Students synthesize information from multiple texts to create a comprehensive comparison and write a final evidentiary paragraph.

Students learn about hurricanes and practice organizing information into a structured paragraph with a clear topic sentence, supporting details, and a conclusion.

Students explore the science of tornadoes while focusing on identifying key details and mastering domain-specific vocabulary.

A final culmination of the book club unit, where students synthesize the entire novel through creative projects and thematic reflections.

The emotional climax and resolution of the story as the tiger is released and Rob finally opens his suitcase, covering chapters twenty-one through thirty.

Exploring the developing friendship between Rob and Sistine and the growing pressure of the tiger's presence, covering chapters eleven through twenty.

An introduction to the Lister Motel and Rob Horton's 'suitcase', covering the first ten chapters of the novel.

Book club celebration with discussion and a creative 'Carving' activity.

Exploring the symbolism of Sistine's name and her character growth.

Reading Chapter 30, focusing on the resolution and the sun coming out.

Reading Chapters 20-21, analyzing the encounter with the tiger and vocabulary.

Reading Chapters 10-11, focusing on the wood-carving imagery and vocabulary.

Deep dive into summarizing the entire narrative arc using a 'Story Suitcase' organizer.

Final vocabulary review with a comprehensive matching and sentence challenge.

Reading Chapters 2-3, focusing on Rob's character and the introduction of Sistine.

Introduction to the book club, building background knowledge about the setting and the tiger, and reading Chapter 1.

A comprehensive lesson on narrative sentence variation focusing on varied beginnings, sentence combining, length modulation, and descriptive clauses. Students move from identifying monotone rhythms to crafting dynamic, flowing prose.

Students explore the magical world of figurative language, learning to identify and craft similes, metaphors, personification, and more through creative 'alchemy' themed exercises.

A lesson focused on the climactic Act III of '12 Angry Men', exploring the shifting dynamics of the jury, the re-examination of evidence, and the final resolution of the trial.

A vocabulary focused lesson on Chapters 4-7 of Lois Lowry's The Giver, exploring key terms through textual context and modern application.

Students identify and interpret visual metaphors for abstract Stoic virtues in a video about Marcus Aurelius, then design their own 3-panel storyboard to explain a new virtue.

A creative writing lesson for middle school students exploring empathy and perspective-taking through the medium of internal monologues. Using a poignant animated video about cyberbullying, students analyze character motivations and the impact of digital actions.

A mini-lesson focused on the art of crafting narrative endings that effectively resolve conflict and showcase character growth and reflection. Students learn to move beyond simply 'stopping' a story to 'finishing' it with a meaningful theme or lesson learned.

A 40-minute lesson exploring the tonal shifts in Chapter 6 of Persepolis, focusing on the juxtaposition of national celebration and personal moral complexity. Students analyze a single panel using a Claim-Evidence-Analysis-Conclusion framework to evaluate how Satrapi conveys themes of loss and forgiveness.

Teaches students to evaluate claims, analyze evidence, and craft strong argumentative responses for the NYS ELA exam.

Develops students' ability to identify central ideas and the specific evidence that supports them in informational texts.

Focuses on the essential vocabulary and structural frameworks needed to analyze complex middle school texts.

A structured lesson focused on Chapters 16-18 of The Hate U Give, designed to help students summarize key events, make deep character inferences, and identify main ideas in preparation for comprehension assessments.

A comprehensive lesson where 8th graders learn to construct persuasive essays using an 'architectural' framework, focusing on thesis foundations, structural claims, and evidentiary reinforcement.

Students become 'argument architects' by learning to construct well-supported persuasive essays through thesis development, evidence integration, and logical organization. This 8th-grade ELA lesson uses a construction-themed approach to deconstruct exemplars and build robust written arguments.

A comprehensive 8th-grade ELA lesson on persuasive writing where students act as architects to build robust, evidence-backed arguments through systematic planning and organization.

A lesson focused on teaching students how to incorporate internal dialogue into narrative writing to reveal character traits and deepen the connection to story events.

A comprehensive mini-lesson on teaching students how to integrate internal monologue into their narrative writing to reveal character traits and react to plot events.

A 45-minute lesson focused on analyzing author's purpose, tone, and word choice using a biographical text about Selena Quintanilla, culminating in a CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) response.

A lesson focused on the life of Selena Quintanilla, using the past tense to analyze how an author's diction and syntax build mood and tone in a biographical text.

This lesson guides students through the process of crafting topic sentences that directly respond to a writing prompt about Wilma Rudolph's perseverance. It emphasizes the integration of prompt language, previews of text evidence, and the foundation for analytical explanation.

Students become POV Detectives to identify first-person and third-person points of view using evidence-based sorting and analysis.

A targeted small group lesson designed to help students slow down pivotal moments in their rainforest narratives by incorporating sensory details, internal monologue, and dialogue.

Focuses on writing a high-tension introduction for a Choose Your Own Adventure story that culminates in a critical survival decision based on animal defense mechanisms.

A hands-on literacy center where students use building blocks to construct 'Word Towers' using prefixes, suffixes, and root words found in 'The Most Beautiful Roof in the World'. Students act as canopy architects, assembling complex scientific terms and documenting their meanings in a field log.

A lesson where students learn to decode and apply rubrics to argumentative writing, treating the rubric as a blueprint for forging strong, defensible arguments.

A foundational lesson on argumentative writing, covering essential terminology like claims, evidence, and counterclaims through a 'blueprint' architectural theme.