“This was the best money I have ever spent on a teaching tool.” ~ a teacher in Wisconsin

Arizona ELA Standard: 5.RL.7

Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the purpose, meaning, or tone of the text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, and poem).

Halloween Worksheets
Halloween Worksheets
Crosswords, image analysis, and writing prompts for Halloween!
Gr 1-8
Power and Symbols
Power and Symbols
When does a simple symbol have more power than a word?
Gr 1-8
Halloween Emoji Story 🕷️
Halloween Emoji Story 🕷️
Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?
Gr 1-8
Emoji Stories 🏰
Emoji Stories 🏰
Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?
Gr 1-8
Holiday Writing: Packing Crates
Holiday Writing: Packing Crates
An old photograph. A holiday scene. Pick one object in the picture and write from its point of view.
Gr 1-8
Writing About Art: Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons
Writing About Art: Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons
Look closely at Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.
Gr 1-8
Writing About Art: Chōshi in Shimosha
Writing About Art: Chōshi in Shimosha
Get your students writing some pretty darn impressive poetry based on Japan’s most famous artist.
Gr 1-8
Writing About Art: Twilight in the Wilderness
Writing About Art: Twilight in the Wilderness
Look closely at Twilight in the Wilderness. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.
Gr 1-8
Writing About Art: The Scream
Writing About Art: The Scream
Your students will turn the iconic painting The Scream into a vivid, sensory poem.
Gr 1-8
Thinking With Art: Head Down
Thinking With Art: Head Down
One artist, two paintings. Notice details, compare, synthesize, then find a parallel in another creator’s work.
Gr 1-8
Inferring With Art: A Man
Inferring With Art: A Man
What’s going on in this painting? Who is that guy? What’s his job? And where’s his other boot?
Gr 1-8
Art Lesson: One-Point Perspective
Art Lesson: One-Point Perspective
Let’s give our students an art history lesson while teaching them how to enhance their drawings using one-point perspective.
Gr 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8
Self Portraits: Pointillism
Self Portraits: Pointillism
Turn your students into a bunch of Monets with q-tips and some tempera paint.
Gr 1-8
Characters Dressed as Other Characters for Halloween
Characters Dressed as Other Characters for Halloween
What if one character dressed up as another for Halloween? Would the Cat in the Hat pick Captain Jack Sparrow, because they’re both chaotic yet good-natured people? Would Elsa dress up as The Ice King since they are both lonely?
Gr 1-8
Writing Sample: The Fall of the House of Usher
Writing Sample: The Fall of the House of Usher
A passage from “The Fall of the House of Usher” to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Gr 1-8
Student Introductions With Depth and Frames
Student Introductions With Depth and Frames
Want to introduce the tools of Depth and Complexity and learn more about your students and introduce the Frame graphic organizer? Have I got the activity for you!
Gr 1-8
Describing Author’s Voice
Describing Author’s Voice
What if… Edgar Allen Poe wrote Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland?
Gr 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8
Improving Presentations 3: The Storyboard and Slides
Improving Presentations 3: The Storyboard and Slides
It’s time to turn that outline into a storyboard and then some actual slides.
Gr 1-8
Persuasion and Packaging: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos
Persuasion and Packaging: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos
How does a drink’s packaging affect us emotionally and logically?
Gr 4-8
Elements of The Fantasy Genre
Elements of The Fantasy Genre
Every fantasy story has patterns hiding underneath the magic. Once your students see the elements, they’ll spot them everywhere — and use them in their own writing.
Gr 1-8
Drawing Natural Curves Like Andy Goldsworthy
Drawing Natural Curves Like Andy Goldsworthy
Andy Goldsworthy turns leaves and stones into art. Your students will learn to draw his signature natural curves — then build on them.
Gr 1-8
Introduce Symbolism with Pixel Art
Introduce Symbolism with Pixel Art
Create a pixelated icon that represents the essence of a character!
Gr 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8
Characters’ Talents and Multiple Intelligences
Characters’ Talents and Multiple Intelligences
How do characters from novels line up with Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences?
Gr 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8
Add Layers To Direct Instruction
Add Layers To Direct Instruction
Take direction instruction beyond a monotonous practice of the same skill over and over.
Gr 1-8
Better Stories Part 1: The Big Idea
Better Stories Part 1: The Big Idea
We open our unit on narrative writing with a big idea: “structure increases creativity.” I show how this is true by bringing in examples from across all disciplines.
Gr 1-8