Students learn the difference between what a book is about (topic) and what it teaches (theme) using fables and the cupcake analogy.
A foundational vocabulary and morphology unit designed specifically for high school newcomer ESL students. It focuses on breaking down unfamiliar English words into high-frequency prefixes, suffixes, and root words using heavy visual aids, scaffolded sentence stems, and highly collaborative activities.
The celebratory final meeting of the book clubs, designed as a festive victory banquet. Students commemorate their protagonist's return through a grand ceremonial toast, active crossover badge trading with other groups, and a high-interest 5-minute teaser of the Hero's Journey mapping project.
A completed 2-page teacher example of the Homecoming Banquet Placemat for the novel "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin. Features specific, high-quality sample student responses mapping Minli's journey while leaving classmate names and signatures blank for pedagogical modeling.
A comprehensive 4-week poetry curriculum designed for students requiring high structure and visual supports. It covers diverse poetry types (Haiku, Color, Acrostic, Couplets, Concrete, Free Verse, and Metaphor/Simile) with scaffolds like word banks, sentence frames, and graphic organizers.
A dynamic 90-minute lesson where newcomers learn to identify root words, prefixes, and suffixes. Through color-coded physical cards, collaborative games, and visual anchor charts, students practice decoding unfamiliar words and speaking with structured sentence frames.
A 1-page teacher facilitation guide for running the final book club celebration meeting. Features a 45-minute step-by-step lesson plan, classroom setup checklist, teacher talk scripts for a theatrical 'Toast Ceremony', and instructions for scaffolding both the Hero's Journey preview and the crossover networking activity.
A middle school vocabulary lesson exploring 3-to-4 syllable academic words ending in the suffix -ture. Students examine pronunciation, morphological structure, definitions, and applications through a technical drafting/blueprint theme.
A comprehensive 15-lesson writing curriculum tailored for middle and high school students with intellectual disabilities. The sequence alternates weekly between personal narratives, evidence-based informational writing, and imagined stories, using heavy visual scaffolding, structured sentence frames, and clear graphic organizers.
An energetic classroom phonics lesson where students compete in a friendly Knockout tournament to master vowel teams and diphthongs. Includes interactive instructional and gameplay slides, plus a student tracking sheet.
A 4-week ELA workbook and instructional sequence themed around outer space exploration. Focuses on letter recognition, sounds, foundational handwriting, and early phonics using SATPIN, the full A-Z, vowels and consonants, and tricky letter pairs.
A high-energy, wild safari-themed classroom game for K-3 students focusing on key phonics skills including CVC words, silent 'e', vowel teams, and multi-syllable decoding. This lesson includes a widescreen smartboard presentation, a teacher facilitation guide with word keys, and an active-participation student tracker sheet.
