Robyn Carter Writer Educator Storyteller

Curriculum Writing, Design & Promotion

Multimedia ELA & STEM Lessons | Study Guides | Explainer Videos | Slideshows | Infographics & Anchor Charts | Professional Development Resources for Educators

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K12 & Professional Development
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Higher Ed

Curriculum Writing & Design

Higher Ed Resources

Multimedia Study Guides | Explainer Videos | Slideshows

Google Slides •

Finding a Form seminar Slideshow

Location, Location, Location

So you’ve got a handful of short stories, all nearly finished. How do you decide how to order them in a collection, and how do you approach revising individual pieces with the big picture in mind? Do you go with your gut or tinker with links? How do you develop cohesion across a collection whose stories are not explicitly interrelated?
In this seminar we’ll look at ways a variety of authors have explored (or ignored) these questions.
Study Guide •

Introduction to Literature Course Guide

Week 2 Lecture & Media: Analyzing Point of View, Symbolism & Theme in The Short Story

“By excluding almost everything, [the short story] can give perfect shape to what remains.”

–Steven Millhauser in “The Ambition of the Short Story.”

“A short story is a love affair, a novel is a marriage. A short story is a photograph; a novel is a film.” –Lorrie Moore

This week we will focus on the short story, identifying the elements unique to this form, and investigating critical approaches to short sto
Study Guide •

Introduction to Creative Writing Course Guide

Part 1 asks you to explore how elements of poetry and fiction are manifest in creative nonfiction, and how poetry and fiction borrow from real-life experiences. To narrow your focus and lighten your workload, choose one work of creative nonfiction and one story or poem to discuss, including (if you’d like) one or more of the genre-blurring works below.


A Note on Terminology: Works of creative nonfiction are called essays, so refer to them as such.



Genre-blurring Forms


Slam Poetry

Curriculum Writing, Design, Product Description & Social Content

K-12

Multimedia ELA & STEM lessons | Study Guides | Explainer Videos | Slideshows | Infographics | Online Learning Opportunities | Printed Student Anthologies | High School Social Studies & Natural History Teaching Resources

Virtual Classroom

High School Curricula

Curiosity Compass •

Crash Course US History Companion Resource

AP US History Historical Thinking Skills 1A-B, 4A, 6A-B

Engage and challenge students with this EDITABLE bundle of US History quizzes and discussion questions for use with Crash Course US History video episodes 1-10.

Also included: 2 Mystery Document Deep Dives featuring primary source documents and 7 Episode "Side Trips" built around videos that offer an in-depth exploration of historical figures and moments that get brief mentions in several of the episodes.

Each resource in this bundle of 19 includes:
5-8 multiple choice comprehension questions designed to assess student understanding of historical events and their impact not only on major historical figures but also on the people they governed. The focus is less on names and dates and more on patterns and trends.
2-4 open-ended questions designed to foster critical thinking that asks students to analyze, build arguments, and reflect.
A link to the questions as an editable game on Quizizz.
An answer key for the multiple choice questions as well as sample answers to the open-ended questions.
Flexible formatting: Questions appear on an editable Google doc you can modify to customize and differentiate and/or copy and paste into your learning platform of choice.

Professional Development for Educators

Multimedia Middle-Grade Novel & Mentor Sentence Studies | STEM & History Extensions

Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

TED-Ed Trilobites Episode Outline, Quiz & Quizizz (Editable)

Spark curiosity, foster critical thinking skills, and save time with this digital, printable, gamified & editable no-prep quiz & episode guide designed for use with the Ted-Ed video Is This the Most Successful Creature Ever?Key concepts covered: Trilobites, exoskeleton, Cambrian Explosion, compound eyes, fossil, extinction, arthropod. Resource Features:

Spark curiosity, foster critical thinking skills, and save time with this digital, printable, gamified & editable no-prep quiz & episode guide...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Simile Writing | Figurative Language Anchor Chart/Poster/Videos/Quizizz Games

Teach techniques for sharpening similes with this figurative language writing anchor chart, poster, set of explainer videos & set of Quizizz games.Digital, printable & editable figurative language anchor charts, explainer videos, and practice games on Quizizz power this Simile Success Kit designed to teach approaches to descriptive writing and show-don’t-tell strategies that render sensory details with vivid clarity.Resource Features

Teach techniques for sharpening similes with this figurative...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Thanhha Lai Mentor Sentence Study: Imagery Writing, Editing & Revising Practice

Let There Be Light: A Descriptive Writing Mentor Sentence Study Featuring a Set of Narrative Writing Anchor Charts, Word Banks & Descriptive Writing Graphic OrganizersMentor sentences from Gloria Whelan’s Goodbye, Vietnam, Thanhha Lai’s Inside Out & Back Again, Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time & Hope Larson’s graphic adaptation shine in this editable, gamified, differentiated, digital & printable narrative/creative/descriptive writing,revising & editing practice toolkit for teaching how to...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Descriptive Writing Graphic Organizers: Haiku Writing Template, Picture Prompts

Writing the Wright Way: Imagery-driven Haiku Writing Template & Workshop Featuring Mentor Poet Richard Wright Included tools: a Descriptive Writing Anchor Chart & Set of Scaffolded Descriptive Writing Graphic OrganizersAbout This ResourceMentor poems by Richard Wright shine in this editable, gamified, differentiated, digital & printable descriptive writing toolkit for teaching approaches to writing haiku.Do you struggle to find engaging scaffolds that actually improve student writing? Give your...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

STEM Slideshow & Quizizz: The Telegraph, Telegrams, Samuel Morse, Morse Code

Integrate this telegraph, telegram & morse code STEM Side Trip into a social studies unit or pair it with a work of historical fiction to stretch the cross-curricular reach of your novel study. Students fluent in today’s instant messaging options are often unfamiliar with communication technology that predates iPhones, TikTok and texts. Use this resource to provide context to deepen their understanding.This editable slideshow features:• Explainer sequences• Diagrams and images of telegrams, the...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

FILTERS Descriptive Writing/Revising/Editing Show-don't-tell Anchor Chart, SBAC

FINDING FILTERS One way to transform sentences that "tell" into descriptions that "show," is to weed out sensory filters – e.g., I saw, she heard, he noticed, they felt. Words like these block readers from experiencing the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations of the real or imagined worlds our students write about.Ideal for STAR and/or SBAC test prep, use this resource to teach students how to transform "telling" sentences like She sees birds in the alley to sensory details lik...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Mentor Sentence Study Simile Writing/Figurative Language Anchor Chart/Poster

Mentor sentences from Christopher Paul Curtis’ The Watsons Go to Birmingham –– 1963 and Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming star in this editable simile writing, revising & editing practice toolkit for teaching approaches to incorporating this literary device into writing workshop projects in progress and familiarizing students with this example of figurative language.With explainer videos, figurative language anchor charts, mentor sentences, student examples, descriptive writing graphic or...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Writing Flashback w/ Mentor Sentences from The Thief Lord, Hugo Cabret, Watsons

Teach flashback “anatomy” and the role this literary device plays in storytelling with this editable, digital, printable & gamified flashback writing/plot-building intensive featuring mentor sentences from Cornelia Funke’s The Thief Lord, Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and Christopher Paul Curtis’ The Watsons Go to Birmingham –– 1963. Incorporate into a revision workshop or leverage as a stand-alone skill-builder.Watch the video preview to see the entire resource.A similar resour...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Verb Word Bank, Descriptive Writing/Show-Don't-Tell/Part of Speech Anchor Chart

Sensory Detail/Descriptive Writing Word Banks/Word Wall, Part of Speech Anchor Charts: A Set of Editable Show-don’t-tell, Explode the Moment Scaffolds for the Writing & Revision Workshop | Grades 4+GET THIS RESOURCE FREE when you sign up for our newsletter here: https://www.curiositycompass.org/newsletter(Not a link to an e-commerce site. All Curiosity Compass teaching resources are sold exclusively on TpT.)Do you struggle to find editable and engaging scaffolds that actually improve student wri...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Mentor Sentences - LOSER: Writing/Punctuating Dialogue Why Said is Dead (NOT)

Mentor sentences from Jerry Spinelli’s Loser challenge the “said is dead” maxim in this set of dialogue practice/revising & editing practice activities, anchor charts, graphic organizers, and Kahoot & Quizizz games that explore why and how to write dialog and dialogue beats that show far more convincingly and gracefully than awkward dialog tags that tell.  With intro explainer videos, dialogue anchor charts, mentor sentences, student examples, graphic organizers, Quizizz & Kahoot games, and prom...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Dialogue Practice/Dialogue Anchor Charts Mentor Sentences LOSER, GHOSTS, HUGO

Mentor sentences from Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Jerry Spinelli’s Loser, Tracey Baptiste’s The Jumbies, and Raina Telgemeier’s Ghosts star in this editable dialogue practice/revising & editing practice toolkit for teaching strategies that leverage dialogue’s power to build tension and drive narrative.With five short explainer videos, dialogue anchor charts, mentor sentences, student examples, graphic organizers, writing prompts with sentence starters, Quizizz games, and discu...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

The Watsons Go to Birmingham History Lesson: The 1963 Birmingham Church Bombing

The Watsons Go to Birmingham Civil Rights History Side Trip: The 1963 Birmingham Church Bombing For use with the novel by Christopher Paul Curtis and linked video clips from ABC News and the 2014 film SelmaVideos featuring profiles of survivors, an article summarizing events, and discussion questions that assess comprehension and promote critical thinking launch this editable, gamified, digital & printable deep-dive into the national tragedy at the heart of The Watsons. Use this resource to cont...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Dialogue Writing Practice, Punctuating Dialogue Slideshow, Anchor Charts, Kahoot

Digital, printable, and editable anchor charts, explainer videos, a comic-style slideshow, and practice games on Kahoot and Quizizz power this set of guides to formatting conventions and strategies for writing show-don’t-tell dialogue. Guide students as they practice writing and punctuating dialogue with this editable Dialogue Writing, Editing and Revising Toolkit for grades 4-12.Resource Components & FeaturesEarn Free TPT CreditsHave you used this –– or any other TPT –– resource? Write a review...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Narrative Writing Hyperdoc BUNDLE | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopia & Horror

Tap into your students’ fascination with gore and gemstones, and/or all things grim (and Grimm!) with this science-fiction, dystopia, fantasy fiction, and horror writing hyperdoc and set of fictional narrative writing/creative writing/descriptive writing (show-don’t-tell) graphic organizers, anchor charts, slideshows, explainer videos, mentor sentences, and revising and editing practice tools.Watch the video preview to see the entire bundle.Completely customizable, this resource can work as a Ge...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

When Stars Are Scattered Book Club Packet, Vocabulary, Family History Project

An editable, differentiated, digital & printable bundle of Common Core-aligned literature circle/book club discussion questions, vocabulary activities, mentor sentence studies & family history project for use with the graphic novel When Stars Are Scattered by Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson. BONUS FILE: All resources linked in a single, editable Google doc. Find the link in the bonus file PDF.Lit Study Kit: With comprehension & reflection questions for each chapter, illustrated vocabulary stu...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

The Watsons Go to Birmingham/Brown Girl Dreaming Lit Film History Writing

An editable, differentiated, digital & printable Common Core-aligned literature circle/book club, mentor sentence & Black history study BUNDLE for use with the novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis, its film adaptation, and the memoir-in-verse Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. The focus is on The Watsons, with periodic dips into selected poems from Brown Girl Dreaming that spotlight similar themes or creative writing strategies. The content here spans the cu...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel, Read-aloud, Book Club, Film & STEM Study

Hope Larson's A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel and the film adaptation of the Madeleine L’Engle original star in this editable, digital, printable & differentiated bundle of STEM slideshows, discussion questions & vocabulary resources for use with film studies, book clubs, read-alouds, literature circles, interactive notebooks, or whole class novel studies.Do you struggle to find editable novel study resources that are intuitive to navigate, engaging, differentiated, and designed for learnin...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Journey to Topaz by Yoshiko Uchida: Book Club Discussion Questions & Vocabulary

Yoshiko Uchida’s Journey to Topaz stars in this editable, digital, printable, differentiated & Common Core-aligned set of discussion questions & vocabulary resources for use with book clubs, read-alouds, literature circles, interactive notebooks, or whole class novel studies.Lit Study & Vocabulary-building Kit: This is a Google doc. After purchase, you will download a PDF with a link to the resource you can copy & edit.About this NovelSet during World War II, this work of historical fiction foll...

Multimedia Mentor Author Studies

TPT •

Poetry of Prepositions with Mentor Authors Robert Burleigh & Jewell Parker Rhodes

"Madlibify" your poetry workshop with this editable, 1-2 week-long mentor poet study featuring Robert Burleigh’s poem & picture book, Hoops and Mentor sentences from Jewell Parker Rhodes’ Ghost Boys. Suitable for grade 4 and up, prepositions star in this 8-lesson unit built around an exploration of how this overlooked and underrated part of speech can play an important role in imagery that moves.
Teachers Pay Teachers •

Revision Workshop|Synecdoche|Mentor Author Tracey Baptiste

Skill in the Spotlight
• Pebble Eyes & Flaky Skin: Playing Name Games with Synecdoche

Designed to integrate into a writing workshop, this mentor text study asks students to read as writers—to pay close attention to elements of craft—and apply Tracey Baptiste's writing techniques to their own works in progress. Mentor sentences from The Jumbies serve as springboards for a deep dive into an exploration of synecdoche.
• Graphic organizers and sentence-frames to scaffold new drafts or revisions to

Explainer Videos

Revision strategy explainer videos I scripted, produced, and integrated into a series of multimedia writing units for middle-grade students. Click the video's YouTube link to get to my channel.

Writing Workshop Infographics & Slideshows

Pinterest •

Writing Workshop Intensive: Dialog

A 34-slide Google slidedeck for teaching a dialog-writing intensive. Integrate into a writing workshop or teach as a stand-alone unit.

Features include:

• Comic-style explainer sequences that cover the role of dialog in story-telling and offer easy-to-understand definitions and examples of several aspects of “dialog anatomy,” including punctuation and paragraphing, dialog tags, and dialog beats.

• Videos and editable Kahoots that reinforce concepts introduced in the slides. Look for Kahoot links in the speaker notes section beneath the slides where Kahoots appear.

• Questions for discussion.

• Editable formatting. Change any element of the slideshow to fit your own needs. Customize and differentiate by skipping or modifying.
Teachers Pay Teachers •

Exploding the Moment w/ Part Charts: A Show-Don’t-Tell Scaffold for the Revision Workshop

These mantras are writing workshop gospel, yet so many of our students have a hard time achieving precision, their descriptions so often hanging on stative verbs and clinging to abstract adjectives. “The trip was awesome,” they write. “My sister is mean…The dog looks normal.”

Introducing PART CHARTS, graphic organizers that transform instructions like "Show, don't tell" into concrete steps students can grasp.
• A close look at three example student drafts and their part chart-guided revisions.
Teachers Pay Teachers •

Maximize Your Metaphor Mojo Infographic/Poster/Game

Teach techniques for sharpening metaphors with this writing workshop resource. Components include:

A colorful infographic with 3 "Don'ts” to avoid for writing metaphors that work.
Links to video explainer versions of each "Don't."
An editable Google table version of the infographic.
Links to 4 Quizizz games that reinforce concepts introduced in the infographic.
A link to download the infographic formatted for printing as a poster/anchor chart.
Teachers Pay Teachers •

Writing Workshop Resource: 3 Keys to Strong Writing Infographic/Poster

• An infographic detailing three keys to strong storytelling, regardless of genre: sensory details, motion & tension.
• A link to a JPG version of the infographic as a 12 x 18 inch classroom wall poster/anchor chart, you can upload to an office product store for printing.

Here's what the text says:

1. SENSORY DETAILS. Descriptions that show your readers the images, sounds, smells, tastes, temperatures & textures in the world of your story or poem.

TIP- ZOOM IN & FOCUS. Describe with nouns an

Publishing

Printed Anthologies of Student Work | Editing | Layout | Design | Publication Coordination