Calling all English teachers...

Are you ready to take your unit planning to the next level?

Take a second and consider how many of these statements apply to you:

I'm a confident teacher that is ready to take my units from text-centered to inquiry-centered
I'm comfortable teaching my novels, but need something fresh and engaging for my students
I'm a curious teacher intrigued by Essential Questions looking for support and new ideas
I'm ready to de-center novels but not exactly sure where to start

If you answered YES to any of these questions, the Essential Question Adventure Pack was made for you.

Let's Plan a Unit Together

Here's how the Adventure Pack will support your unit planning journey:

STEP ONE

Select Your Texts

Choose a whole class novel, lit circle set of novels, or list of choice novels that you believe would pair well with the essential question: Is the American Dream more likely to inspire or destroy? Take a sneak peek at my list here if you need help.

STEP TWO

Open Your Adventure Pack

Inside the EQ Adventure Pack, you'll be given resources via Google Drive that are editable and ready for you to implement at your own pace and at the unique level of rigor needed for your students in grades 7-12.

STEP THREE

Design the Unit Calendar

Using items from the pack, I will help you create a pacing guide that works your unique unit. We'll layer in an EQ evidence tracker, supplemental texts, and assessment check-ins on the development of understanding the EQ.

STEP FOUR

Watch Engagement Grow

Once your students see the shift from plot-related recall to critical thinking and real-world-driven questions, you'll see engagement soar and skills grow.

The Essential Question Adventure Pack: Is the American Dream more likely to inspire or destroy?

Course
21 Lessons

EQ Adventure Packs provide everything a teacher needs to connect the dots in an inquiry driven unit. The teacher supplies the whole class novel or lit circle texts, and the EQ Pack takes care of the rest. Each resource in this pack is specifically designed to propel inquiry and critical thinking from the opening lesson to the summative assessment.

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I'M SURE YOU'RE WONDERING...

What's included in the EQ Adventure Pack?

Here is a preview.

Evidence Trackers & Anchor Charts

Follow the thread of the EQ through the text tracking evidence on a student-friendly evidence tracker. I've also included some anchor charts to deepen the complexity of thinking around the EQ.

Assessment Templates

Each EQ Pack contains suggested assessment ideas and templates that can be used to answer the EQ at the end of the unit.

Digital Choice Board

Each Pack contains a digital choice board full of supplemental poetry, podcasts, TED Talks and more all backed by the EQ. Use this for bell work, writing practice, or sub plans!

Supplemental Text Lessons

Each pack comes with five ready-to-teach lessons built around supplemental texts that are in conversation with the EQ. Lessons are uniquely selected to be inclusive and representative of a wide variety of cultures, backgrounds, voices, and media types.

TAKE A LOOK INSIDE...

Course Outline

The Essential Question Adventure Pack: An Introduction

What is an Essential Question Unit Adventure Pack?

For as long as I’ve been a resource creator, I’ve felt the weight of the impossibility of fulfilling so many teacher requests for novel units. As much as I’d like to create a unit for every worthy and important novel or literature circle that teachers tackle, I could never serve you fast enough! So, I got to thinking -- how can I create materials that both help teachers focus on inquiry and can serve a variety of texts all at once?

And the EQ Adventure Pack was born.

These units are centered around Essential Questions. Juicy, powerful, curiosity-driving Essential Questions that students will truly and deeply care about.

These Adventure Packs are not for the print-and-go teacher.

EQ Adventure Packs are designed for the invested, driven teacher who is thirsty for inspiration, direction, and a framework that will extend or reframe the units they already have. These units are perfect for teachers who feel confident in teaching their texts but want to take the learning in the direction of inquiry and stretch the unit to be something beyond the plot of the core text.

Diving Into the EQ: Is the American Dream more likely to inspire or destroy?

Book List: Recommended Texts for the EQ

Introducing the EQ - Gateway Activities

Printable Anchor Charts

Pacing Calendar Suggestions

Option #1: Whole Class Novel Unit Calendar

Option #2: Literature Circles Calendar

Evidence Trackers

How to Use Evidence Trackers

Tracker #1 & Tracker #2

Supplemental Activities

Each of these supplemental activities is designed to bring a new layer of complexity toward answering the Essential Question. There is no set or specific order in which these can be used, but here are a few ideas:

Use them in your pre-reading week to introduce the EQ
Use them alongside a scene in the whole class novel to share a differing perspective
Use them with the templates provided to layer the supplemental with the texts
Use them as the core texts (all class) while students are reading different books in lit circles

Digital Choice Board - The American Dream

Supplemental #1: MKTO - "American Dream"

Supplemental #2: Gangster Capitalism Episode 5: Where You Finish

Supplemental #3: The Greatest Showman "A Million Dreams"

Supplemental #4: "I Was THEIR American Dream" {Author Interview on NPR}

Supplemental #5: "America" from West Side Story {A Close Reading Stations Activity}

Templates for Activities

Sectioned Venn Diagram

Fishbowl Discussion

EQ Exit Tickets

Jigsaw Text Lesson

Assessment

Assessment Template: Synthesis Argument

Assessment Alternative: The Cento Poem

BONUSES!

Bonus Resources