International educator with over 15 years experience.
I love the nuts and bolts of language teaching, but I also like communicative activities and task based learning, including simulations.
I hold a Master of Education with specializations in reading and behavior management, as well as graduate degrees in writing and education.
International educator with over 15 years experience.
I love the nuts and bolts of language teaching, but I also like communicative activities and task based learning, including simulations.
I hold a Master of Education with specializations in reading and behavior management, as well as graduate degrees in writing and education.
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
20 HISTORY Close Reading Passages and Worksheets
NOW WITH GOOGLE DRIVE LINKS!!!
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:
Ancient Egypt
Archaeology
The Rosetta Stone
Buddhism
Confucius
The Crusades
The Feudal System
The French Revolution
Genghis Kahn
World War One
Hiroshima
The Library and Museum at Alexandria
The Opium Wars
Queen Elizabeth 1
Henry VIII
Pompeii
Cleopatra
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!
20 well-known Bible Stories:
The Story of Jesus, The Babe of Bethlehem
The Story of the Star and the Wise Men
The Story of Cane and Abel
The Story of Noah and the Ark
The Story of Moses
The Story of Joseph and his Coat of Many Colors
The Story of David and Goliath
The Story of Jonah and the Whale
The Story of Daniel in the Lions’ Den
The Story of Samson, The Strong Man
The Story of the Water That Was Turned Into Wine
The Story of the Sermon on the Mount
The Story of the Good Shepherd and the Good Samaritan
The Story of Solomon and his Temple
The Story of Elijah the Prophet
The Story of Ruth the Gleaner
The Story of the Fishermen
The Story of the Palm Branches
The Story of the Betrayal
The Story of the Empty Tomb
Perfect for religious education or general reading comprehension
Literal, inferential and real-world connection questions for each story
CCSS aligned
Vocabulary work for every story
Suggested difficulty levels provided
Great for homework, emergency sub plans, bell-ringers or exit slips
GREAT VALUE BUNDLE OF WORKSHEETS FOR KEY ELA SKILLS!
28 WORKSHEETS x2 TASKS FOR EACH TOPIC
VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES
PERFECT FOR HOMEWORK, EARLY-FINISHERS, BELL-RINGERS
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 is a great value bundle of these ten standalone products targeting Middle School Writing Skills.
Each lesson focuses on a particular genre and highlights a particular textual feature.
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
Genres included:
✓ 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 ***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