Frontload assigned readings with these vocabulary games and activities to facilitate comprehension of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Alternatively, stash these materials in an emergency sub folder to keep students meaningfully engaged in the book during unexpected teacher absences. Included are 13 vocabulary application activities, 13 crossword puzzles, 13 word search games, and answer keys. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. A total of 203 challenging words are addressed: aberrations, abominable, accost, acquiescence, acquittal, acrimonious, adjourn, affluent, aloof, altercation, ambidextrous, amiable, apoplectic, apothecary, appalling, appeal, apprehension, arbitrate, ascertaining, assuage, auspicious, austere, begrudge, benign, bestow, bewilderment, bide, blandly, bleakly, brevity, burdensome, caliber, candid, clad, cleave, commotion, competent, concede, condescension, connive, contemptuous, contentious, convey, corroborative, cowardice, credibility, crude, curt, dainty, denunciation, desolate, diligently, diminutive, discreet, dismay, dreary, duress, eccentricity, editorial, eerily, elucidate, elude, elusive, escapade, evident, evoke, expunge, farthest, fatalistic, feeble, feral, florid, foolhardy, formidable, fretfully, frivolous, furtive, futility, garish, genially, grudge, guilelessness, habiliments, haughty, hearty, hone, idle, illicit, impassive, impertinence, imprudent, incantation, inconspicuous, indict, indigenous, indignant, industrious, infallible, inordinately, inquire, inquisitive, instinctively, iota, irascible, jim-dandy, keenly, libel, malevolent, mausoleum, meditations, meditative, meekly, melancholy, mercifully, meteorological, mollify, morbid, mournfully, murmur, mutter, myopic, nebulous, nondescript, notoriety, obliquely, oblivious, obscure, oppressive, ordeals, palliation, passe, peeved, pensive, perforated, perpetual, perpetuate, persecution, pestilence, pilgrimage, placid, predilection, prerogative, procure, propensity, providence, prowess, purloin, quaint, qualm, ramshackle, rankle, rectitude, reluctantly, reprimand, resolve, reverent, ruefully, scowl, scurry, serene, shrill, sibilant, skulk, sneer, solitary, spurious, stealthily, sternness, stolidly, strenuous, subdued, subtlety, succinct, sulk, tacit, taciturn, tactful, tedious, temerity, timid, tirade, touchous, tranquil, trousseau, trudge, turmoil, tyranny, umbrage, uncouth, undulate, unobtrusive, untrammeled, vague, vapid, varmint, vehemently, venerable, vivid, volition, wary, weary, woes, and wrathfully. By engaging with these activities, students will: Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences

For many high school readers, horror and psychological fiction are genres that maximize engagement with literature. “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe features elements consistent with both genres: a psychotic protagonist trying to rationalize his thinking, the senseless killing of an innocent man, dramatic irony, and more. With this bundle of high school resources covering “The Tell-Tale Heart,” English teachers will save valuable time at home without sacrificing rigor in the classroom. Included are the following: a multiple choice, plot-based quiz; a close reading worksheet; a craft analysis exercise; a vocabulary application activity; a crossword puzzle; a word search game; the public domain narrative; and answer keys. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. This resource may facilitate small-group discussions in which students decode language and pose/respond to questions relating to plot, broad topics, and character development. Using this resource for structured guidance, students will improve their ability to present information, conclusions, and supporting textual evidence clearly and convincingly. By engaging with these materials, students will: Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly Explore narrative techniques used to establish an unreliable narrator Discern the function of a given passage Explain how situational irony applies to a particular passage Examine how complex characters think, behave, and interact Compare and contrast characters Determine the intended effect of figurative language as it is used in the text Discern the tone of a given passage Articulate the significance of the narrator’s chair placement Identify an example of literary callback and state its significance Infer the nature of the relationship between the narrator and his victim Analyze a detail for symbolism and make logical inferences about the narrator’s subconscious motivations based on this analysis Defend claims and ideas with reasoned thinking and relevant textual evidence Write ideas with clarity, accuracy, and precision

“The Pit and the Pendulum” by Edgar Allan Poe is a short story of special appeal to high school students interested in horror stories and Halloween. With this bundle of assessment materials, English teachers will save valuable time without sacrificing rigor in the classroom. Included are the following: a plot-based quiz, a close reading analysis worksheet, a crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, the public domain narrative, and answer keys. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. This resource may facilitate small-group discussions in which students decode language and pose/respond to questions relating to plot, broad topics, and character development. Using this resource for structured guidance, students will improve their ability to present information, conclusions, and supporting textual evidence clearly and convincingly. By engaging with these materials, students will: Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences Consider the role punctuation plays in terms of developing suspense and advancing plot with an emphasis on em dashes Demonstrate knowledge of the conventions of Dark Romanticism Determine the effects of the author’s language and narrative techniques Examine how characters think, behave, interact, and develop Apply knowledge of literary devices with an emphasis on allusion, metaphor, onomatopoeia, paradox, personification, sibilance, situational irony, and more Articulate how the author establishes and maintains a surreal tone throughout the story Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence Write about Gothic fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision