An architectural approach to analyzing poetic structure, covering line breaks, stanzas, rhyme schemes, meter, and fixed forms like the sonnet. Students learn to view poems as carefully constructed buildings where form supports meaning.
A comprehensive unit on figurative language, taking students from basic comparisons like similes and metaphors to complex devices like oxymorons and symbolism. Students act as 'Language Scientists' in a literary lab to synthesize and analyze text.
A unit exploring high-stakes survival narratives and the literary elements that define them. Students will analyze non-fiction accounts of resilience, leadership, and human ingenuity under pressure.
A comprehensive prep sequence for the TSIA Reading exam, focusing on main ideas, vocabulary, inference, and literary analysis. Each lesson provides review materials, practice problems, and assessment tools.
A comprehensive unit designed to guide students through the complexities of writing a research-based argumentative paper, from paragraph structure to final revision.
A three-part grammar intensive for 8th graders focusing on the mechanics of compound and complex sentences through architectural-themed practice and application.
A high school ELA unit exploring the evolution of war and protest poetry, from the trenches of WWI to modern social movements, culminating in an original poetry portfolio.
A comprehensive collection of high-impact review materials and activities designed to prepare 9th-grade students for the Texas STAAR assessments across multiple subjects, focusing on movement, memory, and mastery.
An eight-lesson unit on Franz Kafka and Section I of The Metamorphosis. Lessons 1-4 cover Kafka's biography, historical context, literary style, and major themes. Lessons 5-8 focus on a close reading of Section I. Includes a final compiled Unit Homework assignment.
A series of lessons exploring complex spelling patterns including assimilated suffixes and chameleon prefixes to improve student decoding and spelling accuracy.
A dynamic high school unit exploring the roots, techniques, and performance of slam and spoken word poetry, culminating in a school-wide poetry slam.
A series of lessons focused on analyzing key chapters of 'The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963', with a specific focus on plot development, theme, and author's craft.