Flannery O’Connor said, “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.” The importance of journal writing is endless: it will help mental clarity, stimulate creative thinking, problem-solving, self-reflection, increase self-awareness and identity, and many other benefits. It is a great warm-up activity to pair with silent reading. Students’ writing can be taken for a grade or participation grade. The quote prompts here were all taken from my book, The Little Book of Big Quotes Vol. I. This list contains over 180 prompts and is editable so you can delete any that do not suit your audience and add some of your own! More journal prompts will be added periodically. Follow me so you can be notified ASAP and can download the most current version of this lesson. If you found this lesson helpful please leave a positive review at my store, thank you!

A simple weekly lesson plan template with sections for objectives, activities and homework. Visit my store for much more helpful and free stuff!

A graphic organizer of 3 columns and 6 rows with the columns labeled "Asexual" and "sexual" reproduction. Each row is labeled: Definition: In your own words, be specific Characteristics of offspring: Advantages: Disadvantages: Drawing/ Illustration: Answer Key included. This lesson is student-centered meaning: --it allows you to become a facilitator --happier teachers --happier students --happier administrators

A 1-page reading quiz with lines and directions to include details about the plot, setting, and characterization of the story. This lesson is student-centered meaning: --it allows you to become a facilitator --happier teachers --happier students --happier administrators

Summary: This questionnaire helps teachers, administrators, and other professionals in a school setting build connections and relationships with students through learning about their individual interests and goals, while also sharing their own. Comes in editable MS Word Doc format for easy customization to match your personality, style, and students! Suggested use: Have students complete questionnaire upon enrollment or first meeting. It is convenient to hand this questionnaire out along with any other handouts given for your class, such as calendars and syllabi. Let them know that you are genuinely interested in them as a person and individual! Join our email list to get teaching tips & resources, teacher humor, inspirational quotes, and more right in your inbox! MS ELAR teachers join here! HS English teachers join here!

A Lesson on How to Develop Good Habits, Reach Your Goals, and Improve Your Life: For Teens and Young & New Adults (For Anyone, Really!) I am very excited to share this lesson plan *preview* with you folks! I am all about staying motivated and personal growth so I decided to make a lesson to help students set clear, realistic goals, monitor and adjust their progress, break bad habits and form good ones, and key strategies to help keep them motivated throughout the whole process. I studied books by Tony Robbins, Napoleon Hill, Jim Rohn, Sean Covey, John C. Maxwell, Martin Seligman, and countless other successful mentors and coaches and concentrated the strategies, wisdom, and steps needed for effective change for teens and young adults. Some topics discussed and aimed for improvement are: • Psychology (Positive, Cognitive, Social, Behavioral, Industrial, and others) • Psychosomatic Illness • Positive & Negative Reinforcement and Punishment • Behavior Modification Everything in this lesson is worded in teen-friendly language with relatable ideas and situations adolescents would find themselves in. It also includes helpful pictures and graphic organizers for students to interact with the lessons effectively. Some notable Daily Thought titles are: 1. The Beauty and Struggle of Self-Transformation 2. Attitude is 99% of Success…and Write it Down! 3. Hard Truths in Life We Must All Accept…But There’s Good Ones, Too! 4. It’s not your potential that matters - it’s what you actually do! (And Ways to Stay Motivated) 5. Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude! Every Daily Thought comes with space for students to personally reflect on the day’s lesson on how it relates to them and how they will implement the strategies and practices personally. This lesson is designed to be worked on and reflected daily and it is very important that the participants adhere to the schedule to achieve the intended desired results. A special note to teachers: This is only Part I of this lesson. I expect the complete lesson to end up being around 45-60 days long and I would very much appreciate any constructive feedback and suggestions from you! Please send to me personally at authorcarlossalinas@gmail.com. I can also add you to my educational materials e-mail newsletter list if you would like to be notified when the complete lesson is available (as well as getting my other lessons for free). I would also love to connect with each and every one of you on my social networks linked below. Thank you in advance!

This handy tool has been proven time and time again in studies to help students activate prior knowledge, help monitor their progress, and reinforce new learning. Here's a free downloadable PDF KWL chart and graphic organizer. This lesson is student-centered meaning: --it allows you to become a facilitator --happier teachers --happier students --happier administrators

A must-have for any teacher! A free worksheet for group work where a student shares their writing and the others listen and write down something they enjoyed and something they want to know more about in the person’s writing. Made for groups of 5, but can be altered. Great for students to improve their writing and to sharpen their critical thinking skills!

This 3-page sketch about a politically-correct heckler at a football game is perfect for older middle school and all high school kids. The heckler insults the player for his lack of skills then quickly follows up with a politically correct statement pertaining to the insult! Being a huge fan of comedy, I have studied the greatest sketches of Saturday Night Live, MAD TV, Key and Peele, Monty Python, Hugh and Laurie, The Three Stooges, Groucho Marx, and the kids’ comedy sketch show All That. Charlie Chaplin said “A day without laughter is a day wasted” so I want to pass on the love of comedy and humor to students. These sketches are fresh, witty, sarcastic, and mixed with slapstick humor and are intended to strengthen students’ drama and theater skills while enjoying humor. I ask you to please provide feedback on what you liked/disliked, and suggestions for improvement! I plan to write many, many more but would like to see what the response is first. The roles (6 minimum) in this particular sketch are: Referee with a whistle Quarterback Heckler (Bully) wearing a baseball hat Announcer 2 security officials Other football players (optional) Please contact me if you would like to record and publish your interpretation of any of these sketches and I would be very happy to work with you! Editable MS Word Doc. This lesson is student-centered, meaning: –it allows you to become a facilitator! –happier teachers! –happier students! –happier administrators!

A graphic organizer that allows students to brainstorm what adaptations they would need to survive in each type of environment. Environments include Tropical forest, dessert, grasslands, arctic, cold forest, and aquatic. This is a great group activity that will help explain what adaptations are. Also included KWL chart for students monitoring their learning progress!

"The Scientist Rap" rap & hip-hop music video and song from the book "Got the Flow: The Hip Hop Diary of a Young Rapper" by Carlos Salinas. Includes printable handout of song lyrics. The main character of the book ("Got the Flow: The Hip-Hop Diary of a Young Rapper") 16-year-old Troy Jones challenges his science teacher that he can write an educational and positive rap song about science without any cursing. He promises to include the legendary scientists: Albert Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton, Nicola Tesla, and Thomas Edison. His teacher, Mrs. Hass, makes him perform it in front of the entire class for his passing grade. He is determined to become a successful rapper to give his mom a better life. If he can write a clean, educational song, then he is a better rapper for having met the challenge. Inspired by losing his first two rap battles, he is determined to win the third one.

A PDF file that has 28 rows for student names and 4 columns under each weekday, each is pre-labeled. Includes legend for attendance labels (tardy, absent, etc.) Also has a space for class name, period, dates, teacher name, and # of students.

Everyone needs a little encouragement! From students, to teachers, administrators, coaches, and parents! These printable thought/comment bubbles are perfect for letting people know how much you appreciate them and how proud you are of their accomplishments. Be creative and include some word play or inside jokes that will make it more meaningful for the person you’re writing it for. Leave these around the teachers’ and staff’s mailboxes and encourage others to leave one for a colleague. Better yet, leave some yourself for others and watch the morale and positivity blossom at your school or workplace! Great for leaving in students’ homework folders with motivational quotes or verbal pats-on-the-back encouraging them. The sky really is the limit with these little things that can make a big difference!

These stories were written to inspire at a time when the world seems to need it most. The characters in these stories range from naïve, innocent, and kind to bold, strange, and detached from reality. We meet two young people in love in “What These Old Eyes Saw” and a curious man in “A Case of Delusion”. We have philosophical discussions in fables and conversations on love, wisdom, and giving with “The Student and the Master” stories. These stories are great for anyone of any age!

How far would you go to make your dream come true? Troy Jones is a 16-yr-old high school student with the dream of becoming a successful rapper. He doesn’t want fame; he wants to help his mother who works three jobs to support her family after Troy’s father was killed as a bystander in a tragic drive-by. Having problems in school, Troy tries to get I.S.S. as often as he can so he can work on his rap lyrics. Mrs. Hass, his science teacher hates rap & hip-hop music and constantly gives Troy a hard time. On the other hand Troy’s English teacher, Mr. Salas, is a beacon of hope and inspiration to the young, aspiring rapper. Mr. Salas provides him with the tools to improve his craft of writing hip-hop lyrics. When Troy’s best friend Jimmy moves to another school, Troy’s opportunity to perform in rap battles arrives. Being a nobody, he has nothing to lose and everything to gain. He dubs himself a mix “between a G and a nerd”. Along the way, he meets a love interest, suffers a big loss, meets his idol rapper and an ex-con, gets his music equipment stolen, and has doubts about his rapping ability. He knows that he does not only want to succeed; he needs to succeed.

A fun class activity that allows students to nominate a peer for a honorable title such as most talented, most style, funniest, most intelligent etc. You can change the categories and each sheet has 4 voting cards.

A simple, open-ended response form for students who misbehave. It requires them to reflect on their actions and come up with an alternative response for the next time. It’s great for classroom management and easy to keep in students’ file! –happier teachers! –happier students! –happier administrators!

A teacher-made thesaurus for common, overused words (like “good”, “bad”, “sad”, etc.) to keep in their notes and to use when writing to extend their vocabulary. Perfect for language arts teachers! Includes sections for words belonging to each of the five senses (with a picture of each sense) to help students create sensory writing. 2 pages total. Editable Word document. This lesson is student-centered, meaning: –it allows you to become a facilitator! –happier teachers! –happier students! –happier administrators!

The eBook is available on Amazon https://goo.gl/zck2y4 Free excerpt at https://goo.gl/2FymNv ! This includes the MP4 music video with printable handout of lyrics. 100% clean appropriate for all middle school and high school students. Students can reflect and discuss or journal about the topics in the song's lyrics. The main character of the book ("Got the Flow: The Hip-Hop Diary of a Young Rapper") 16-year-old Troy Jones is in the hospital as his mom just survived a heart attack from overworking and stress. He is determined to become a successful rapper to give his mom a better life. Inspired by the pain of the his mom's hospitalization and the fear of his upcoming 3rd rap battle (he lost his first two) he pens this rap to God. The book is due out Fall 2017. THIS SONG IS FREE FOR DOWNLOAD ON SOUNDCLOUD AND FEEL FREE TO SHARE THE MP3. :) Free excerpt and updates at carlossalinaswriting.com! Thanks for listening!

A sheet for students to fill in to give teacher updated contact information, transportation and health issues. Perfect for lower grades, parent conferences, ARDs, and helpful for older students as well. Editable Word document!