The following unit plan is appropriate for grades 10-12 and can be adjusted to fit the ages and abilities of students in the classroom. The goal is to teach argumentative writing that goes beyond just arguing whether something is good or bad, right or wrong.

Much of this plan is designed to be a writing workshop, with students completing specific tasks each day as they progress towards a final product. Note: Most of the work completed in the early stages should be graded for completion. Encourage the students to take risks and get things “wrong” as they go. The ultimate goal is a quality product at the end.

Note: This is a work in progress, but I want the resources to be available as I add to them. Therefore, if you are getting this with initial publication, it will be pretty bare bones to start.

If you feel so inclined, you can support my efforts here by following me at Teachers Pay Teachers or offering to donate through my Ko-Fi account.

Follow me at Teachers Pay Teachers

One-time Donation

Pre-research work

• One of my first activities is a Problem Solving Activity, based on the work of the national Future Problem Solving Club. You can find a copy of that activity here.

• I also have students complete a project proposal. This detailed project proposal requires initial research to prove that their planned topic fits the parameters of the overall assignment and also forces initial deep thinking about the problem they want to solve, why they want to solve it, and how do different people think about it. The assignment can be found here.

• I also have students consider the argument spectrum for their selected topic, encouraging them beyond black and white thinking and challenging them to see the nuance in the issue they want to research. I use this Google Slides presentation as part of class discussion. I break the class into three groups and have them place these slides in order on the spectrum before I give them the debatable answers. Finally, I have them complete their own spectrum for their research using this Google Slides presentation. Note: I did use ChatGPT to come up with the different items to put on the spectrum. I had my students use SchoolAI (my school has an account) to discover the different perspectives that fit their own selected issues. This helps them see the many different perspectives before I send them to our school databases to do research.

• While I want my students to avoid using generative AI for their writing work, I have discovered it can be helpful for students who struggle to decide on a topic. I have them use this specific prompt with our school subscription to SchoolAI to help them brainstorm possible topics they might be interested in.

  Subscribe now

Research

• I start with a research proposal. This is the slide show I use to break down each part of the assigned proposal.

• I do this assignment with my Dual Credit Composition students, which means the research goes up a few notches. Because my students have already written an annotated bibliography by the time I teach this paper, I instead have them write a Literature Review. The assignment can be found here.

Writing the paper

• My students use a full process of research notes, outline, rough draft, and final draft to produce their full final paper. The overall assignment can be found here.

• Note: I will add the pieces to this writing process over the next few months as I make necessary revisions to post here.

After the paper is turned in

• Because research papers of any kind take so long to grade, I try to have some kind of learning activity for students to do after they have finished the paper. One of those activities is an infographic assignment that helps them summarize the most significant points in their paper. That assignment can be found here.

• I have also had them complete a satire unit before the end of the semester. I will be adding that unit as revisions are made.

Now your turn

What have you done with your classes? Share with fellow teachers below.

Subscribe now

Semester finals for my Dual Credit students is always a little awkward. After all, their final exam is a semester portfolio, so I need them to turn it in early so I have time to grade it. Since my students still have to show up for the final exam period, I try to give them an activity that gets them thinking about the second college class they will be starting second semester.

Subscribe now

So what did I do? I created an escape room for them to review rhetorical appeals, argument, and logical fallacies.

The escape room can be found here.

The worksheet to use along with it can be found here.

I hope you can find a way to use this in your classroom before the winter break.

If you feel so inclined, you can support my efforts here by following me at Teachers Pay Teachers or offering to donate through my Ko-Fi account.

Follow me at Teachers Pay Teachers

One-time Donation

Students typically love narrative writing. They claim it is so much easier to write about something that happened to them or something they know than it is to write analysis over a text that is new to them or difficult to understand.

Several years ago, I wanted to challenge my students to do something more meaningful with their narrative writing. Before I introduced them to rhetorical analysis, I wanted to give them an important lesson in ethos, or establishing their credibility as authors. I wanted them to learn an important lesson in empathy, as many people make passionate arguments about issues that matter to them because those issues have touched them personally. I also wanted to introduce them to research, showing them that some of the best editorial writing combines both personal experience and strong research to support a writer’s claims.

The argumentative narrative has become one of my favorite papers to teach. It has also proven to be a good way to introduce all of these concepts to my pre-AP, AP Language, and Dual Credit students at the beginning of a school year.

Subscribe now

The following unit plan is suitable for grades 9-12 and can be adjusted to accommodate the ages and abilities of students in the classroom. The goal is to teach students how to begin an argument while giving them the opportunity to write a narrative about an event that has shaped their lives. It is a lesson in writing an engaging narrative, establishing their credibility as writers, and persuading their audience.

Much of this plan is designed to be a writing workshop, with students completing specific tasks each day as they progress toward a final product. I often present grammar or writing mini-lessons before sending them to work on their research or writing.

Note: Most of the work completed in the early stages should be graded for completion. Encourage the students to take risks and get things “wrong” as they go. The ultimate goal is a quality product at the end.

While there are links to individual activities below, the entire unit can be purchased here.

If you feel so inclined, you can support my efforts here by following me at Teachers Pay Teachers or offering to donate through my Ko-Fi account.

Follow me at Teachers Pay Teachers

One-time Donation

Day one

• The link to the daily breakdown of activities I used most recently can be found here.

• Use this PowerPoint presentation to introduce the activity to your students. The presentation includes directions for the pre-writing activity below.

• Have students complete a list of at least 20 “When I was younger…” statements. They do not have to go in any particular order. They are just brainstorming. Examples include:

  • When I was younger, I believed that cats were girls and dogs were boys.

  • When I was younger, I pretended that my bike was actually a horse.

  • When I was younger, I wrote a lot of letters.

  • When I was younger, I taught myself how to play the guitar.

  • When I was younger, I believed my parents were wrong about everything.

• Hand out the assignment.

• Sample Argument Narrative can be found here.

  Subscribe now

Day two

• Review research expectations.

• Tutorial on how to complete a source sheet for their research.

• Have students start researching the topic their narrative focuses on.

• Google Doc source sheet template here.

Day three

• Students work on Research and Source Sheet.

Day four

• Students work on Research and Source Sheet.

Day five

• In my Dual Credit classes, we use the book They Say, I Say. The book presents template language to help students develop strong thesis statements and arguments. I’ve had students complete this template activity after reading the first chapter of the book.

• Students work on outline after completing template activity.

Day six

• Students work on outline and ask for help when needed.

Day seven

• Tutorial on turning an outline into a paper.

• Students work on outline.

Day eight

• Students complete outline.

Day nine

• Students have completed outlines. Present tutorials on writing a good hook (videos included in the attached Google Slides above) and then complete the following activity.

• Open the Google Doc. Read through the essay, then do the following:

  • Add MLA header in the upper left hand corner (Student, Instructor, Class, Date)

  • Add title and center it using centering tools (a point will be deducted for not properly centering your title)

  • Indent each paragraph 0.5 inches (do not use the spacebar to eyeball your indent)

  • Double-space the entire document

  • Add your name and page number in the upper right hand corner, in the header

  • Rewrite the introduction with an interesting hook using one of the methods mentioned in the tutorial

  • Revise the rest of the essay to go with your hook

  • Revise the conclusion to bring the essay full circle

Day ten

• Workshop day – Students should have completed outlines. As students work on their rough drafts in class, teacher should go through each outline to verify completed work and make notes on what students need to work on as they complete their rough draft. If there are potential problems, the outline is the first stopping point where the teacher can redirect students toward either a new, more appropriate topic, or help them focus on the description of the subject they have selected.

Day eleven

• Workshop day #2 – As teacher completes grading of outlines, students should spend the time finishing the rough drafts of their papers. They need to be ready for peer editing on Day 8.

Day twelve

• Peer editing – Put students into groups of three to four and give them the peer editing guide, which needs to be completed for each classmate. Students should complete the self-reflection at the bottom of the peer editing guide after all papers in the group have been read. (This peer editing guide has been use for other papers but can be adjusted for the narative.

Note: This twelve-day plan includes all workshop activities in the unit during 45-minute periods. Some groups of students may need more time and some may need less. If this is being taught during a block period, this unit could also be taught in conjunction with another related literature unit, half of the period designated for literature discussion and the second half of the period designated for writing workshop.

Extend the lesson

One of my favorite activities while students have finished writing their papers is to have them do a rhetorical analysis of the film The Freedom Writers. While the film is a little dated now, here is the study guide for the film, which could be adapted to any film that encourages students to use their voices through writing.

Now your turn

What have you done with your classes? Share with fellow teachers below.

Subscribe now

The following unit plan is appropriate for grades 7-12 and can be adjusted to fit the ages and abilities of students in the classroom. The goal is to help students see the importance of a word outside of just the dictionary definition. This is a good writing assignment to have students complete before they start descriptive writing or as a way to introduce research skills.

Much of this plan is designed to be a writing workshop, with students completing specific tasks each day as they progress towards a final product. Note: Most of the work completed in the early stages should be graded for completion. Encourage the students to take risks and get things “wrong” as they go. The ultimate goal is a quality product at the end.

While there are links to individual activities below, the entire unit can be purchased here.

If you feel so inclined, you can support my efforts here by following me at Teachers Pay Teachers or offering to donate through my Ko-Fi account.

Follow me at Teachers Pay Teachers

One-time Donation

Day one

• Hand out the Definition Word Web. Put a list of words on the board as suggestions, but tell them they can pick any word they want as long as it is abstract: Trust, Heroism, Sexism, Humility, Maturity, Human Rights, Pride, Patriotism, Peer Pressure, Happiness, Faith, Racism, Beauty, Prejudice, Justice. When students complete the assignment, discuss what words they selected and what they discovered as they branched out on the web.

• Hand out the Definition Essay assignment. They should have a word selected by the next day.

  Subscribe now

Day two

• Have students complete the Picturing a Word activity. They should be able to turn this in at the end of the period.

Day three

• Have students complete the Definition Paper Prewriting Guide related to their paper. Again, the assignment should be turned in by the end of the period in preparation for Day 5.

Day four

• Now it is time for students to do some research. Some may want to use quotes in their paper. Others may not. However, all should look up quotes to see what other people have said about their related topic. Assign the following Quote and Word Definition Prewrite.

Day five

• Mini-lesson on writing a thesis statement - Feel free to add your own examples after making a copy of the Google Slides.

• Students work on writing outline (template found here). Outline to be completed before students return to class on Day 6.

Day six

• Workshop day – Students should have completed outlines. As students work on their rough drafts in class, teacher should go through each outline to verify completed work and make notes on what students need to work on as they complete their rough draft. If there are potential problems, the outline is the first stopping point where the teacher can redirect students toward either a new, more appropriate topic, or help them focus on the description of the subject they have selected.

Day seven

• Workshop day #2 – As teacher completes grading of outlines, students should spend the time finishing the rough drafts of their papers. They need to be ready for peer editing on Day 8.

Day eight

• Peer editing – Put students into groups of three to four and give them the peer editing guide, which needs to be completed for each classmate. (The attached peer editing guide is for another assignment but can be adapted for the definition essay.) Students should complete the self-reflection at the bottom of the peer editing guide after all papers in the group have been read.

Note: This nine-day plan includes all workshop activities in the unit during 45-minute periods. Some groups of students may need more time and some may need less. If this is being taught during a block period, this unit could also be taught in conjunction with another related literature unit, half of the period designated for literature discussion and the second half of the period designated for writing workshop.

Now your turn

What have you done with your classes? Share with fellow teachers below.

Subscribe now

I devised the following unit to teach Things Fall Apart to my AP Literature students in a Christian high school. It took me years to discover how to effectively teach this novel, but I finally found a way to bring the themes of the novel home for them while also relating it to the real-world issues we are facing in the 21st century. This is by far my most requested unit on the AP Literature FB page, so I am making everything here public. Links to activities on Teachers Pay Teachers will be added later. There are links to most other items below.

If you feel so inclined, you can support my efforts here by following me at Teachers Pay Teachers or offering to donate through my Ko-Fi account.

Follow me at Teachers Pay Teachers

One-time Donation

Subscribe now

Day one

• Watch Trevor Noah’s video on Colonialism:

  • Read “The White Man’s Burden”

    • On the board, write down the imagery that is used to describe the Philippines and the people living there.

    • Why do you think the poem was highly criticized?

    • What is your reaction to reading the poem? What is the legacy of the poem?

    • In the context of the poem, how does prejudice emerge?

  • Read “The Black Man’s Burden”

    • On the board, write down the imagery that is used to describe the situations for non-white cultures.

    • Why do you think the poem mentions Cuba and Hawaii?

    • In the context of the poem, how does prejudice emerge?

Day two

• Introductory notes for Things Fall Apart

Day three

• Read “The Stranglehold of English Lit” page 411 in Literature and Composition

  • Discuss: What does this tell us about our western literary view of the world? What is the nature of the power that Mnthali believes literature holds?

• Watch the Ted Talk, “Don’t Misrepresent Africa”:

• In a group of three to four, read "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness'" page 390 in Literature and Composition

  • As a group, find points in Achebe’s argument that you agree with as well as those with which you disagree. Pay particular attention to whether Achebe believes that Conrad’s condemnation of the colonizers is as clear as his devaluation of the natives.

• As a class, read the piece “How to Write About Africa” page 413 in Literature and Composition

  • Discuss: Does Wainaina go too far? Or does he effectively use satire to make his point?

Day four

• Start with the following thought: Many stories make up the truth. That is why we study all four Gospels. A person’s perceptions are based in their reality, but their reality is not always the truth.

• As a class, answer the following question: When you hear "Africa," what does it make you think of?

• Watch the Youtube video below, “The Danger of a Single Story”:

• After watching the video, answer the following question: What are the single stories that lead to your preconceived notions above?

• Discuss our American society’s perceptions of Africa. Is this necessarily a bad thing? What can/should be done to correct this perception?

  Subscribe now

Day five

• Go over the “Proverbs Definitions” sheet with the class. (Read-Write-Think)

• Ask the students to look through the “Common Proverbs” worksheet. They should identify ones that they are familiar with and then we will discuss what those proverbs mean and in what context those proverbs are used. (Read-Write-Think)

• As a class, read through the “Proverbs from around the World” and discuss the possible meaning of each one. (Read-Write-Think)

• As a class, read through the article “9 Fascinating Proverbs to Help You Understand an African Worldview”: https://www.imb.org/2017/08/21/9-fascinating-proverbs-to-help-you-understand-an-african-worldview/

  • Note: Need to use the actual website as the printed version cuts off portions of the text.

• If there is time, have students look through “50 African proverbs to get you thinking”: https://matadornetwork.com/bnt/50-african-proverbs-to-get-you-thinking/

Day six

• Post on the board: Our goal this week isn’t to criticize what has been done wrong regarding missions. Our goal this week is to find out how we can do it RIGHT.

• As a class, watch “Vikings Missions” video:

• How does the satire in this video highlight some of the problems with missions today?

• As a class, watch “Helping Without Hurting - Part 3: Understanding Why Good Intentions are Not Enough”:

• What are some new ideas about missions that you gleaned from watching this piece?

• Helping Without Hurting in Short Term Missions:

• Short term missions can make a huge impact on the communities being served. According to the piece, what needs to happen to create the biggest impact? How does this match, or contradict, your own experiences with missions, both from personal experience and from what you have heard from others?

• If there is time, have students look at the Barbie Savior website: http://www.barbiesavior.com

• Select one image from the website that captures what you have gotten from the discussion today.

Day seven

• Jigsaw discussion over effective mission work.

• Students will be split into six groups. Each group will get a different article. They are to read the articles to themselves and then discuss the articles together, answering the questions on the “Jigsaw Analysis” worksheet.

• When they are finished, they are to get into bigger groups, each with a different member from each of the groups. They should have all six articles represented in their groups. They are to share their articles, what they found that was significant in each of the articles, and how those articles related back to the issues related to foreign missions. They are to answer the following questions: Based on all of the articles, what are your thoughts on foreign missions? How can we improve upon how we do missions around the world?

• They will be discussing the following articles:

  • “Why Africa Still Needs Western Workers”: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/why-africa-still-needs-western-workers/

  • “An African's Response to TGC's ‘Why Africa Still Needs Western Workers’”: https://bygraceimsaved.blogspot.com/2017/07/an-africans-response-to-tgcs-why-africa.html?m=1

  • “The Surprising Discovery About Those Colonialist, Proselytizing Missionaries”

  • “As an Atheist, I Truly Believe Africa Needs God”

  • “Poverty Tourism” - From For the Love

  • “When Two Bikes Split a Church”: http://www.missionfrontiers.org/issue/article/when-two-bikes-split-a-church1

  • “Ethnodoxology”: https://www.imb.org/2016/09/07/ethnodoxology-means-essential-church-plantin/ (Must use the website)

  • “Worship Music”: https://www.imb.org/2018/01/17/worship-music-nepal/ (Must use the website)

• Discuss their findings as a class.

• As a final wrap-up to the discussion, and a connection to the role of the American Church, direct them to the final article listed on Classroom, “Decolonized Discipleship”: http://www.sistamatictheology.com/blog/2018/2/6/decolonized-discipleship

• Also post this below it: “Letter to My 2011 Adopting Self”: http://community.today.com/post/a-letter-to-my-2011-adopting-self

Day eight

• Read Grantland article “Toto’s Dave Paich on Writing and Recording ‘Africa’”: http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/q80s-totos-dave-paich-on-writing-and-recording-africa/

• Read The Guardian article “Toto: How We Made Africa”: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/jan/30/toto-how-we-made-africa

• Watch the original Toto video for “Africa”:

• Watch Kristen Bell/Dax Shepard video:

• Watch the Weezer cover of “Africa”:

• How have we romanticized the continent of Africa? What are the dangers of doing so? How does that romanticized view potentially harm the 1.2 billion residents who live on the continent?

Day eight

• As a class, read and discuss “The Old Chief Mshlanga” on page 403 in Literature and Composition. Discuss the following:

  • We see this story through the eyes of a young white girl. To what extent does she represent the whites’ view of Africa?

  • Why does Doris Lessing emphasize the role of language in this story?

  • What passages can you find that indicate the young narrator’s recognition of the complexity of her position?

  • What evidence is there of the narrator’s appreciation for the physical beauty of the African landscape?

  • How do you respond to the narrator’s thoughts: “this is my heritage, too; I was bred here; It is my country as well as the black man’s country; and there is plenty of room for all of us”? Do you think Lessing agrees with her?

Day nine

• Students should come to class prepared with their envelope activity.

• Put the classroom desks into a circle.

• Go through all eight discussion questions, with those who have the assigned question leading discussion. If we get to all of them, we get to all of them. If we don’t, we don’t. Students will be graded on participation, whether or not we get to their questions.

• Students turn in their envelopes at the end of the period for a homework grade.

Day ten

• Quiz over Things Fall Apart.

• Post the following videos as review on Thursday night:

• Crash Course Literature part one:

• Crash Course Literature part two:

Note: This is currently a work-in-progress. I will post additional materials to go with this once the school year is over.

Now your turn

What have you done with your classes? Share with fellow teachers below.

Subscribe now

The following unit plan is appropriate for grades 7-12 and can be adjusted to fit the ages and abilities of students in the classroom. The goal is to teach descriptive writing about a particular object with an introduction to narrative, as students learn the role of story in showing the significance of a person, place, or thing in their lives.

Much of this plan is designed to be a writing workshop, with students completing specific tasks each day as they progress towards a final product. Note: Most of the work completed in the early stages should be graded for completion. Encourage the students to take risks and get things “wrong” as they go. The ultimate goal is a quality product at the end.

While there are links to individual activities below, the entire unit can be purchased here.

If you feel so inclined, you can support my efforts here by following me at Teachers Pay Teachers or offering to donate through my Ko-Fi account.

Follow me at Teachers Pay Teachers

One-time Donation

Day one

• As preparation for class, collect pictures that show a variety of scenes and then place them into a slide presentation. The collection of 10-15 photographs should include both landscapes and action shots. Number them for easy reference.

• If students have access to their own devices, have students initially look through the presentation on their own. Have them select four pictures. For each picture, they need to come up with four nouns, four verbs, and four adjectives to describe what is happening or could be happening in the picture. They should write this on a separate piece of paper. If students do not have access to their own devices, place the photographs around the classroom and have them move around the room to select the photographs they want to write about.

• Give students 10-15 minutes to complete this activity. It should be complete, but this is just a pre-writing activity to get them thinking about description. Keep them moving.

• When students have completed their own notes, discuss each of the pictures together as a class. Ask students to share their descriptions of the photographs. This can also be a good hands-on review of nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Ask: What could you/would you have added if you had the time? What story would you tell about what was happening in the picture?

• Give students five minutes to select one of the four pictures they initially wrote about. At the bottom of their notes, they are to add three to four sentences about the picture, using at least eight of the twelve words they came up with for the picture.

• Hand out the Descriptive Essay assignment. They are to have an item in mind when they get to class on Day 3. They should have access to a picture of the person, place, or thing that they want to write about for their paper.

  Subscribe now

Day two

• Review nouns and verbs. The amount of review depends on grade level and skill level of the students.

• Go over the worksheets “Using More Descriptive Nouns” and “Using More Descriptive Verbs” and the expectations for each of the worksheets.

• Students complete “Using More Descriptive Nouns” and “Using More Descriptive Verbs” activities, due at the end of the period.

  • Example 1

  • Example 2

Day three

• Students should have either an electronic copy of a photograph of their subject (if they have full access to computing devices) or a hard copy of a photograph of their subject. Depending on student access, allowances can be made for inability to have either of the above.

• Students will complete a multi-step process doing the following on an electronic document (examples in unit plan):

  • Insert a picture at the top of the page.

  • Insert a table with two rows, three columns. At the top of each column write “noun,” “verb,” and “adjective.”

  • Write at least five words in each category.

  • Then write at least four complete sentences about at least three of those words.

  • Due at the end of the period.

Day four

• Take the pre-writing activity from Day 3. Add at least five more words to each category and then write an additional paragraph (at least four complete sentences) about five more words from the brainstorm.

• Have students put the two paragraphs into a new document and revise and edit both paragraphs for clarity. Point out that this is not their official rough draft, but it is a start for their rough draft.

• Activity due at the end of the period

Day five

• Mini-lesson on writing a thesis statement

• Students work on writing outline (template found here). Outline to be completed before students return to class on Day 6.

Day six

• Workshop day – Students should have completed outlines. As students work on their rough drafts in class, teacher should go through each outline to verify completed work and make notes on what students need to work on as they complete their rough draft. If there are potential problems, the outline is the first stopping point where the teacher can redirect students toward either a new, more appropriate topic, or help them focus on the description of the subject they have selected.

Day seven

• Workshop day #2 – As teacher completes grading of outlines, students should spend the time finishing the rough drafts of their papers. They need to be ready for peer editing on Day 8.

Day eight

• Peer editing – Put students into groups of three to four and give them the peer editing guide, which needs to be completed for each classmate. Students should complete the self-reflection at the bottom of the peer editing guide after all papers in the group have been read.

Note: This nine-day plan includes all workshop activities in the unit during 45-minute periods. Some groups of students may need more time and some may need less. If this is being taught during a block period, this unit could also be taught in conjunction with another related literature unit, half of the period designated for literature discussion and the second half of the period designated for writing workshop.

Now your turn

What have you done with your classes? Share with fellow teachers below.

Subscribe now

I have used many different approaches to teaching Beowulf to my students. Below you will find both links to activities I have used with the epic poem and the etymology project I have had students complete while I’ve used Beowulf to introduce the history of the English language.

If you feel so inclined, you can support my efforts here by following me at Teachers Pay Teachers or offering to donate through my Ko-Fi account.

Follow me at Teachers Pay Teachers

One-time Donation

Activities to introduce Beowulf

• I adapted this Google Slides presentation from: https://www.slps.org/cms/lib03/MO01001157/Centricity/domain/6980/classroom%20notes/Intro%20to%20Beowulf.ppt and https://www.slideserve.com/aiko/introduction-to-beowulf#google_vignette

  Subscribe now

Teaching Old English literature

• I adapted this Google Slides presentation from: https://turtola.edublogs.org/files/2009/03/anglo-saxon-old-english-history-and-literature-1.ppt and https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/history-of-english-language-90646572/90646572

Activities for Beowulf

• Old English Poetry Analysis - “The Seafarer” and “The Wanderer”

• Beowulf Literary Devices

• Sketchnotes assignment

• News Broadcast project

Etymology and the History of the English Language

• After I wrote an etymology paper for my History of the English Language class in graduate school, I adapted the assignment for my own students. I wrote my original paper on the origin of “sneak/snuck,” so I used that paper to write the examples that I gave my students. You will find all of the materials, some free and some paid through Teachers Pay Teachers, below:

  • Link to the entire project

  • Etymology project guidelines

  • Step-by-step instructions

  • Sneak/Snuck example

  • Sneak/Snuck annotated bibliography example

  • Sneak/Snuck source sheet example

Now your turn

What have you done with your classes? Share with fellow teachers below.

Subscribe now

For four years, I taught a themes course titled “Monsters and Monstrous.” In that course, I’ve taught both Frankenstein (my unit for Frankenstein can be found here) and Dracula.

I enjoy teaching this novel that I first read when taking a British Gothic Novel course during my junior year semester abroad. This post highlights most of the activities I have devised for teaching the course.

If you feel so inclined, you can support my efforts here by following me at Teachers Pay Teachers or offering to donate through my Ko-Fi account.

Follow me at Teachers Pay Teachers

One-time Donation

Activities to introduce Dracula

• Here are my introduction slides with YouTube links to additional information.

• Read “Dracula’s Guest” with your students. This short story was the rough draft for the novel. I have also shown this short video as an introduction to the short story.

  Subscribe now

Activities while reading Dracula

• Complete this Victorian Womanhood jigsaw activity after Jonathan meets the women in the castle. Here are the links to the articles I have used:

  • “The Angel in the House”

  • “Victorian Era Women’s Rights”

  • “Women in Victorian England”

  • “Gender Roles in the 19th Century”

  • “Ideals of Womanhood in Victorian Britain”

  • “Professions for Women”

• After Jonathan’s encounter with the “weird women” in Dracula’s castle, I have them complete “The Weird Women and Grieving Mother” worksheet. Before they complete the worksheet, we watch Weird Sisters: A History of Dracula’s Brides in Media - There are spoilers for the rest of the novel.

• Have some fun exploring the Demeter subplot with excerpts from the horror film, The Last Voyage of the Demeter.

  • Watch “The Last Voyage of the Demeter: A Look Inside”

  • Watch “The Last Voyage of the Demeter Explained”

  • Read “The Little-Known Shipwreck That Inspired Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’”

• Discuss the role of Renfield in the novel using the following questions and clips:

  • Discuss: How do you see the treatment of Renfield in the novel? What do you believe is going to happen to him?

  • Watch “Dracula: Dead and Loving It.” How does this parody play off of the real character of Renfield?

  • Watch “Renfield and Seward”

  • Renfield preview

• Are students confused about the role of blood transfusions in the novel? I started giving them a brief history of blood transfusions to help them better understand the real science behind Stoker’s portrayal.

  • Discuss: How has modern medicine changed our discussion and understanding of blood? What role has blood played up to this point in the novel? What do you know about blood transfusions?

  • Watch “History of Blood Transfusions”

  • Watch “Van Helsing Gives Lucy…” and discuss. (Note: This particular clip can sound pornographic. I do turn down the volume when showing it to students.)

• Read through Lucy’s vampire death with your students and then watch the following clips to highlight the different portrayals.

  • Lucy Turns Into a Vampire: Dead and Loving It

  • Watch 1992 movie clip

  • Discuss: How does this clip highlight Lucy’s transformation in the novel? What are the differences between the death of Lucy in the novel vs. the movie?

• Complete activity “Dracula’s Women Defying Victorian Ideals” - can be done during a single class period. For this activity, you can also refer to the following resources:

  • Ideals of Womanhood in Victorian Britain

  • “Ideals of the Victorian Woman as Depicted in Dracula”

• Use this Google Slides presentation to help students complete Van Helsing - Vampire Hunter.

• Watch the two movie clips from "Bram Stoker's Dracula" - Ending scene (HD) and Horror of Dracula the restored ending showing the final scene of Dracula.

• Kahoot! quizzes: Quiz 1, Quiz 2, Quiz 3, and Quiz 4

• Additional resources I have used:

  • Dracula Unit

  • Teach It has fantastic resources, especially for character analysis

Theme discussion:

• Here is the theme discussion I have done with my students once we have finished reading the novel and before they take the final quiz.

An abridged version of the novel

I have used the following abridged version of the novel with my regular level juniors and seniors: https://bookshop.org/p/books/dracula-abridged-bram-stoker/7013309?ean=9781934613337&next=t

Activities after reading Dracula

• One creative option I had my students complete is a vampire podcast using their reading of Dracula to inform their understanding of vampire hunting.

• I have also assigned a character analysis assignment as their test over the novel.

Also, be sure to check out the work of . This can be a fascinating way to share the novel with your students, or to just enjoy it yourself.

Now your turn

What have you done with your classes? Share with fellow teachers below.

Subscribe now

I have taught Frankenstein to many different groups of students over the years. My units, methodology, and assessment approach have changed significantly over that time, and the activities below reflect many of those changes. Some items are PDFs, others are Google Docs which you can copy and revise for your classroom, and others are links to websites I have used to develop the activities here. I have also included links to a handful of assignments listed on Teachers Pay Teachers.

If you feel so inclined, you can support my efforts here by following me at Teachers Pay Teachers or offering to donate through my Ko-Fi account.

Follow me at Teachers Pay Teachers

One-time Donation

Activities to introduce Frankenstein

• With my AP Literature students, I had them do their own research on portrayals of Frankenstein in pop culture. They then shared their results with other groups, working in a modified jigsaw. That activity can be found here on Teachers Pay Teachers.

• I have also used this Google Slides presentation with accompanying worksheet with my non-AP students over the years to initiate discussion regarding our pop culture understanding of Frankenstein. This slide presentation can be updated with new film clips as new films are added to the canon or old clips are removed from YouTube.

• It’s a brief presentation, but you can find my introduction Google Slides presentation here.

  Subscribe now

Activities while reading Frankenstein

• Have students complete the “Frankenstein’s Monster Comes to Life” worksheet after Chapter 5.

• Complete this Frankenstein Characterization Chart after students finish reading Chapter 10.

• Have students complete the “Scientific Method in Frankenstein” worksheet after chapter 11.

• Have students complete the “To Build or Not to Build” worksheet after chapter 16.

• After reading Chapter 23, go through these film portrayals of the female monster.

• I have also taught “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” during my Frankenstein units. Here is the poetic devices guide. I have also had students complete this sketch notes/one-pager activity with the poem.

• Kahoot! quizzes: Chapters 1-6 and Chapters 11-16

Discussion questions for while students are reading the novel:

• I have used this discussion activity with my students, making adjustments depending on the skill level of students.

An abridged version of the novel

After teaching it to my AP classes for years, I struggled once I started teaching it again to the general student population. I used this Google Slides presentation with audio links to YouTube and summaries of the chapters I skipped with my students.

Activities after reading Frankenstein

• This Google Slides presentation includes information on bioethics and YouTube links. Because science is changing so quickly, this should be revised as more information is available or to fit your student population.

• Several years ago, a fellow teacher on the AP Literature Facebook page recommended watching Jurassic Park after reading Frankenstein, and I’ve never looked back. I have used this study guide while students were watching the film.

• This 50-question quiz can be accessed on Teachers Pay Teachers.

• This is the bioethics paper/project I have had students complete at the end of the unit.

  • Outline template for just Frankenstein bioethics study.

  • Outline template for Frankenstein and Jurassic Park bioethics study.

Get all of my resources in a bundle on Teachers Pay Teachers at a discounted price.

Lit Think Podcast

Chapter 3.3 - Dino Ethics

Alicia and Sarah discuss the Jurassic Park/World franchise and connections to science fiction in the classroom, particularly Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. At the end of the discussion, they talk about the things they've been reading, watching, and analyzing outside of the classroom…

Listen now

4 years ago · 2 likes · Sarah Styf

Lit Think Podcast

Turn My English Classroom Into a Science Lab?

Welcome to From the Teacher’s Desk, where we take turns further reflecting on our episodes and applications to the classroom…

Read more

4 years ago · 4 likes · 4 comments · Sarah Styf

Now your turn

What have you done with your classes? Share with fellow teachers below.

Subscribe now

One of the most important units I have developed over the years has been my Holocaust unit. Every time I have taught Holocaust history, I have tied it to study of Elie Wiesel’s haunting memoir Night. I have spent years planning, teaching, rewriting, refining, and teaching again using the following activities and projects. Because I believe this is one of the most important units I’ve ever developed, most of the following activities are available for free. Some items are PDFs, other Google Docs which you can copy and revise for your own use, and others are links to websites I have used to develop the activities here.

If you feel so inclined, you can support my efforts here by following me at Teachers Pay Teachers or offering to donate through my Ko-Fi account.

Follow me at Teachers Pay Teachers

One-time Donation

Activities to introduce the Holocaust and Night

• Read the poem “The Cold Within” with the class. Have students write a personal response to the poem, encouraging them to consider what they believe the poem is telling them.

• Hand out “Pyramid of Hate” and discuss the slippery slope of listening to lies and then believing everything about a group of people. How does that hurt us and others?

• Read and respond to the poem “Hitler’s First Photograph”

• Introduction lecture to the Holocaust using Google Slides presentation - Make a copy of the presentation and adjust to meet your student needs. This slides presentation includes photographs from my trip to Dachau in 1999.

• In 2017, I started introducing the topic with a jigsaw discussion of refugees. This assignment has links to the articles I used with my students, but could be adapted to work with your specific group and updated with new articles.

• Additional introductory materials from Teaching Tolerance, One Survivor Remembers, can be found in this PDF.

• You can also access the McGraw-Hill resources for Night and background on Elie Wiesel here.

  Subscribe now

Activities while reading Night

• I am a big believer in using video clips in class instead of using whole movies whenever possible. These were my particular favorite clips to show instead of having students watch the whole movies. The Swing Kids clips look at the propaganda working up to the war. The Schindler’s List clip looks at the collected items after Jews are sent on the train cars. The Band of Brothers clip looks at the aftermath as the 101st Airborne found a concentration camp.

  • Swing Kids – (Chapters 4, 7) 36:58-43:27, 1:10:12-1:16:49 – 10 minutes

  • Schindler’s List (Chapters 9) 44:53-49:30 – 5 minutes

  • Band of Brothers “Why We Fight” – (Chapter 5-6) 35:48 – 20 minutes

• I also had my students do an activity that investigates dehumanizing language and its impact on both the people who are targeted and the people using it. You can make a copy of this Google doc here.

• Using the Identification Cards that can be found on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website, have students write a narrative poem about one of the real victims or survivors of the Holocaust.

• I selected specific pages from Art Spiegelman’s graphic memoir Maus and had students do the following OPTIC analysis of the visual text.

• To prepare for discussion, I used the following envelope activity. Each student was assigned a different topic and 3-4 students were responsible for discussion for specific topics.

Discussion questions for while students are reading the book:

• What is your reaction to Moche the Beadle? What do you think about his treatment by the villagers after his return from Poland?

• Describe Wiesel’s community at the beginning of the novel. How does young Elie view the world and his place in it?

• What are some incidents that suggest or foreshadow the coming danger to the Sighet Jews? Why doesn’t the community believe it is in danger?

• What are the conditions on the Jews’ train journey? How do the Jews react to Madam Schacter’s behavior? What does this reveal about human nature?

• Even though it was 1944, and Nazi extermination of Jews had begun years earlier, the Sighet Jews had very few facts about it. Do you think it is possible in today’s world for a community to know so little, to be so unprepared?

• When he arrives at Auschwitz and then at Buna, Wiesel describes scenes he will never forget. What scenes, ideas or feelings from the memoir do you find unforgettable?

• Describe the conditions first at the Birkenau reception center, then at Auschwitz, and later at Buna. How does Wiesel’s relationship with his father change during this time?

• What events lead to the two hangings Wiesel describes? How does Wiesel feel about his evening meal after each hanging? What do his reactions suggest about how he is changing?

• What are some of the ways that Wiesel and the other Jews at the camps try to observe their religion? How have Wiesel’s feelings about God changed since his captivity began?

• In the camps, Wiesel must struggle to stay alive and to remain human. In your opinion, how well does he succeed with his struggles?

• There are several discussions about resistance by the prisoners. Why do you think there was no large scale effort to resist?

• Why do Wiesel and his father leave Buna? How do they respond to the circumstances of the forced march?

• What happens between Rabbi Eliahou and his son? What does Wiesel’s reaction to this incident reveal about his relationship with God?

• How does Wiesel treat his father during the journey to Buchenwald and later during Chlomo’s illness? How does Wiesel’s link to his father affect his will to survive?

• Given their life and death situation, do you believe Wiesel’s attitude toward his father was understandable?

• Wiesel believes that remember the Holocaust will help to ensure that this type of atrocity does not occur in the future. Do you think learning about historical events can guide people to behave differently?

Activities after reading Night

• I collected this assignment from a conference looking at the issue of potentially bombing concentration camps before the end of the war. It is a thought-provoking ethical discussion.

• For years, I assigned a constantly evolving research project for my students once they finished reading Night. They were assigned a 20th or 21st genocide, completed a research paper over the genocide, and then presented the genocide to their classmates. Eventually, I had them work in groups to do their presentations. I also have a podcast presentation option. I have had students that did this project more than fifteen years ago contact me on social media and tell me that this was the most meaningful assignment I gave them during the year I had them in class. And while I don’t know the name of the teacher who gave me the idea while we were sitting around talking at the Belfer Conference during downtime at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2006, I will forever be thankful for the conversation. And if you are looking for excellent professional development related to Holocaust studies, I highly recommend applying to participate in the conference, which is now only done virtually.

  • Project guidelines - Google Slides presentation

  • Project guidelines - Podcast; Presentation rubric

  • Recommended booklist

• I have used this viewing guide as my students watched Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee while they were completing their research projects. This is an alternate study guide.

• You can purchase a 30-question comprehension quiz over Night from my Teachers Pay Teachers account.

Now your turn

What have you done with your classes? Share with fellow teachers below.

Subscribe now