PRE-THANKSGIVING VACATION TpT SALE

 To All of my English Language Arts colleagues-

I wish you a relaxing vacation with family and  friends. 

So you don't have to cram in planning before your break, and 

So you don't have to endure a grumpy week after your much deserved vacation,

I am having a 15% off EVERYTHING SALE in my TpT store
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Connie

Along with all of my literature, writing, vocabulary, grammar and journalism lesson plans, activities, unit plans, PowerPoints and Teacher Resources, be sure to check out these two November Newbies:

WRITING-SHOWING NOT TELLING-THE EMOTION POTION

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/WRITING-SHOWING-NOT-TELLING-THE-EMOTION-POTION-2215478 (on sale for $2.55)

and-

Literary Analysis-MAKING THE MOST OF TIME

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literary-Analysis-MAKING-the-MOST-of-TIME-681650
(ON SALE FOR $2.13)

Browse the sale so you can make the most of your vacation time. 

Go to https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Connie

Have a wonderful break, and when you return to the classroom next week,

Enjoy a Teach It Now Day, Every Day.

English Teachers - The Stranger Bundle offers a triple combo learning knockout

Years ago, after I first read the opening paragraph of Albert Camus' The Stranger, I threw the book across the room, almost sideswiping my husband's head as he innocently strolled into the family room. What kind of callous individual would say, "Maman died today.  Or yesterday, maybe. I don't know. I got a telegram from the home: 'Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.'  That doesn't mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday.,"?

How was I ever going to teach this core book in my school's program of studies - to expect my students to read it- when I couldn't even get beyond the first paragraph?

The problem was, Meursault intrigued me.  I couldn't wipe him from my mind. Neither did I want to. I needed to find out what drove a person to be so could, so uncaring...so existential, so I kept reading... and teaching.

Over the decade and a half that I taught this book, sharing my insights with my students and reveling in their analysis of this man, I came not to like Meursault, but to respect him, and, yes, to even admire his strength and honesty to be his own person- to live according to his beliefs and values.

By the time that I had completed the first study of Meursault with my students, he remained a stranger no more.

By the time years of students and I delved into the meaning of existentialism and discussed our interpretations, this philosophy no longer created a muddled puddle in my mind.

By the time years of students and I compared and contrasted Albert Camus-his personality, his beliefs, his values and his life- I understood how he could create characters like Meursault, Sisyphus (The Myth of Sisyphus) and Dr. Bernard Rieux (The Plague).

My unit plan, PowerPoint and Bulletin Board packets are the result of these years of dissecting this complex novel, its author and his philosophies. I have used them as the backbone of this study, tweaked them for what worked and what didn't, and revised them so you, my colleagues, would have a foundation for your  examination, scrutiny and analysis of The Stranger, Albert Camus, and existentialism.

Here are the brief descriptions of this triple combo learning knockout 

The Stranger Unit Plan                  

Aligned with the Common Core principles, this 68-page unit has been detailed and developed for clarity, depth, comprehension and analysis. It includes a table of contents, 40+ handouts, day-by-day lessons with 4 pages of Teacher Notes on Existentialism, Albert Camus, “The Myth of Sisyphus” and more. Three types of essay assignments, one class project, nine individual projects, five quizzes and one test (all with an answer key) round out the packet.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literature-The-Stranger-Unit-Plan-15745 

$22.95

The Stranger PowerPoint             

This is a 12-slide PowerPoint on the novel, “The Stranger,” by  Albert Camus, Existentialism, “The Myth of Sisyphus,” and more. I created it to integrate with the introductory and follow-up discussions in my The Stranger Unit Plan.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literature-PowerPoint-The-Stranger-16786 

$4.00

The Stranger Bulletin Board       

The Stranger - Bulletin Board, was created in conjunction with high school students' study of this existential novel by Albert Camus. The purpose of this product is to offer teachers material for an interactive bulletin board that ties in with both The Stranger Unit Plan  and The Stranger PowerPoint. This 17-page packet contains topics such as
Albert Camus
Albert Camus' Writing Style
Existential Theme Topics
Existentialism Means... No Excuses
Existential Beliefs
Existential Thinkers
The Myth of Sisyphus
Camus Quotes

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Stranger-Bulletin-Board-1975367 

$5.00

The Stranger Bundle

All three items - The Stranger Unit Plan, The Stranger PowerPoint and The Stranger Bulletin Board- compose this 98-page bundle. Together, they create a triple combo learning knockout.

Plus, teachers, you can purchase this bundle for the discounted price of $25.00, and enjoy this triple threat in one file.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literature-The-Stranger-Bundle-1994892 $25.00 

Whether this will be your first or fifteenth year teaching The Stranger, these products will lighten your planning load, and will offer your students a plethora of learning activities. 

In fact, here are four totally new ideas that aren't included in any of these products They just came to me as I wrote this post.

1. Students could create a Pinterest Board on The Stranger, Albert Camus and existentialism, using any of their completed activities as well as pictures of their own making or choosing.
2. Students could create a journal that Meursault might have done by combining original content that they have written from Meursault's point of view as well as graphics and art that he might have included. Note- students will need to find art that was created prior to the book's first publication in 1942.
3. Students could make a scrapbook of journalism stories- news, feature, sports, entertainment- from print or online media that tie in/reveal the philosophies and themes in this novel. They may make this using an online publishing program or by copying and pasting items that they wish to include.  Along with each item, they must discuss, in writing,  how this piece connects with the book, its themes and philosophies. 
4. Students could use the same scrapbook idea explained in idea #3, but instead of journalism stories, they could choose people from today's world who reveal the same values, beliefs and philosophies in their lives, words and actions. Here, they would include direct quotations from the people that they select as well as brief summaries of their actions.

Introduce your students to Meursault, so he will no longer be a stranger.

Enjoy a Teach It Now Day Every Day,

Teach It Write - Build Powerful Academic Homes

Make the Most of May with this Independent Novel Study Plan

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

These lessons students want to complete

When the crazy testing schedules of May

Cause learning to take a back seat.

(Thanks to Lewis Carroll for his Jabberwocky inspiration)

Between  A.P. exams and the state standards of learning tests, May is a crazy month to teach. In my three decades teaching at the secondary level, every day anywhere from three-fifteen students missed English class due to the testing schedule. Plus, my colleagues and I had to monitor tests during our "Free" periods. Keeping teenagers inspired and the learning momentum smooth while maintaining my sanity made this month of May not so very merry.

Before I created Making the Most of May, trying to teach that one final required novel unit before the school year ended, while making sure that all of the students were up-to-date with their class work, was nearly impossible. 

I likened it to putting a straw hat upside down on the floor, tossing 25 balls in the air and waiting to see which ones made it into the hat without my being clobbered.

With this independent study plan, though, students are responsible for completing the assignments and projects and for being prepared with the work that they have finished for the mini-conferences. This enables them to be the leaders of their learning while the teacher takes an advisory roll.

The lessons and activities included in this packet ensure that the learning doesn't stop just because test review and reinforcement is done. Plus, students not only know that their fourth quarter grade is dependent on their work, but also they truly are engaged and inspired because they chose what to read and what assignments to complete.

The flexible plan takes absences due to testing into consideration, too, since students choose the novel that they will study, and they also create a daily reading and writing calendar that coincides with their scheduled exams and the teacher’s due dates. This creates a learning environment that engages students and promotes responsibility.  

To begin, teachers have two options. They may select six to eight grade-level novels from the book room for students to choose to read - up tp 4 students may opt to read the same book, or students may choose a book that meets the teacher's length and genre requirements. 

Once this aspect of the unit is completed, students will set their reading and activity completion schedules.The required activities included in the packet are:

1. General Novel Packet with four aspects: Book Notes, Plot Diagram, Memorable Quotes and Theme worksheets
2. Full-length Projects or Essays 
3. Group Project: Threads-Making Connections.

Every day the students will either 

• read for half of the period, or 
• work on their packets for half of the period.

The second half of the period, they will

• participate in a whole class writing session, concentrating on a facet of writing, or 
• discuss various aspects of their chosen novels with peers. 

NOTE: Each student in the group should be reading a different novel. Members take notes on the discussions. These will enable them to complete the Threads-Making Connections activity.

By managing their class time wisely, students will only have to complete any typing they had previously begun, and compile the required activities at home right before the final packets are due. They should bind all of the components together in some way - a folder with pockets is best.

Teaching time won’t be interrupted and chaotic because of testing when teachers choose this unit plan as their May learning keystone.  Its effectiveness stems from dual factors

• students hold the ownership for what they are learning, and 
• when they are learning. 

Teachers do need to 

• specify minimum length, genre and anything else they deem necessary for their charges.
• mentor students’ progress with mini-conferences where students bring their partially completed required work to discuss.

And you, my teacher friends, will appreciate the fact that your students are challenging themselves mentally as they increase their reading comprehension, their critical thinking and their writing skills with substantive activities and no loss of learning continuity.

Making the Most of May, which is aligned with Common Core Standards and Bloom's Raxonomy, includes detailed Teacher Notes and a Project Grading Rubric.

Download Making the Most of May from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reading-Comprehension-Activities-Making-the-Most-of-May-681650 ($), and


Enjoy a month of Teach It Now days,