If you are looking for a high-interest topic to tackle the reading, viewing, and listening standard, look no further! Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius’ eruption, lava, Pliny the Younger… it’s all here. The videos are superb, the the text is rigorous (but short, accessible- and has humor!) and the audio is great. I LOVE teaching Pompeii because the students are fully engaged- mesmerized! The text for READING is by Pliny the Younger. A first-hand account of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Knowing that students may struggle a bit with the language, I have created a paired activity where students summarize each sentence. I have included my summary of each sentence (in case they get stuck- or ) to compare with the student’s finished activity. Yes, Pliny actually calls his uncle out for snoring! The LISTENING text is “The Dog of Pompeii” by Louis Untermyer. If you don’t have the text in your anthology, search for free copies on the web. Students individually complete a worksheet (included) after reading. The VIEWING component uses two videos readily available on the web- one made by PBS that is 2 minutes in length (but packs a punch!) and another lengthier, informative video. Once the students have completed activities on EACH of the modes, there is a writing assignment. The writing assignment begins as a group activity. Groups will write a paragraph and compare to my sample paragraph. Then, students work individually for the final assessment- a similar paragraph that compares the three modes: reading, listening, and viewing. This is a week-long lesson, but you can just teach a part of this lesson if you are focusing on other standards (For example, you may have “Dog of Pompeii” in your anthology. You can use the worksheets and activity for just this story instead of teaching the entire unit). Thanks so much for your interest. Enjoy teaching Pompeii!

‘Get to Know You’ Cootie Catchers are perfect for the first day of school- or when students need to break the ice before they work in groups. Cootie Catchers are also called Fortune Tellers. Included in this product are 10 different cootie catchers, each with 8 different questions each. Sample questions include: • Tell me about a time when you got stitches. • Tell me about your favorite dessert. • What is the first thing you will buy if you win the lottery? • How do you feel about staying healthy? Partners will pair up to use these cootie catchers. This is a fun FOLDABLE and great interactive activity as an ice breaker! Just print and pass out! Students will cut off the bottom strip, fold, and begin discussing! These cootie catchers really promote student interest! Learning and fun!

Want to motivate your students with a creative writing prompt? This set includes tree choices of backgrounds for your students to use as they explain how life will be when they become the President of the United States! Each is formatted on a single page.

Intensive Pronouns are the focus of Common Core 6.1 b. A PowerPoint, lesson plan, and worksheet on Intensive Pronouns are all included. The EATS lesson plan (tied to the Common Core Standards) as well as an individual worksheet work together to keep students on-task! If your class is studying Intensive Pronouns, this resource is for you! Complete with an essential question, vocabulary, teaching strategies, and an exit ticket, this lesson shows the difference between Intensive Pronouns and Reflexive Pronouns. Once students are shown several examples, they will practice with slides on the PowerPoint. Following the PowerPoint, students will work on individual worksheets. Lastly, students will complete an exit ticket. Students will learn: How can I use intensive pronouns correctly? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.1b Use intensive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves). Thank you and ENJOY!

Secondary Word of the Day S.A.T. Bracelets S.A.T.-level vocabulary for your secondary students! These paper bracelets are ready-to-go! Simply print, cut, and tape them on students’ wrists. Add a bit of whimsy to education! Don’t think for a minute that your secondary students are too mature for paper bracelets; they LOVE them! Use these Word of the Day bracelets to help reinforce long-term learning. (Eradicate the “remember-for-the-test, then forget” strategy.) Students will be reminded of their vocabulary word throughout the day. Assign one word to each student per period- and watch them find students with the same word throughout the day. Watch students between classes discuss each other’s words. Hooray! These bracelets create a ripple effect, too. Students report that family members learn their words, too (especially their younger siblings– your future students)! At the end of the week, ask students to use the bracelets to create links for a Vocabulary Word Chain in their locker for year-long reinforcement. Included are “Don’t Forget,” “Test tomorrow,” and some blank bracelets for you to customize as study reminders for students (and parents)! This product includes: - 45 slips with (45) S.A.T.-level vocabulary words and definitions - notes/ directions - 1 free Cootie Catcher - 15 Reminder Bracelets (5 “Test Tomorrow”, 5 “Don’t Forget”, and 5 blanks for you to write on) This product is in PDF form and is not editable. Thanks! Kim Kroll

If you have the short story “The All American Slurp” by Lensey Namiokain your anthology, this lesson is for you! This short story resource includes worksheets, PowerPoint, vocabulary quiz, and lesson plan. All are editable. I have included an EATS lesson plan with an Essential Question, preview vocabulary, activating strategy, teaching strategies and a summarizing strategy (Exit Ticket). The exit tickets are printable. The lesson focuses on theme and provides an answer to the essential question so students will understand the concept. The lesson also touches on onomatopoeia. The lesson plan and worksheets are a valuable time-saver. Just print and go! Answer key is included. This resource also includes directions to use the PALS reading strategy and a PALS worksheet. I LOVE using PALS so that every student is responsible to read and comprehend. This is a great short story to use with PALS! Thank you! ~Kim

I am so proud of this lesson! When I found the Common Core Standard for punctuating a pause in 8th grade, I looked high and low for a resource before realizing one needed to be created. How difficult can creating an ellipsis, dash and comma lesson be? Trust me, it wasn’t as easy as I originally thought! The nuances between the three punctuation marks need to be distinguished so students can learn which to use- and further- what each one adds to the text (suspense, sudden interruption, reader direction…). Included is the PPT, Lesson plan, Worksheets and more. With the PowerPoint, a lecture unfolds following LFS (Learning Focused Strategies) to include an activating strategy, teaching strategies and summarizing strategies. Using the Essential Question: “How do I punctuate a pause?” the graphic organizer worksheet allows students to follow along with the PPT smoothly, while taking notes. There are pictures on the PowerPoint to stimulate interest, along with an easy format for students and teachers, alike. The PPT, graphic organizer worksheet, and Activity Worksheets focus on the three punctuation marks: ellipsis, dash, and comma. There is an exit ticket on the worksheet for summary. Included are examples and activities for the entire class, partners, and individuals. Answer keys are provided for each activity. Addressed Common Core Standards include: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.2a Use punctuation (comma, ellipsis, dash) to indicate a pause or break. Hope you enjoy this lesson! It will save you hours from creating a lesson from scratch! #ellipsis #dash #comma #pause

Context clues are so important; they are part of the Common Core Standards in grades TWO through TWELVE! This lesson focuses on grades 6 through 8. This product includes: ---An EATS Lesson plan (with activating strategy, teaching strategies, etc.) ---A complete PowerPoint for this lesson ---Two worksheets ---Two activities ---A PowerPoint of printable task cards (8)- perfect for differentiated instruction The lesson gives the definition for context and shows examples. A sample sentence without context clues is also shown. Students will be given an original picture of "clues" as a PowerPoint visual to connect with this concept. Students will learn the four main strategies that writers use to give context clues to their readers (telling, examples, antonyms, and picture-painting). As a class, students will practice with the examples on the PowerPoint- identifying which strategy the writer used. Later, students will pair up and work on TASK CARD examples (perfect for differentiating this lesson- or use them as homework slips!). Finally, students will work independently on a worksheet and create a context clue-filled sentence of their own for their peers to critique. Most of the students' unknown words come from my "Word of the Day: Preparing for the S.A.T." So, if they accidentally learn the meaning, it's a win!! :) This lesson has a lot of information and several strategies for students to learn. The second PowerPoint (the one with task cards) is intended to be printed. This lesson focuses on: CCSS Literacy .L.6.4.a, 7.4.a, and 8-12.4.a. Thank you so much!

Students are shown the humor that can be created with dangling and misplaced modifiers. (Prepare to have your students laughing!) This lesson shows the definition of a modifier and a clause, as well as the difference between a misplaced modifier and a dangling modifier. The PowerPoint provides several examples for mastery and later for students to identify. Following the PowerPoint, groups will use the printable worksheets to determine which sentences contain misplaced/dangling modifiers. An EATS lesson plan (tied to the Writing Common Core Standards) includes an essential question, preview vocabulary, teaching strategies, assessment strategies, and an exit ticket. This lesson is easy to follow, interactive and high-interest. The lesson plan, PPT, a group activity and individual worksheets are all included. There is also a challenge section to differentiate instruction for quick learners. Finally, students will complete an individual worksheet and an Exit Ticket. This lesson was a hit in my classroom. I hope you enjoy this product, too!

Author's Purpose Inform, Entertain and Persuade: a lesson on Author's Purpose This PowerPoint was created for my observation/ evaluation. It has a lesson plan and worksheet included. It is: *interesting and rigorous *timed perfectly for a 53-minute class period *showcases teacher strengths *uses various activities for high interest *keeps students involved This lesson was used during my observation/ evaluation, and my principal LOVED it. This PPT focuses on the 3 purposes-- inform, entertain and persuade-- giving examples, practice and eventually an Exit Ticket. This presentation was used for 6th and 7th grade, but could work with 5th-12th. At one point, students can use sign language to silently engage in the lesson. (Principal and students LOVE this part!) Included with the lesson plan are activities for partners (sorting slips) and individuals (writing). Answer keys are also provided. I HIGHLY SUGGEST USING THIS ONE-DAY LESSON WHILE GETTING EVALUATED. Using the Essential Question: How can a reader determine the author’s purpose?, the worksheet allows students to follow along with the PowerPoint smoothly. There are pictures to stimulate interest, along with an easy format for students and teachers, alike. The Author's Purpose lesson plan follows LFS (Learning Focused Strategies) to include an activating strategy, teaching strategies and summarizing strategies. The lesson helps students determine the author's purpose as found in the Common Core Standards: "Reading Standards for Informational Text - Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others." This teaches students to look for clues to the author's purpose. I truly think you will like this one! Enjoy!

Verbals are to be taught in 8th grade, so says the Common Core. Gerunds, Infinitives, Participles might be difficult to teach if you've kind of forgotten yourself! (right?) This lesson solves that problem! The EATS lesson includes: -- the content standard and essential question -- preview vocabulary -- the definition and example of each verbal -- a quick review -- an Exit Ticket The graphic organizer works really well for my 8th graders! Higher grades can use it as a review/refresher, too. This PowerPoint gives step-by-step instructions to the students. The lesson plan guides the teacher through, too! CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.1.a is the focus of the lesson.

This one page printable is ready for students to fill in. Ten text boxes are provided. Each text box has a blank for the year and lines so that students can fill in a description of the events. Great for novels, non-fiction, autobiography life lines, history and more! Thank you!

Students learn the four common text structures: Compare/Contrast, Description, Cause/Effect, and Problem/ Solution. In this lesson, students learn the definition of text structure- and the difference between it and text features (commonly confused). This product includes the PowerPoint, an EATS lesson plan, graphic organizer, worksheet and answer key. Once students are shown several examples, they will practice identifying original paragraphs (created by me) and writing in a text structure format. Students will write their own paragraph using a structure of their choosing. Others will guess which structure they used. Lastly, students will pair up to summarize the lesson. Students will learn: What clues can I use to determine the text structure of a written piece? and How do text features and structures help the reader understand what they are reading? Common Core Standards: RI. 6.5 Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas. Thank you and ENJOY!

Open House editable newsletter template This tri-fold pamphlet is perfect to hand to parents at Open House. The two pages consist of information from my class, but can be edited to fit your needs. Simply revise, print and fold! back to school night

Cootie Catchers are also called fortune tellers. This is a fun FOLDABLE and great interactive activity for studying multiplication! Just print and pass out! Students will cut off the bottom strip, fold, and begin studying! Included in this product are 20 different BLACK AND WHITE cootie catchers, each with 8 different multiplication equations (answers included). Instructions are also included. Partners will use these cootie catchers to practice and review the multiplication tables between 2 and 12! Print all Cootie Catchers and randomly pass out- for maximum variability- or focus on the specific multiples: Slide 3 Equations using 3 ( 6 x 3, 8 X 3…) Slide 4 Equations using 4 Slide 5 Equations using 5 Slide 6 Equations using 6 Slide 7 Equations using 7 Slide 8 Equations using 8 Slide 9 Equations using 9 Slide 10 Equations using 10 Slide 11 Equations using 11 Slide 12 Equations using 3 Slide 15 Mixture of equations using 3 and 4 Slide 16 Mixture of equations using 3 and 4 Slide 17 Mixture of equations using 5 and 6 Slide 18 Mixture of equations using 5 and 6 Slide 19 Mixture of equations using 7 and 8 Slide 20 Mixture of equations using 7 and 8 Slide 21 Mixture of equations using 9 and 10 Slide 22 Mixture of equations using 9 and 10 Slide 23 Mixture of equations using 11 and 12 Slide 24 Mixture of equations using 11 and 12 These cootie catchers really grab students’ enthusiasm! Learning and fun! This bundle of cootie catchers are in BLACK and WHITE. Enjoy!

Verb Mood... is a Common Core necessity! Verb Moods - Subjective. Conditional. Imperative. Interrogative. Indicative. I've tried to make this topic a little snazzy. Generally, students feel that verb moods are a bunch of big words that are not relevant to them. My goal is to connect a visual with each mood and have students understand each mood through various activities. This EATS lesson includes: --a very helpful graphic organizer -- the content standard and essential question -- preview vocabulary -- Fantastic PowerPoint with the definition and example of each mood: Indicative, Imperative, Interrogative, Conditional and Subjunctive -- a review -- a writing activity -- an Exit Ticket The graphic organizer works really well with my 8th graders! Students connect to the visuals and can use this g.o. with future assignments! This PowerPoint is accompanied by an EATS lesson plan. This lesson focuses on: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking, AND (especially) CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.1c Form and use verbs in the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive mood. The Essential Questions used are: -- How can I use verbs correctly in the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive moods? -- How can I form verbs correctly in the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive moods? Thanks so much!- Kim Kroll