Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the classic Grimm’s fairy tale “The Twelve Huntsmen.” A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, the public domain short story, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: acrimonious, betrothed, counsel, doleful, entreat, exultant, genial, harrow, infirm, jovial, latter, subdue, summon, and treachery. 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

Support vocabulary development, enhance reading comprehension, and indulge the Halloween spirit no matter the time of year with this set of games and activities to complement “The Tomb” by H.P. Lovecraft, a short story with elements of Gothic fantasy that evokes the works of Edgar Allan Poe. A vocabulary application worksheet, a crossword puzzle, a word search game, the public domain text, and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: accordingly, accost, admonish, allude, archaism, beckon, boisterous, commence, conviviality, declivity, dryad, empiricism, erudition, habitual, interment, inure, keen, mirth, monotony, phosphorescence, prosaic, sojourn, sultry, sylvan, tangible, temperament, transmute, uncanny, verdure, and voluble. 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

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the classic Grimm’s fairy tale “Old Rinkrank.” A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, the public domain short story, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: acquiesce, ascend, avaricious, betrothed, despondent, exultation, feeble, haggard, hasten, implore, lament, subterranean, and weary. 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

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement “The Lurking Fear” by H.P. Lovecraft, a short story with elements of horror and supernatural fiction: ghosts, unsolved murders, secret investigations, and bizarre creatures. A vocabulary application worksheet, a crossword puzzle, a word search game, the public domain text, and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: antediluvian, assiduousness, baleful, bough, brood, callous, caprice, decadent, decrepitude, desolate, effulgence, eldritch, elucidate, ensanguine, exhume, fetid, furtive, gibber, hoary, infer, languidly, leer, liable, menial, nebulous, portentous, precede, precipitous, shudder, sordid, specter, subterranean, summon, taciturn, ululation, vacuous, vain, verminous, and zeal. 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

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement “Dagon” by H.P. Lovecraft, a short story with elements of horror and supernatural fiction: a psychologically fragile protagonist, isolation in the middle of the ocean, the discovery of a newly risen island, and a humanoid creature. A vocabulary application worksheet, a crossword puzzle, a word search game, the public domain text, and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: anthropologist, appreciable, bestow, competent, crude, declivity, detestable, eminence, espy, fowl, hastily, monolith, monotonous, parching, peer, penniless, prodigious, scarcely, scrutiny, shudder, squalid, Stygian, transient, undulation, vaguely, wane, weary, and zenith. 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

Help middle and high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking and literary craft analysis skills with this close reading worksheet covering the short story “The War of the Wall” by Toni Cade Bambara. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this close reading activity, students will: Identify what the text states explicitly as well as implicitly Utilize dictionaries to ensure knowledge of word meanings Infer the intended effects of the author’s word choices and narrative techniques Consider how a different point of view would fundamentally change the story Determine the functions of given excerpts Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop Apply knowledge of literary devices including idiom, onomatopoeia, situational irony, and symbolism Consider themes in context Conduct research as needed to answer questions about relevant plot points Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence Write about fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision Come to class better prepared to discuss literature

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the short story “The War of the Wall” by Toni Cade Bambara. A vocabulary application worksheet, a crossword puzzle, a word search game, and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: aroma, beckon, courtesies, drawl, epoxy, fuss, hipshot, inscription, integration, liberation, loose, mutter, petal, satchel, scheme, and squinch. 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

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the short story “A Day’s Wait” by Ernest Hemingway. A vocabulary application worksheet, a crossword puzzle, a word search game, and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: commence, covey, detached, epidemic, evidently, flush, poised, purgative, quail, schatz, and varnish. 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

Help high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking and literary craft analysis skills with this close reading worksheet covering Francisco Jiménez’s short story “The Circuit,” an autobiographical narrative about the challenges of migrant families in America. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this close reading activity, students will: Identify what the text states explicitly as well as implicitly Utilize dictionaries to ensure knowledge of word meanings Infer the intended effects of the author’s word choices and narrative techniques Describe the tone of a given excerpt Determine the functions of given excerpts Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop Apply knowledge of literary devices including juxtaposition, oxymoron, personification, situational irony, symbolism, and more Consider themes in context Conduct research as needed to answer questions about the author’s background Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence Write about fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision Come to class better prepared to discuss literature

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement “An Hour with Abuelo” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, a coming-of-age short story about a teen whose youthful determination and stubbornness keep him from learning a lesson about controlling one’s destiny - that is, until an hour-long meeting with his grandfather. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: abuelo, ammonia, bandito, conquistador, embroider, hijo, hora, ignorant, latrine, parchment, principal, recreation, suite, and vida. 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

Help high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking and literary craft analysis skills with this close reading worksheet covering the “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin. The brevity of the narrative helps fill awkward scheduling gaps, while the nature of the activity maintains academic rigor. An answer key and copy of the public domain narrative are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this close reading activity, students will: Identify what the text states explicitly as well as implicitly Utilize dictionaries to ensure knowledge of word meanings Infer the intended effects of the author’s word choices and narrative techniques Describe the tone of a given excerpt Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop Apply knowledge of literary devices including foreshadowing and paradox Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence Write about fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision Come to class better prepared to discuss literature

Help high school students go beyond general reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking skills with this close reading analysis worksheet covering Kate Chopin’s short story “A Pair of Silk Stockings.” An answer key and a copy of the public domain narrative are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable 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 completing this close reading activity, students will: Identify what the text states explicitly as well as implicitly Utilize dictionaries to ensure knowledge of word meanings Describe the overall tone of the narrative Infer the intended effects of the author’s word choices and narrative techniques with emphasis on the decision not to give the protagonist a first name Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop Apply knowledge of literary devices including metaphor, simile, and situational irony Consider themes in context Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence Write about fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision Come to class better prepared to discuss literature

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement “The Storyteller” by Saki. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, the public domain short story, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: bristle, deplorably, dissentient, emphatically, fatuously, ferocity, glare, immense, listlessly, murmur, petulant, promptly, reluctantly, resolute, scowl, and sultry. 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

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, the public domain short story, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: afflict, aquiver, elixir, elusive, exalted, forestall, hasten, implore, importunity, peddler, procession, repression, shudder, trivial, tumultuously, twitter, and unwittingly. 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

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the humorous Grimm’s fairy tale “Clever Gretel.” A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, the public domain short story, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: conflagration, eminent, exuberance, fervid, hearty, idle, implore, jovial, lament, parched, relish, scurry, and zealously. 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

Help high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking and literary craft analysis skills with this close reading worksheet covering the short story “Broken Chain” by Gary Soto. An answer key is provided. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this close reading activity, students will: Identify what the text states explicitly as well as implicitly Utilize dictionaries to ensure knowledge of word meanings Infer the intended effects of the author’s word choices and narrative techniques Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop Apply knowledge of literary devices including dramatic irony, idiom, invective, simile, situational irony, and symbolism Reflect on the author’s choice of title and interpret it figuratively Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence Write about fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision Come to class better prepared to discuss literature

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the classic Grimm’s fairy tale “The Frog King,” also known as “Iron Heinrich” and “Iron Henry.” A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, the public domain short story, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: acquiesce, arresting, consternation, dejected, haste, jubilant, lament, odious, relish, vehemently, weary, and weep. 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

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement Morley Callaghan’s “All the Years of Her Life,” a short story focusing on how a young son’s behavior influences the psychological state of his loving mother. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: bluster, brusquely, contempt, doggedly, earnestness, genial, indignation, plead, proprietor, repose, sap, stern, and swaggering. 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

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement James Hurst’s short story “The Scarlet Ibis.” A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: armada, blighted, careen, descend, doodlebug, egret, evanesce, frond, heresy, idle, imminent, infallibility, invalid, iridescent, lug, mar, marquisette, mournful, peal, peer, precariously, prim, reiterate, serene, sullenly, wander, and withered. 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

Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Possibility of Evil.” A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: appropriation, banish, bleak, chipper, degraded, indulgently, infatuated, proverbial, rapt, reprehensible, scoured, stationery, translucent, unduly, and wander. 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