Jason Reynolds Author Study Worksheet, Author Bio, PDF & Google Drive, CCSS
$1.50
Skip the typical Jason Reynolds introduction lecture as you launch a study of Ghost, All American Boys, Long Way Down, or any of Reynolds’ other works. Instead, empower students to find their own interesting facts about this author’s life with this “Author Bio” print/post-and-teach activity.
This single-page worksheet is a powerful research organizer that’ll get students digging deep into Jason Reynolds’ background.
Please note: This download does NOT include a specific article or links to defined articles. It is an organizer tool for students to use as they conduct their own research. In my experience, students take more ownership of the material when they are the ones to research and discover the elements that make a literary figure’s life fascinating. They’ve seen enough of our introductory slideshows; this time, let your kids do the work and discuss/determine what they think is meaningful about this author’s life.
Here are a few suggested uses for this flexible research tool:
1. Book your school’s computer lab or have students access Reynolds’ biography information on their own devices. Assign students to either work solo or in teams of two. Once the grids are complete, have students share and compare answers in small groups, focusing on the four interesting facts they discovered, the meaningful quote, and the personal/professional obstacle. Then, pull the students into a full-class discussion, having each group present an interesting fact, quote, or obstacle until every team has contributed. No repeats allowed.
This assignment works great as an “into” activity, but it could also be a “through” activity to add variety to your in-class routine as you work through a longer work. If you’re using this as an “after” activity, during the discussion I would also ask how any of the biography elements are reflected in the author’s work/s the class just studied.
2. Assign the worksheet as a traditional homework assignment. Launch the discussion mentioned in #1 at the beginning of the next class period.
3. Use the grid as the beginning assignment to a larger project where students must read two or three pieces by Jason Reynolds. Later, this author study could be turned into a compare/contrast essay or a speech presentation, if you wish to expand the assignment. (Author Bio sheets on a variety of different writers are available in my shop if you want to vary speech topics within one class.)
4. Use as an emergency sub plan.
I hope you and your students enjoy this activity! If you need an Author Bio worksheet for any author not currently offered in my shop, please send a message to me through the “Ask a Question” tab and I’ll do my best to quickly make that happen.
Please note: This item is not included in any of my other materials. Also, the image on the student PDF worksheet is slightly ghosted to save printer/copier ink. I encourage students to doodle/shade in that space as they work.
Download includes: 1-page PDF + Google Drive version (uneditable)
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Image credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kalamazoopubliclibrary/26417721066/in/album-72157664888232883/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Kalamazoo Public Library, Flickr, Public Domain Mark 1.0.</a>
Vocabulary Bell-Ringers Vol. 3 for High School Students, Test Prep, CCSS
$7.99
Welcome to Words on Wednesday, a weekly bell-ringer/mini-lesson to build higher-level vocabulary with your high school students. These weekly lessons feature words commonly used on the SAT and ACT that educated adults also use in their everyday lives. Even if your students aren’t bound for a university, they’ll still benefit from adding these words to their vocabulary before they enter the work force.
Each lesson, which takes about 15 minutes, goes deep into understanding denotation and connotation of five words and includes definition, part of speech, synonym, antonym, and a sentence relevant to a teen audience. Instead of using a list of 10 words each week that students memorize and then promptly forget, I’ve found more success with going deep on five words. We discuss the words and use them in regular conversation. I’ve been delighted to see many of these words show up in our in-class writings, and students also excitedly point them out to me in passages that we read in class. This method helps words “stick” better than any other method I’ve tried in my 20+ years as a high school teacher.
Most semesters run 18 weeks, but I’ve included 19 lessons in case you have an extra Wednesday (or whatever day you want to use them) in your school calendar. I have successfully used these lessons with seniors, juniors, and advanced underclassmen.
Download includes:
• 95 slides (19 bell-ringer/mini-lessons of five slides each) in PDF, SMARTBoard, and Google Slides formats (Need a PowerPoint? You can export a PPT from the Google Slides version. Due to file size limitations, a PowerPoint version is not included in this download.)
• 1-page master list of the vocabulary words in PDF to provide an easy reference/checklist
Want another semester of vocabulary lessons?
<a href="https://laurarandazzo.com/product/vocabulary-bell-ringers-vol-1-for-high-school-students-test-prep-ccss/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here for Vocabulary Builder Vol. 1</a>
<a href="https://laurarandazzo.com/product/vocabulary-bell-ringers-vol-2-for-high-school-students-test-prep-ccss/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here for Vocabulary Builder Vol. 2</a>
<a href="https://laurarandazzo.com/product/vocabulary-bell-ringers-vol-4-for-high-school-students-test-prep-ccss/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here for Vocabulary Builder Vol. 4</a>
Want to fold more academic skill builders into your bell-ringer routine?
<a href="https://laurarandazzo.com/product/mug-1-mechanics-usage-grammar-bell-ringers-editing-proofreading-practice/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to learn more about M.U.G. Shot Monday.</a>
<a href="https://laurarandazzo.com/product/literary-terms-devices-19-weekly-lectures-bell-ringers-or-flipped-content/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to learn more about Lit. Term Tuesday.</a>
<a href="https://laurarandazzo.com/product/three-of-a-kind-vol-1-bell-ringer-word-game-class-warm-up-sponge-fun-stuff/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to learn more about Three of a Kind Thursday.</a>
<a href="https://laurarandazzo.com/product/ssr-tired-of-book-reports-try-this-free-idea-instead-easy-grading-for-you/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to learn more about SSR Friday.</a>
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Vocabulary Bell-Ringers Vol. 4 for High School Students, Test Prep, CCSS
$7.99
Welcome to Words on Wednesday, a weekly bell-ringer/mini-lesson to build higher-level vocabulary with your high school students. These weekly lessons feature words commonly used on the SAT and ACT that educated adults also use in their everyday lives. Even if your students aren’t bound for a university, they’ll still benefit from adding these words to their vocabulary before they enter the work force.
Each lesson, which takes about 15 minutes, goes deep into understanding denotation and connotation of five words and includes definition, part of speech, synonym, antonym, and a sentence relevant to a teen audience. Instead of using a list of 10 words each week that students memorize and then promptly forget, I’ve found more success with going deep on five words. We discuss the words and use them in regular conversation. I’ve been delighted to see many of these words show up in our in-class writings, and students also excitedly point them out to me in passages that we read in class. This method helps words “stick” better than any other method I’ve tried in my 20+ years as a high school teacher.
Most semesters run 18 weeks, but I’ve included 19 lessons in case you have an extra Wednesday (or whatever day you want to use them) in your school calendar. I have successfully used these lessons with seniors, juniors, and advanced underclassmen.
Download includes:
• 95 slides (19 bell-ringer/mini-lessons of five slides each) in PDF, SMARTBoard, and Google Slides formats (Need a PowerPoint? You can export a PPT from the Google Slides version. Due to file size limitations, a PowerPoint version is not included in this download.)
• 1-page master list of the vocabulary words in PDF to provide an easy reference/checklist
Want another semester of vocabulary lessons?
<a href="https://laurarandazzo.com/product/vocabulary-bell-ringers-vol-1-for-high-school-students-test-prep-ccss/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here for Vocabulary Builder Vol. 1</a>
<a href="https://laurarandazzo.com/product/vocabulary-bell-ringers-vol-2-for-high-school-students-test-prep-ccss/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here for Vocabulary Builder Vol. 2</a>
<a href="https://laurarandazzo.com/product/vocabulary-bell-ringers-vol-3-for-high-school-students-test-prep-ccss/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here for Vocabulary Builder Vol. 3</a>
Want to fold more academic skill builders into your bell-ringer routine?
<a href="https://laurarandazzo.com/product/mug-1-mechanics-usage-grammar-bell-ringers-editing-proofreading-practice/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to learn more about M.U.G. Shot Monday.</a>
<a href="https://laurarandazzo.com/product/literary-terms-devices-19-weekly-lectures-bell-ringers-or-flipped-content/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to learn more about Lit. Term Tuesday.</a>
<a href="https://laurarandazzo.com/product/three-of-a-kind-vol-1-bell-ringer-word-game-class-warm-up-sponge-fun-stuff/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to learn more about Three of a Kind Thursday.</a>
<a href="https://laurarandazzo.com/product/ssr-tired-of-book-reports-try-this-free-idea-instead-easy-grading-for-you/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to learn more about SSR Friday.</a>
Thanks for stopping by!
Response to Literature Bell-Ringer Writing Tasks, Quickwrite Warm-Ups, CCSS
$3.99
Help students connect with literature with this set of bell-ringer writing prompts!
For each writing task, students are given a compelling quote and asked to explain the author’s message and the extent to which they agree or disagree with the idea. Then, they’ll support their position, providing reasons and examples from their own life experience, observations of others, or academic studies. The magic happens when students share their answers either in small group or full-class discussion. In that discussion, students will begin to see how the quote relates to many modern life situations.
There are several ways you might want to use these slides/handouts in your physical or digital classroom, including:
1. Use as a routine bellringer writing/discussion activity to begin class one day each week.
2. Use the writing prompts whenever a lesson wraps up more quickly than planned or to help fill an emergency sub plan.
3. Use thematically related prompts as a supplement to novel studies.
4. Use as timed writing practice.
This collection of 18 slide/handout sets includes words of wisdom from the following:
<em>The Picture Of Dorian Gray </em>by Oscar Wilde
<em>The Catcher in the Rye </em>by J.D. Salinger
<em>Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire </em>by J.K. Rowling
<em>The Book of Unknown Americans </em>by Cristina Henríquez
<em>The Storyteller </em>by Jodi Picoult
<em>Lord of the Flies b</em>y William Golding
<em>Dear Martin </em>by Nic Stone
<em>Pride and Prejudice </em>by Jane Austen
<em>Frankenstein</em> by Mary Shelley
<em>Of Mice and Men </em>by John Steinbeck
<em>Fahrenheit 451 </em>by Ray Bradbury
<em>Paradise Lost </em>by John Milton
<em>The Outsiders</em> by S.E. Hinton
<em>Beloved </em>by Toni Morrison
<em>Children of Blood and Bone</em> by Tomi Adeyemi
<em>Dracula </em>by Bram Stoker
<em>Extras </em>by Scott Westerfeld
<em>Diary </em>by Chuck Palahniuk
This download includes:
• 18-page PDF of slides you can project in a traditional classroom setting
• 18 JPG slide images you can drop into a Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint presentation to share in a secured online classroom
• 18-page PDF of full-sheet handouts where students can write their answers (They also could use binder paper or a blank MS Word or Google Doc to complete this task.)
• 18-page PDF of half-sheet handouts if you’d like students to write shorter answers
Five additional slide/handout sets are available here for free in my shop:
<a href="https://laurarandazzo.com/product/free-response-to-literature-bell-ringer-writing-tasks-quickwrite-warm-ups-ccss/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://laurarandazzo.com/product/free-response-to-literature-bell-ringer-writing-tasks-quickwrite-warm-ups-ccss/</a>
Download includes: 18 slides + 18 writing sheets (all uneditable PDF)
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Thanatopsis, William Cullen Bryant, Multimedia Poem Analysis, PDF & Google, CCSS
$3.99
Take a challenging poem and it make it far more accessible with these dynamic multimedia materials that will help students build connections between our modern world and the 1817 thoughts of American poet William Cullen Bryant.
Romanticism poetry can be tough for today’s teens to master, but linking a poem’s themes to students’ own lives and popular media helps create a much richer experience. These print/post-and-teach materials do just that!
This lesson, which will take at least two class periods to complete, includes:
• A step-by-step lesson plan with helpful tips and advice. (This lesson could be left for a substitute teacher, too, as everything is clearly explained.)
• A Quickwrite topic to hook students’ attention
• A 16-slide lecture introducing William Cullen Bryant and providing some historical context of the man's work and his era (Prezi, Google Slides, and PDF versions included)
• A single-sheet copy of Bryant’s poem, “Thanatopsis,” with helpful footnotes and space to annotate
• Video links to a famous song that also employs the same theme as found in “Thanatopsis”
• A handout of close-reading, text-dependent questions for students to answer as a solo assignment or in teams of two
• A high-interest informational text article about near-death experiences
• A handout of homework or discussion questions to accompany the informational text/non-fiction article
• Detailed answer keys for all materials to make grading easy and/or help guide class discussion
Download includes: 7-page PDF; 16 slides; Prezi & Google Drive format (all uneditable)
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Dover Beach, Matthew Arnold Poetry Analysis, Brit Lit, PDF & Google Drive CCSS
$2.00
This single-period lesson on Matthew Arnold’s famous poem, “Dover Beach,” can be taught as stand-alone materials but also works as a supplement to Antigone, <a href="https://laurarandazzo.com/product/fahrenheit-451-question-set-analysis-ray-bradbury-pdf-google-drive-ccss/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fahrenheit 451</a>, or any British Literature unit/class. You probably remember “Dover Beach” as the poem in <a href="https://laurarandazzo.com/product/fahrenheit-451-question-set-analysis-ray-bradbury-pdf-google-drive-ccss/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451</a> that Guy Montag reads to his wife as he tries (and fails) to convince her and her friends about the beauty and power of words; let’s help Arnold’s words have a greater impact on our students.
This lesson is a must-have for any study of Fahrenheit 451, but the poem also mentions Sophocles and can easily be tied to the Greek tragedy, Antigone.
No knowledge of any piece of literature is necessary for students to be able to successfully answer every question in this poetry lesson.
This 3-page download includes:
• An attractively designed copy of the public domain poem with helpful footnotes and illustrations.
• A separate sheet of 10 questions that will require students to dig into the text and their own minds to find the answers.
• A detailed answer key, which will allow for easy grading and serve as a discussion guide as the teacher reviews the answers with the class.
Download includes: 3-page PDF + Google Drive version of handouts (uneditable)
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