escapades, the 10 vibrant, summer-themed photo prompts are sure to ignite the spark of creativity. In-depth writing guides accompany each prompt, ensuring students can craft captivating stories under the summer sun.

Winter Holiday Narrative Essay Picture Prompts: Cozy up to the winter season with 10 Winter Holiday Narrative Essay Picture Prompts. This festive resource is perfect for inspiring stories of winter wonderlands, holiday adventures, and heartwarming family traditions. With a focus on narrative essays, this print-and-go package includes planners and engaging slides that help students capture the essence of the winter season in their writing.

Autumn Narrative Essay Picture Prompts: Fall into storytelling with our Autumn Narrative Essay Picture Prompts. This collection captures the essence of fall with 10 autumn-inspired photo prompts, from the mystical to the mundane. Accompanied by a planner and print-and-go slides, it provides a seamless transition into autumnal narratives, encouraging students to explore the rich colors, themes, and emotions of the season.

Narrative Essay Planning Guide with Engaging Picture Prompts: Lay the foundation for effective storytelling with our Narrative Essay Planning Guide. This essential resource is packed with engaging picture prompts that cover various themes and settings, making it a versatile tool for any narrative writing activity. It includes a planning guide to help students structure their stories, focusing on character development, setting, and plot, ensuring a deep and engaging writing experience.

This bundle offers a year-round solution to narrative writing, equipping educators with everything needed to foster creativity, enhance writing skills, and teach critical writing concepts in an engaging and adaptable format. Whether used for creative writing classes, homework assignments, or extension activities, these resources provide a gateway to imagination and critical thinking that will keep students engaged and excited about writing all year long.

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 resource features a bundle of exciting presentations, lesson plans, and materials to supplement your unit on dystopian literature. Lessons have all been classroom-tested and allow for differentiation while encouraging optimal student engagement with any dystopian short story or novel. In this bundle, you will not find tedious lists of comprehension questions and vocabulary words; instead you will find material that will bring dystopias to life (well not literally!) in your classroom.

Included in this bundle:

⭐ Introduction to Dystopia Powerpoint: This resource features an engaging, interactive, editable PowerPoint Presentation for introducing or reviewing Dystopian Fiction to your students! PowerPoint Presentation runs through an entire lesson from warm-up to explanation, application, and summarizer. Also included are 2 pages of "guided notes" so that you may differentiate your lecture for all levels of students. Since utopias and dystopias are intrinsically motivating for students, this lesson is always a fun one and gets students excited about the upcoming unit on whatever dystopian novel or short story you'll be reading!

⭐ Escape from Dystopia ESCAPE ROOM: This meticulously-crafted resource features all of the materials you need to conduct a full-length Dystopia Escape Room. Planning an escape room may seem like quite the daunting task, but this product provides everything from the basics and set-up instructions to signs and answer keys so that yours runs smoothly from start to finish. The activity involves movement, energy, creative thinking and most of all, collaboration. 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!

⭐ Dystopian Literature Socratic Seminar: This resource features everything you need in order to conduct a structured and formal set of Socratic Seminars in your classroom for any dystopian short story or novel. It is the PERFECT addition to any dystopia unit for middle or high school students! Socratic Seminars are high-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, with this resource, the work has been done for you!

⭐ Dystopia Quote Posters: Make your classroom pop with this set of 25 posters featuring provocative quotes about dystopia. Each 7.5 x 7.5 (square) PDF poster contains a quote either about dystopias or from dystopian literature imposed over a stunning photograph to spruce up your ELA classroom during your dystopian unit. The square format makes for an eye-catching arrangement on your wall or bulletin board and serves as a great conversation starter. I suggest laminating the posters so that you can use them year after year!

Purchasing this bundle saves more than 20% off the cost of the resources for your unit on dystopia.

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Click to Follow Language Arts Excellence

This introductory Google Slide BUNDLE provides digital pre-reading information for the author, genre, and setting. These lessons also include vocabulary study, practice, and assessment.

CLASSIC BUNDLE:

THE LOTTERY by Shirley Jackson, THE RAVEN by Edgar Allan Poe, THANK YOU MA'AM by Langston Hughes, THE RANSOM OF RED CHIEF by O. Henry

GOAL: to prepare each student to read rigorous literature by front-loading story elements critical to comprehension and aligned to standards

AUDIENCE: whole group, small group, or independent work for regular ed, learning support, ESL or virtual classrooms

PDF FILE: Each comes with a PDF folder containing 8 printable worksheets to be used with the Google Slide lesson! These printables include Connotation and Grammar sort, Word Study, and Vocabulary Quiz with optional word bank and answer key.

Google Slide:
• Opening slide
-genre, author photo and short bio.
-PDF of short story

• Setting slides:
-Location photos with map
-Time period photos with live link to period music clip!

*Vibrant Vocabulary Google Slides: see each item description for word lists
-bold photos appear without definition for inference making
-part of speech
-concise definition

• Differentiated Worksheet: used as a pretest, posttest, or practice
• Quizlet practice link
• Part of speech sort
* Word connotation sort
*Vocabulary Organizer
*Prereading Discussion Questions

DIGITAL USES IN THE CLASSROOM:

· Introduce classic short stories
· Provide backstory to literary text
· Stimulate group discussion
· Create predictions about text
· Use as distance learning resource
· Post on webpage for review
· Add to electronic notebooks
· Provide test review
· Prompt Writing or Research assignments
· Grammar study / parts of speech
· Discuss Word Connotation
PRINTABLE USES: word walls and interactive notebooks

****Please be sure to view the preview and watch the video for detailed images and descriptions of the lesson.

Total Pages
31 slides 8 printables
Answer Key
Included
Teaching Duration
55 minutes

This bundle includes lessons for all stories in the book Flying Lessons and Other Stories edited by Ellen Oh. The stories are not included in this resource. Lessons are focused on the following stories:

- How to Transform an Everyday, Ordinary Hoop Court into a Place of Higher Learning and You at the Podium by Matt De La Peña

- The Difficult Path by Grace Lin

- Sol Painting, Inc. by Meg Medina

- Secret Samantha by Tim Federle

- The Beans and Rice Chronicles of Isaiah Dunn by Kelly J. Baptist

- Choctaw Bigfoot, Midnight in the Mountains by Tim Tingle

- Main Street by Jacqueline Woodson

- Flying Lessons by Soman Chainani

- Seventy-Six Dollars and Forty-Nine Cents by Kwame Alexander

- Sometimes a Dream Needs a Push by Walter Dean Myers

Each lesson includes WORKSHEETS and a PRESENTATION. Worksheets come in color and b/w. Presentations include answer keys.

Each lesson contains:

- Pre-reading journal prompt

- Story vocabulary (except Main Street)

- Tiered reading questions

- Questions focused on one particular ELA standard

- Answer keys

BONUS ESSAY WRITING PROMPTS ARE INCLUDED!

If you teach 90 minute block classes, you would likely get through one lesson per day. If you teach 50 minute classes like I do, each lesson could take two days. This bundle could last from 2 weeks to 4 weeks depending on your schedule.