Hoosier Poet Slides
A visually rich slide deck for teaching James Whitcomb Riley's biography, Hoosier dialect, and analysis of his two most famous poems: "Little Orphant Annie" and "When the Frost is on the Punkin." Includes clear explanations of imagery and onomatopoeia.
Poet Portfolio Teacher Guide
A highly detailed, multi-page teacher facilitation guide. Includes an engaging "hook," scripted teacher dialogue, higher-order thinking questions for each stage of the unit, and a day-by-day procedural breakdown for implementing the James Whitcomb Riley portfolio project.
Rileys Roots Biography Notes
A biography graphic organizer for student note-taking. It features a timeline of Riley's life, a portrait sketch area, and guided prompts about his early life in Greenfield, his "medicine show" days, and his literary legacy in Indiana. Includes a teacher answer key.
Hired Girls Tales Worksheet
An analysis worksheet for Riley's "Little Orphant Annie." It focuses on dialect translation, cause-and-effect relationship between behavior and the supernatural warnings in the poem, and visual interpretation of the poem's imagery. Includes a teacher answer key.
Autumn Gold Analysis Worksheet
A worksheet for "When the Frost is on the Punkin" that guides students through identifying sensory details (sight, sound, touch, taste/smell), analyzing onomatopoeia, and interpreting the author's tone and mood regarding the harvest season. Includes a teacher answer key.
Dialect Detective Activity
A vocabulary and language activity focused on James Whitcomb Riley's Hoosier dialect. Students match historical dialect words to modern meanings, use context clues to define agricultural terms, and experiment with modern Indiana slang. Includes a teacher answer key.
Lapbook Legend Assembly Guide
A guide for students on how to assemble their final interactive lapbook project. It includes visual diagrams for folding the folder, instructions on where to place the various components (biography, poem analysis), and a checklist for completion.
My Own Hoosier Verses Writing
A creative writing prompt and template for students to write their own original poem in the style of James Whitcomb Riley. The task requires the use of Hoosier dialect, sensory imagery, and onomatopoeia to describe a modern Indiana scene. Includes a scoring guide.
Poets Portfolio Rubric
A project-based rubric for the Hoosier Poet Portfolio. It evaluates students on historical accuracy, poetry analysis, creative use of dialect, application of literary devices (imagery, onomatopoeia), lapbook organization, and overall creativity.
Poet Portfolio Answer Key
A comprehensive answer key for all student-facing worksheets in the James Whitcomb Riley unit. It provides translations for dialect terms, character descriptions, analysis findings, and sensory imagery examples.
Hoosier Dictionary Reference
A comprehensive vocabulary reference sheet (Hoosier Dictionary) for students. It defines dialect terms, 19th-century farm vocabulary, and key literary terms used in the James Whitcomb Riley unit. Revised for unified styling and additional terms.
Vocab Power-Up Activity
A vocabulary activity worksheet (Vocab Power-Up) for students to practice using new terms. Includes matching definitions for historical items and fill-in-the-blank sentences using unit vocabulary. Revised for print alignment, handwriting space, and consistent styling.
