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In The Middle Curriculum -Julie and Mark Donnelly

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We create engaging English language arts resources that help teachers save time! We are full-time teachers and have taught in a middle school for over 20 years. Our goal is to create high-quality resources focused on grades 5-9.

We create engaging English language arts resources that help teachers save time! We are full-time teachers and have taught in a middle school for over 20 years. Our goal is to create high-quality resources focused on grades 5-9.
Point of View and Perspective Lessons
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Point of View and Perspective Lessons

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Point of View and Perspective can be challenging to teach because each term is often used interchangeably. To make teaching easier and a little less stressful, we’ve created this 48-page, low-prep resource. Inside, you’ll find a slide show that has clear definitions and simplified examples to help you introduce students to the concepts of point-of-view and perspective. Here’s what you get… A day-by-day week-long lesson plan An editable Google slide presentation providing an overview of the five types of point-of-view as well as an overview of perspective and its influencing factors A note-taking sheet to keep students engaged during the presentation A point-of-view practice sheet A quiz to help students understand the factors that influence perspective A comprehension practice sheet that prompts students to identify and analyze a character’s perspective A fifteen-question multiple-choice assessment in both print and self-correcting Google form formats
The Last Cuentista  Novel Study Unit
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The Last Cuentista Novel Study Unit

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This novel study unit for THE LAST CUENTISTA by Donna Barba Higuera has everything you need to support your students as they read Barba Higuera’s science fiction novel. In this The Last Cuentista novel study, you will find: **Chapter summaries **formatted for teacher use & distribution to students. Supplemental Information SLIDES presentation Student discussion question pages Comprehension activities Vocabulary lists Vocabulary quizzes End of Novel, Multiple Choice Assessment (in Google form version too) Answer Keys This is unit is offered in a print and digital format so you can upload digital student sheets to a learning management system. The structure of this resource allows for easy differentiation to help you support your students in class. Other resources you might be interested in: Science Fiction Genre Study Unwind by Neal Shusterman Novel Study Unit
December Holidays Activities
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December Holidays Activities

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December is full of holidays and this unit will help you explore them with your students in fun and engaging ways while meeting the standards. Start each class with a bell ringer then follow that up with a group writing activity centered around a holiday-themed prompt. Your students can spend a class designing a toy and telling a story from that toy’s point of view. They’ll also have the opportunity to work on nonfiction reading comprehension with five original informational articles about Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas, Christmas in America, and Christmas in Australia. Each non-fiction article comes with a corresponding assessment featuring multiple-choice and constructed response questions. These activities are designed to give teachers choices. Activities last anywhere from 10 minutes to multiple classes. Each activity stands on its own or works as part of the mini-unit. If you teach one grade level or multiple grade levels across many sections, we’ve got you covered! Inside this Resource… Story Starter Activity Write-Around Activity The Secret Life of a Toy Writing Activity 5 Informational Articles Featuring: Hanukkah Christmas in the U.S. Kwanzaa Las Posadas Christmas in Australia Assessments: Multiple-choice/Constructed response (print & digital) Five Fun Bell Ringer Writing Prompts Story Writing Rubric Prompt Response Sheets Links to Digital Files Answer Keys and More! Another resource you might be interested in: End of (School) Year Activities
Literary Devices Bundle
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Literary Devices Bundle

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Unlock the secrets of literature with our literary devices bundle! This product contains engaging lessons on mood, tone, symbolism, theme, motif, perspective, and point of view. Each lesson is crafted to provide clear explanations in a thought-provoking manner. By incorporating these resources into your curriculum, you’ll help your students develop critical thinking skills, and foster a deeper appreciation for literature all while helping them to improve their overall reading comprehension. Purchase this bundle and transform your classroom into a center of literary exploration! Included in this Bundle: Lesson Presentations That Teach Each Literary Device (75 Slides) 13 Student Practice Activities 3 End-of-Unit Assessments With Answer Keys 3 Pacing Guides Student Information Pages 15-20 Total Instructional Days
Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds Novel Study Unit
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Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds Novel Study Unit

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This novel study unit for Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds has everything you need to support your students as they read Reynolds’ award winning novel. In this Look Both Ways novel study, you will find: Chapter Summaries formatted for teacher use & distribution to students. Discussion Questions Comprehension Activities Vocabulary Quizzes Three Multiple-Choice Assessments (one every 3-4 chapters) and a comprehensive end-of-the-unit multiple-choice assessment. Student Discussion Question Worksheets End of the novel essay question Answer Keys Teacher Information pages Each chapter contains multiple leveled questions allowing the teacher to differentiate for all students. Another resource you might be interested in: Ghost by Jason Reynolds Novel Study Unit
Pronouns Grammar Unit
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Pronouns Grammar Unit

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Take the stress out of teaching pronouns with this engaging, student-centered, standards-aligned unit. This resource is a result of the many years we’ve spent refining the way we teach pronouns in our middle school classrooms. We’ve learned teaching grammar is a balance between introducing new concepts at a level most middle school students can grasp (without overwhelming them) while reinforcing their understanding of the fundamentals. Through the years, we have learned that when we get this balance right, grammar study really helps our students become knowledgeable, confident, and successful writers. (It can also be fun!) This resource helps students understand pronoun case, indefinite singular pronouns, relative pronouns, as well as reflexive and intensive pronouns. INSIDE THIS RESOURCE, YOU WILL FIND… A List of Standards/Learning Objectives Teacher Background Information Pages for all Concepts A Noun Review Lesson Presentation An Engaging, Editable, 27-slide Lesson Presentation Covering: possessive, subjective, and objective cases indefinite singular pronouns reflexive and intensive pronouns relative pronouns Fifteen (15) Printable Student Practice Pages Five (5) Printable Quizzes End- of-Unit Assessment in Print and Google™ Form Versions Answer Keys Links to Presentations and Digital Assessments Other resources you might like: Understanding Phrases and Clauses
Phrases and Clauses Unit
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Phrases and Clauses Unit

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This engaging grammar resource is the product of many years refining the teaching of phrases and clauses in a middle school classroom. These activities get students to the point where they are able to identify phrases and clauses, use phrases and clauses effectively in writing, and punctuate correctly. It really helps our students become knowledgeable, confident, successful writers too! INSIDE THIS RESOURCE, YOU WILL FIND… A List of Standards/Learning Objectives Teacher Information Pages 5 Editable, Review Lesson Presentations: Nouns Verbs Prepositions Conjunctions Subject/Predicate Printable Student Practice Pages Connected to all Presentations PRE and POST Assessments in Print and Google™ form Versions Review Quiz Editable, Step-by-Step Phrases and Clauses Slide Presentation More Printable Student Practice Sheets Punctuation Guidelines Page Answer Keys Links to Presentations and Digital Assessments**
Verbals, Voice and Mood
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Verbals, Voice and Mood

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Teach verbals, voice, and mood with this engaging, student-centered, standards-aligned unit. We’ve spent years refining the way we teach these grammar topics in our middle school classrooms and learned teaching grammar is a balance between introducing new concepts at a level most middle school students can grasp (without overwhelming them) while reinforcing their understanding of the fundamentals. Through the years, we have learned that when we get this balance right, grammar study really helps our students become knowledgeable, confident, and successful writers. (It can also be enjoyable!) This resource helps students understand gerunds, infinitives and participles, passive and active voice as well as the various verb moods. INSIDE THIS RESOURCE, YOU WILL FIND… A List of Standards/Learning Objectives Teacher Background Information Pages for all Concepts Student Reference Sheet A 15-Slide Review Lesson Presentation on Verbs, Subjects, and Predicates An Engaging, Editable, 20-Slide Presentation Covering: gerunds, adjectival participles, and infinitives passive and active voice five verb moods 15 Printable Student Practice Pages 5 Review quizzes End-of-Unit Assessment in Print and Google™ form Versions Answer Keys Links to Presentations and Digital Assessments Other resources you might like: Understanding Phrases and Clauses Understanding Pronouns
Academic Vocabulary Unit
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Academic Vocabulary Unit

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If you’re looking for a low-prep, flexible, vocabulary unit to help you teach academic vocabulary to your students, this resource is for you! You can teach in a “word a day” format or in a full-time, multi-week format. We’ve included three different pacing guides to help you decide. Academic words are traditionally used in academic dialog and texts. Because these words are not common in everyday conversation, it’s very important to teach them directly to students. This will help students better understand directions, assignments and tests and comprehend text across different subject areas. Inside This (165+ Page/Slide) Resource You Will Find: Three Pacing Guide Options Word Lists 4 Twenty-Word Lesson Presentations (80 words in total) -contains the word, definition, sentence, synonym, image Student Notes Pages Activity Sheets for Every Word List (5 words each list) -includes 4 Writing Activities in Print and Digital Formats 4 Multiple Choice Assessments in Print and Google Form Versions 4 Fill-in-the-Blank Assessments Answer Keys “Print and Cut” Display Words Links to Digital Files Other resources you might be interested in: Phrases and Clauses Unit [Pronouns Unit]https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-13062700) Verbals, Voice and Mood Unit
Character Traits for Middle School
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Character Traits for Middle School

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Character traits and character analysis can be fun to teach in middle school with this low prep easy to use unit! This unit will help you engage your students as they examine character traits and perform character analysis using examples from interesting YA novels. Lesson Presentations Focus How Authors Reveal Characters Identifying Character Traits (Using Evidence to Support Inferences) Character Types Character Changes Included in the Resource **What’s inside this 110 page/slide resource: ** Teacher pacing guide and explanation Learning targets Links to 4 editable Google SLIDES lesson presentations 15 Student activity sheets (with links to digital versions) A word list of over 100 character traits Character Archetype Information Page (used for enrichment) Assessments Identifying and supporting character traits End of Unit multiple-choice assessment in print and self-correcting Google form version. Answer Keys Other resources you might be interested in: Tone and Mood Literary Device Resource Symbolism, Motif, Theme Literary Device Resource Point of View and Perspective Literary Device Resource Literary Devices Bundle
Argumentative Essay Unit for Middle School
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Argumentative Essay Unit for Middle School

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This argumentative writing unit contains colorful lesson presentations that guide students through an understanding of each aspect of writing an argumentative/persuasive essay. It is also presented in both print and digital formats to provide maximum teaching flexibility. This 145 page,argumentative essay unit contains; 7 easily editable digital mini-lessons (created in Google SLIDES) Parts of an Argument Writing an Engaging Introduction Writing a Thesis Statement Writing the Middle of the Essay (reasons and evidence) Writing a Conclusion Citing Your Sources Conducting Peer Reviews A link to digital versions of student sheets Multiple, printable graphic organizers Student/Parent Information sheets 3-5 days of fun, pre-writing lesson activities (for in-class lessons) Argumentative Writing Rubric Learning Targets/Target Table Pacing Guide Peer Review sheet Student Reflection and Goal Setting sheet Other resources you might be interested in: Graphic Novel Reading and Writing Project Narrative Writing Unit for Middle School
Maizy Chen's Last Chance by Lisa Yee Novel Study Unit
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Maizy Chen's Last Chance by Lisa Yee Novel Study Unit

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This novel study unit for “Maizy Chen’s Last Chance” by Lisa Yee has everything you need to support your students as they read Yee’s award winning novel. In this Maizy Chen’s Last Chance novel study, you will find: **Chapter summaries *** presented in two ways- one for teacher use and another for student use Supplemental Information presentation (created in Google Slides). Student discussion question pages Comprehension activities Vocabulary lists Vocabulary quizzes Extension question writing activity End of Novel, Multiple Choice Assessment (in print and Google form version). Answer Keys This unit is offered in both print and digital formats.
Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte Novel Study Unit
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Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte Novel Study Unit

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This novel study unit for Show Me A Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte has everything you need to support your students as they read LeZotte’s historical fiction novel. In this Show Me A Sign novel study, you will find: Chapter summaries presented in two ways-(for teacher use and student use) Supplemental Information presentation (created in Google Slides) Historical Background Information Student discussion question pages Comprehension activities Vocabulary lists Vocabulary quizzes End of Novel, Multiple Choice Assessment (in print and Google form version) Answer Keys This unit makes it easy for you to differentiate and support your students! It’s offered in bot PRINT and DIGITAL formats!
Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac Novel Study Unit
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Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac Novel Study Unit

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This complete novel study unit for Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac has everything you need to support your students as they read Bruchac’s World War 2 novel. In this Code Talker novel study, you will find: Print and digital versions of all assessments and activity sheets Chapter summaries in two formats to make it easy to distribute to students who may need extra help. Discussion questions Student Discussion Question handouts 4 Multiple-choice End-of-Section quizzes Comprehension Activity sheets Vocabulary quizzes Whole book assessment in Google form version and print version. Answer Keys
End of the Year Activities for Middle School
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End of the Year Activities for Middle School

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These fun end of the year activities for middle school students are great for the last week, the last day or anything in between. This no-prep unit contains everything you need to wrap up the year in a fun way! What’s included: Snapshot of Favorite Memory Letter to My Future Self Summer Bucket List A Year in Review-Books In The News Meme of the Year My Favorite Things My Year in Review Letter of Advice Reflection and Feedback survey (Google form) Top 10 Memorable Moments Memory Book Activity Student Examples
Back to School and End-of-Year Activities Bundle
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Back to School and End-of-Year Activities Bundle

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Make the start of the year and the end of the year fun and stress-free for you and your students with this no-prep discounted bundle! Start the new school smoothly with the “Getting to Know You” activities. These activities help you get to know your students while your students are getting to know each other. Then, when it’s time to wrap things up at the end of the year, you’ll be able to use the “End of the Year Activities’’ unit to help the students reflect on a great year of learning. This 80+ page bundle includes 15 activities, four surveys, a digital planner, an editable syllabus, and a start-of-the-year presentation making it easier to adapt to meet the challenges of the beginning and the end of the year schedule. Included in our Back to School Resource: 3 different versions of a Getting to Know You sheet Reading Interest Inventory Sheet Writing interest Inventory Sheet Letter to Myself Activity Wanted Poster Activity Heart Map Activity 2 Truths and a Lie Activity Digital Student Planner Parent/Guardian Survey (created using Google Forms) Student Interests Survey (created using Google Forms) Class Syllabus Template “Welcome to my class” Presentation Included in “End of the Year Activities” Resource Snapshot of Favorite Memory Letter to My Future Self Summer Bucket List A Year in Review-Books In The News Meme of the Year My Favorite Things My Year in Review Letter of Advice Reflection and Feedback survey (Google form) Top 10 Memorable Moments Memory Book Activity Student Examples
Halloween Activities for Middle School
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Halloween Activities for Middle School

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Make Halloween week fun for your middle school students with this standards-based, activity filled, ELA resource. Start each class with an engaging bell ringer then follow that up with a group writing activity around a Halloween-themed prompt. You can have your students create a monster and tell that monster’s story from its point of view. Work in some reading comprehension with an original, light-hearted, Halloween story and corresponding multiple-choice assessment. Then finish things up with a quick trick-or-treat themed grammar review. These activities are designed to give teachers choices and include activities that last anywhere from 10 minutes to multiple classes. Each activity stands on its own or works as part of the mini-unit. If you teach one grade level or multiple grade levels across many sections, we’ve got you covered! Included: Story Starter activity Write-Around activity The Secret Life of a Monster Writing Activity Reading Comprehension activity (with multiple choice test) Grammar activity A week of Halloween Bell Ringers Story Writing rubric Prompt response sheets Links to Digital Files Answer Keys Most of the materials are presented in print as well as in a digital format for maximum flexibility. (Created using Google Slides) Other resources you might be interested in: December Holidays Activities
Middle School Narrative Writing Unit
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Middle School Narrative Writing Unit

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This Middle School Narrative Writing Unit will make guiding your students through the narrative writing process easy. It is a complete, 125-page unit that contains all of the resources necessary for you to teach your students how to write in the narrative genre. It is aligned with learning standards and can be used for first-person and third-person narratives. It also includes digital files of all student handouts! INCLUDED IN THIS MONTH-LONG UNIT: 7 easily editable digital mini-lessons (created in Google Slides) * Introduction to narrative characteristics (including 4 mentor texts) * Brainstorming a topic * Revealing Characters * Expanding a small moment using sensory details * Using and punctuating dialog * Using transitions to show the passage of time * Conducting peer reviews LINKS to the mini-lessons and student practice sheets Printable Student Practice Sheets Multiple Graphic Organizers Student Information Sheets Creative writing story starter card activity Rubric Learning Targets/ Target Table Pacing Guide Peer Review sheets Student reflection and goal-setting sheet Other resources you might be interested in: Graphic Novel Writing Unit Argumentative Writing Unit for Middle School Creative Writing Activities
Middle School Creative Writing Activities
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Middle School Creative Writing Activities

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This Middle School Creative Writing Activity collection is a fun way to get your middle school students writing! This resource guides students through 9 creative writing activities (in both print and digital formats.) Students are prompted to independently compose an exciting and interesting short story. Each creative writing activity contains a writing prompt that provides the important characters, the setting, and the problem. The students then take the story in whatever direction their imagination leads them! In this 100-page/slide resource, you get 9 creative writing activities that each contain a graphic organizer focusing on one of the following aspects of narrative writing: Story Elements Character Traits Revealing Characters Using Dialog Using Sensory Words Using Transitions Elements of a Mystery Peer Review Opportunities! (Digital Version) In addition to guiding students through writing a narrative, each activity provides the opportunity to SHARE stories with classmates. This encourages the student writers to communicate with each other and improve their writing. Other resources you may be interested in: Graphic Novel Reading and Writing Project Narrative Writing Unit for Middle School Argumentative Writing Unit for Middle School
The Many Assassinations of Samir, The Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri
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The Many Assassinations of Samir, The Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri

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This Novel Study for The Many Assassinations of Samir, The Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri will help you support your students as they read Nayeri’s engaging and important novel. This 114-page, low-prep “The Many Assassinations of Samir…” novel study unit contains: Chapter Summaries formatted for teacher use & distribution to students. Discussion Questions Comprehension Activities Vocabulary Quizzes Character List Vocabulary Lists and 4 Quizzes Student Discussion Question Worksheets End-of-the-Novel, Multiple-Choice Assessment (Print and Google Form Version) Supplemental Information Google Slides Presentation Answer Keys Other resources you might like: The Last Cuentista Novel Study Understanding Theme, Motif and Symbolism