This literacy unit is an introduction and exploration of ‘Fake News’ and other key digital media literacy themes and concepts. Students explore the world of online news and information by reading five newspapers, then reflecting and responding, and conducting their own projects and investigations. This pack contains: A kick-off Opinionaire (Google Drive link provided) A list of keywords (Google Drive link provided) Five, two-page newspapers: The Fake News Gazette - about fake news The Echo Chamber - about political bias The Keyboard Warrior - about netiquette The Data Miner - about personal data protection The Memory Hole - about freedom of expression Five, one-page sets of questions (3 levels) for each newspaper (Google Drive link provided) A set of student research resources for each paper/ theme (Google Drive link provided) Teachers Guide & Answer Key

Now with Google Drive Links Close Reading Stories and Comprehension Worksheets + Vocabulary Work! A modern, plain-language retelling of three of Geoffrey Chaucer’s classic stories! High-interest extracts from authentic texts Designed for close reading Each excerpt stands alone as a close reading text suitable for scrutiny, critique, reflection, and evaluation. Texts may be used as bell-ringers, as homework or vacation assignments, one-to-one tutoring, no-prep substitute plans, or any other use Includes 3 levels of questions: main ideas and detail, language and literary devices, author’s purpose, and evaluation and personal-connection Vocabulary rich Includes questions on text structure, word-choice, and author’s bias Common Core Aligned Answer key included Sample Difficulty Levels included Stories Included: The Wife of Bath’s Tale The Pardoner’s Tale The Clerk’s Tale If you are interested in literature passages, please check out my best-selling and top-rated fiction passages by clicking here! Or, how about a great value bundle of both? Click here! What about some Science Close Reading Passages? For reading comprehension passages for younger learners, please click here!

Help your students improve their vocabulary! 4 categories covering the essential components of vocabulary building: word roots; words from other languages; prefixes and suffixes; and connotation and denotation Variety of activities: matching; fill in the blanks; short answers; create your own words! Suitable for grades 6 – 8 High-interest, real-world topics Common core aligned 14 tasks per category (56 tasks in total) Task recording document included Teachers’ Answer Key Included

HELP YOUR STUDENTS WRITE BETTER PARAGRAPHS! Methodical, step-by-step approach to paragraph writing 4 categories covering the essential components of paragraph writing: topic sentences, supporting details, concluding & linking sentences & writing prompts Variety of activities: multiple choice; write your own sentences; identify the supporting details and transition words Suitable for grades 6 – 8 High-interest, real-world topics Common core aligned Multiple text genres: opinion, definition, process, descriptive, narrative, cause and effect, and compare and contrast. 14 tasks per category (56 tasks in total) Task recording document included Teachers’ Answer Key Included

Suitable for grades 6 – 8 Common core aligned Multiple question types: circling & underlining, correcting, re-writing, prompts, and more! 4 categories covering essential middle school language knowledge specified in the Common Core: pronouns, verbals & verb moods, active & passive voice, and common mistakes Great general grammar practice and review for any class Cards also make great bell-ringers/ exit slips 7 worksheets per category (56 tasks in total) Task recording document included Teachers’ Answer Key Included Also available as task cards, here!

Help your students write better, more varied sentences! These exercises help students identify the key components of great sentences, and, in turn, develop their own competency in writing strong, varied, fluent sentences. Suitable for grades 6 – 8 High-interest, real-world topics Common core aligned Teacher’s Answer Key 4 categories covering the essential components of sentence writing: clauses, phrases, sentence types (simple, compound, and compound-complex), and varying sentence openings Variety of activities: identifying, fill in the blanks, combining, prompts, and more 7 worksheets per category (56 tasks in total) Task card recording document included

20 *SCIENCE* Close Reading Passages and Worksheets - Diverse range of high-interest extracts from authentic texts including fiction (short story) - Designed for close reading - Each excerpt stands alone as a close reading text suitable for scrutiny, critique, reflection, and evaluation. - Texts may be used as bell-ringers, as homework or vacation assignments, one-to-one tutoring, no-prep substitute plans, or any other use - Includes 3 levels of multi-modal questions: main ideas and detail, language and literary devices, author’s purpose, and evaluation and personal-connection - Vocabulary rich - Includes questions on text structure, word-choice, and author’s bias - Common Core Aligned - Answer key included - Sample Difficulty Levels included Topics Included: ♦Robotics ♦Camouflage ♦The Life Cycle ♦Hibernation ♦Biography - Charles Darwin, Galileo, Copernicus, Marie Curie, Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday ♦Adaptation ♦Eclipses ♦Geology ♦Alchemy and Chemistry - History of Science ♦ Number and Mathematics

Product Description This resource is one of ten standalone products targeting Middle School Writing Skills. Each lesson focuses on a particular genre and highlights a particular textual feature. This product ***Problem and Solution Writing*** focuses on: • Intensifying adverbs & graded adjectives • Absolute adverbs and non-graded adjectives Every lesson contains: ★ Model Text ★ Structural Analysis ★ Transition Words or other useful textual feature focus ★ Planning Handouts/ Graphic Organizers ★ Writing Prompts ★ Grading Rubrics ★ Teacher's Notes Other resources/ genres in this series include: ✓ Describing a Process (Procedural Texts) ✓ Narrative Writing ✓ Describing Data (Change) ✓ Describing Data (Making Comparisons) ✓ Expressing an Opinion ✓ Cause and Effect Writing ✓ Problem and Solution Writing ✓ Persuasive/ Argument Writing (An Argument with Evidence) ✓ Informational/ Expository Writing ✓ Compare and Contrast Writing

Product Description This resource is one of ten standalone products targeting Middle School Writing Skills. Each lesson focuses on a particular genre and highlights a particular textual feature. This product ***Opinion Writing*** focuses on: • Intensifying adverbs & graded adjectives • Absolute adverbs and non-graded adjectives Every lesson contains: ★ Model Text ★ Structural Analysis ★ Transition Words or other useful textual feature focus ★ Planning Handouts/ Graphic Organizers ★ Writing Prompts ★ Grading Rubrics ★ Teacher's Notes Other resources/ genres in this series include: ✓ Describing a Process (Procedural Texts) ✓ Narrative Writing ✓ Describing Data (Change) ✓ Describing Data (Making Comparisons) ✓ Expressing an Opinion ✓ Cause and Effect Writing ✓ Problem and Solution Writing ✓ Persuasive/ Argument Writing (An Argument with Evidence) ✓ Informational/ Expository Writing ✓ Compare and Contrast Writing

Product Description This resource is one of ten standalone products targeting Middle School Writing Skills. Each lesson focuses on a particular genre and highlights a particular textual feature. This product ***Narrative Writing*** focuses on: • Temporal linking words • Reported speech Every lesson contains: ★ Model Text ★ Structural Analysis ★ Transition Words or other useful textual feature focus ★ Planning Handouts/ Graphic Organizers ★ Writing Prompts ★ Grading Rubrics ★ Teacher's Notes Other resources/ genres in this series include: ✓ Describing a Process (Procedural Texts) ✓ Narrative Writing ✓ Describing Data (Change) ✓ Describing Data (Making Comparisons) ✓ Expressing an Opinion ✓ Cause and Effect Writing ✓ Problem and Solution Writing ✓ Persuasive/ Argument Writing (An Argument with Evidence) ✓ Informational/ Expository Writing ✓ Compare and Contrast Writing

Product Description This resource is one of ten standalone products targeting Middle School Writing Skills. Each lesson focuses on a particular genre and highlights a particular textual feature. This product ***Informational Writing*** focuses on: • Complex sentences with essential and non-essential subordinate clauses Every lesson contains: ★ Model Text ★ Structural Analysis ★ Transition Words or other useful textual feature focus ★ Planning Handouts/ Graphic Organizers ★ Writing Prompts ★ Grading Rubrics ★ Teacher's Notes Other resources/ genres in this series include: ✓ Describing a Process (Procedural Texts) ✓ Narrative Writing ✓ Describing Data (Change) ✓ Describing Data (Making Comparisons) ✓ Expressing an Opinion ✓ Cause and Effect Writing ✓ Problem and Solution Writing ✓ Persuasive/ Argument Writing (An Argument with Evidence) ✓ Informational/ Expository Writing ✓ Compare and Contrast Writing

Product Description This resource is one of ten standalone products targeting Middle School Writing Skills. Each lesson focuses on a particular genre and highlights a particular textual feature. This product ***Describing Data: Comparisons*** focuses on: • Adverbs/ adjectives of Intensity • Writing numbers in texts • Interpreting and explaining information from pie-charts Every lesson contains: ★ Model Text ★ Structural Analysis ★ Transition Words or other useful textual feature focus ★ Planning Handouts/ Graphic Organizers ★ Writing Prompts ★ Grading Rubrics ★ Teacher's Notes Other resources/ genres in this series include: ✓ Describing a Process (Procedural Texts) ✓ Narrative Writing ✓ Describing Data (Change) ✓ Describing Data (Making Comparisons) ✓ Expressing an Opinion ✓ Cause and Effect Writing ✓ Problem and Solution Writing ✓ Persuasive/ Argument Writing (An Argument with Evidence) ✓ Informational/ Expository Writing ✓ Compare and Contrast Writing

Product Description This resource is one of ten standalone products targeting Middle School Writing Skills. Each lesson focuses on a particular genre and highlights a particular textual feature. This product ***Describing Data: CHANGE*** focuses on: • Adverbs, verbs, and nouns to describe change • Interpreting and explaining information from graphs Every lesson contains: ★ Model Text ★ Structural Analysis ★ Transition Words or other useful textual feature focus ★ Planning Handouts/ Graphic Organizers ★ Writing Prompts ★ Grading Rubrics ★ Teacher's Notes Other resources/ genres in this series include: ✓ Describing a Process (Procedural Texts) ✓ Narrative Writing ✓ Describing Data (Change) ✓ Describing Data (Making Comparisons) ✓ Expressing an Opinion ✓ Cause and Effect Writing ✓ Problem and Solution Writing ✓ Persuasive/ Argument Writing (An Argument with Evidence) ✓ Informational/ Expository Writing ✓ Compare and Contrast Writing

Product Description This resource is one of ten standalone products targeting Middle School Writing Skills. Each lesson focuses on a particular genre and highlights a particular textual feature. This product ***Compare and Contrast Writing*** focuses on: • Transition words for comparing and contrasting Every lesson contains: ★ Model Text ★ Structural Analysis ★ Transition Words or other useful textual feature focus ★ Planning Handouts/ Graphic Organizers ★ Writing Prompts ★ Grading Rubrics ★ Teacher's Notes Other resources/ genres in this series include: ✓ Describing a Process (Procedural Texts) ✓ Narrative Writing ✓ Describing Data (Change) ✓ Describing Data (Making Comparisons) ✓ Expressing an Opinion ✓ Cause and Effect Writing ✓ Problem and Solution Writing ✓ Persuasive/ Argument Writing (An Argument with Evidence) ✓ Informational/ Expository Writing ✓ Compare and Contrast Writing

Product Description This resource is one of ten standalone products targeting Middle School Writing Skills. Each lesson focuses on a particular genre and highlights a particular textual feature. This product ***Cause and Effect Writing*** focuses on: • Transition words for cause and effect Every lesson contains: ★ Model Text ★ Structural Analysis ★ Transition Words or other useful textual feature focus ★ Planning Handouts/ Graphic Organizers ★ Writing Prompts ★ Grading Rubrics ★ Teacher's Notes Other resources/ genres in this series include: ✓ Describing a Process (Procedural Texts) ✓ Narrative Writing ✓ Describing Data (Change) ✓ Describing Data (Making Comparisons) ✓ Expressing an Opinion ✓ Cause and Effect Writing ✓ Problem and Solution Writing ✓ Persuasive/ Argument Writing (An Argument with Evidence) ✓ Informational/ Expository Writing ✓ Compare and Contrast Writing

Product Description This resource is one of ten standalone products targeting Middle School Writing Skills. Each lesson focuses on a particular genre and highlights a particular textual feature. This product, argumentative/ persuasive writing, focuses on: • Transition words for adding information • Expressions for presenting evidence Every lesson contains: ★ Model Text ★ Structural Analysis ★ Transition Words or other useful textual feature focus ★ Planning Handouts/ Graphic Organizers ★ Writing Prompts ★ Grading Rubrics ★ Teacher's Notes Other resources/ genres in this series include: ✓ Describing a Process (Procedural Texts) ✓ Narrative Writing ✓ Describing Data (Change) ✓ Describing Data (Making Comparisons) ✓ Expressing an Opinion ✓ Cause and Effect Writing ✓ Problem and Solution Writing ��� Persuasive/ Argument Writing (An Argument with Evidence) ✓ Informational/ Expository Writing ✓ Compare and Contrast Writing

This resource is one of ten standalone products targeting Middle School Writing Skills. Each lesson focuses on a particular genre and highlights a particular textual feature. This product ***Procedural Writing*** focuses on: • Sequence words • Passive voice Every lesson contains: ★ Model Text ★ Structural Analysis ★ Transition Words or other useful textual feature focus ★ Planning Handouts/ Graphic Organizers ★ Writing Prompts ★ Grading Rubrics ★ Teacher's Notes Other resources/ genres in this series include: ✓ Describing a Process (Procedural Texts) ✓ Narrative Writing ✓ Describing Data (Change) ✓ Describing Data (Making Comparisons) ✓ Expressing an Opinion ✓ Cause and Effect Writing ✓ Problem and Solution Writing ✓ Persuasive/ Argument Writing (An Argument with Evidence) ✓ Informational/ Expository Writing ✓ Compare and Contrast Writing