A 7th-grade ELA sequence on debate and public speaking, focusing on 'Impact Calculus' (Magnitude, Probability, and Timeframe) to weigh competing arguments and make comparative judgments.
A comprehensive book club unit for Kate DiCamillo's 'The Tiger Rising', exploring themes of emotional repression and friendship through three distinct chapter groups with a focus on synthesizing, vocabulary, and summarizing.
A comprehensive NYS ELA test preparation sequence for grades 6-8, focusing on main idea, text structure, and argumentative writing through a 'detective case file' theme.
A lesson sequence focused on the narrative craft of writing high-stakes introductions for interactive survival stories, specifically leading to biological defense mechanism choices.
This sequence explores the literary techniques used by Frederick Douglass in his Narrative, focusing specifically on how he uses irony to dismantle Northern misconceptions about slavery. Students move from vocabulary acquisition to deep rhetorical analysis.
A comprehensive NYS ELA test preparation sequence for middle school students (Grades 5-8), focusing on non-fiction reading comprehension, text-dependent analysis, and evidence-based writing. Each lesson targets grade-specific standards and uses NYS-style question stems to build testing stamina and skills.
A comprehensive 25-lesson book club unit for 'The Tiger Rising' by Kate DiCamillo, focusing on summarizing, synthesizing, and vocabulary development through the lens of a Florida woods field journal.
A middle school curriculum unit focused on critical thinking, information literacy, and strategic task management across digital and physical media.
A comprehensive unit on informational text structures, using an architectural theme to help students visualize how authors build their ideas. Students will master Cause and Effect, Description, Sequence, and Problem and Solution.
A comprehensive unit for Ellen Raskin's 'The Westing Game', focusing on character analysis, main idea, and key details through a mystery-themed lens. Includes slide decks for instruction, chapter-by-chapter exit tickets, and cumulative quizzes for each section of the novel.
A thematic unit centered on winter and snow, exploring grammar, functional language, and descriptive comparison skills.
A comprehensive writing unit designed to take 7th-grade students from basic paragraph construction and brainstorming to a fully structured five-paragraph essay.
A instructional unit focused on the core literacy skills of summarizing, paraphrasing, and synthesizing information for clarity and impact.
A short sequence focused on advanced grammar applications in creative and narrative writing for 7th and 8th graders, exploring how mechanical choices impact style and meaning.
A curriculum development sequence focused on helping teachers bridge ELA and History through linguistics and etymology.
A lesson sequence exploring the concept of Standard American English as a versatile tool for communication, emphasizing that language varies by context and that all dialects are valid. Students analyze the 'car analogy' from Khan Academy to distinguish between fundamental grammar rules and social conventions.
A comprehensive lesson sequence for middle school students to master the six elements of plot through video analysis, hands-on sorting, and text-based application. The unit follows a 'Plot Pathfinders' theme, mirroring the adventure-quest narrative of the instructional video.
A lesson sequence focused on mastering the three rhetorical appeals (Ethos, Logos, and Pathos) through video analysis and a simulated school debate.
A lesson sequence focused on mastering coordinating conjunctions to improve writing flow and sentence variety. Students transition from short, choppy sentences to fluent compound sentences using the FANBOYS mnemonic.
A professional development series focused on empowering educators with concrete frameworks for teaching complex writing and literacy skills.
A debate and communication sequence focused on teaching middle schoolers how to build persuasive arguments through creative performance and structured analysis.
A short unit focusing on the power of punctuation, specifically the Oxford comma, to prevent ambiguity and the role of appositives in sentence structure.
A series of lessons exploring different literary genres, starting with the high-stakes world of Adventure Fiction.
A lesson sequence exploring the intersection of civic duty, social contracts, and rhetorical analysis through the lens of the 'Shopping Cart Theory'. Students analyze a structured argument and participate in a Socratic Seminar.