A literary analysis unit focusing on how structure and perspective shape the theme of resilience across poetry and short stories.

A week-long exploration of literary elements using fables, myths, and realistic fiction. Students act as 'Story Architects' to deconstruct plot, character, theme, and setting.

A comprehensive dive into the pivotal moments and global impact of World War II, framed through the lens of military intelligence and historical analysis.

A vocabulary-building journey where students master academic language by framing word acquisition as magical alchemy and linguistic experimentation.

A four-day investigative unit focused on citing textual evidence and making inferences across various genres, including short stories, non-fiction, and poetry. Students act as 'Evidence Detectives' to solve literary and factual mysteries while engaging in collaborative discussions.

An 8-day intensive unit titled 'The Architecture of Voice.' Students analyze four diverse mentor texts—Hurston, de Vaca, Tan, and Cofer—to understand how craft elements like figurative language, imagery, syntax, and diction shape an author's tone and perspective. For each text, students produce a structured paragraph, culminating in a comprehensive autobiographical essay that explores the various forces (culture, challenges, people, and places) that have shaped their own voices.

A unit focused on teaching middle school students how to identify and evaluate the strongest textual evidence to support claims. Students transition from simply finding any evidence to selecting the most relevant and specific details from high-interest short stories.

A 4-week writing unit where students create their own 'Wimpy Kid' style diary, exploring narrative, expository, argumentative, and persuasive writing alongside specific figurative language techniques.