Frontload assigned readings with these vocabulary games and activities to facilitate comprehension of John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath. Alternatively, stash these materials in an emergency sub folder to keep students meaningfully engaged in the book during unexpected teacher absences. Included are 10 vocabulary application activities, 10 crossword puzzles, 10 word search games, and answer keys. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. A total of 122 challenging words are addressed: apprehensively, aristocrat, babbitt, barren, beckon, bemused, bleak, blight, blunder, bluster, bravado, brood, cascade, casually, chitter, clamber, clamor, coarse, contemptuous, corrugated, crossly, cunningly, cynically, deftly, descend, destitute, disconsolate, dissipated, doleful, drably, effluvium, eminent, envy, exclaim, exultantly, feeble, flare, flitter, frayed, fretful, gaunt, giddy, goad, grubby, hasten, hoarse horde, humble, idle, incredulously, indistinct, intently, judiciously, jut, languid, lanky, liable, listlessly, malice, meek, morosely, mutter, nebulous, nimble, oblong, ominously, ornery, parched, perspire, pique, plead, plod, precede, principle, putrescence, quarrel, querulously, ravenously, recede, refuge, relentlessly, relish, reproachfully, restive, retort, reverent, saunter, scornfully, scowl, scurry, shrewd, shrill, shudder, sidle, slup, smugly, sneer, sparse, spindly, squint, stationery, stealthy, stern, stiflingly, stride, subside, sullenly, supplication, swiftly, toil, treacherously, trifle, trot, trudge, unanimous, vague, vehemence, wane, weary, withered, wretched, and wriggle. 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

Evaluate general reading comprehension and support the development of close reading analysis skills while teaching Act 5 of William Shakespeare’s King Lear with this bundle of formative assessments. Included are the following: a quiz on characters and plot, three close reading worksheets addressing the author’s craft, and answer keys. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Materials in this bundle may facilitate small-group discussions in which students decode language and pose/respond to questions relating to plot, broad topics, and character development. Using these resources for structured guidance, students will improve their ability to present information, conclusions, and supporting textual evidence clearly and convincingly. By engaging with these activities, students will do the following: Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings Discern the intended effects of the author’s word choices and narrative techniques Describe tone in context Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop Apply knowledge of literary devices including metaphor, personification, simile, onomatopoeia, and oxymoron Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence Write about Shakespearean drama with clarity, accuracy, and precision Come to class better prepared to discuss dramatic works