Welcome to Day 11 of the Literary League's 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop! We know that the holiday season is busy for both teachers and students, and it never seems to slow down after that. To help you make it through the rest of the year, you need a stock pile of lessons that can be easily implemented at any time. Today you'll find a resource that you can use any time of year in your classroom.

From Making Meaning with Melissa: "Thank You, M'am" Mini-Unit - Emergency Sub Plan, Middle, High School
I created this mini-unit when my principal asked me to attend a 4-day training on only the third week of school. Because we had not yet gotten far into the curriculum, I didn’t want to rely on a substitute to teach a new skill. I wanted something that students could work on independently, yet still be critical thinkers. Thus, I created this packet for the story “Thank You, M’am” by Langston Hughes and a companion film, Finding Forrester. Whether you use this for an sub plan or not, the mini-unit is full of thoughtful activities, including color-marking and annotation, critical thinking questions, writing prompts, graphic organizers, and more. Depending on your situation, you can choose to complete only the story materials, or you can also purchase the movie Finding Forrester, to add a few extra days to the unit, particularly helpful if you plan to be out for more than a day or two. Directions are included for either option, and if you choose to leave out the film, just don’t print those pages.