Robyn Carter Writer Educator Storyteller

Curriculum Writing, Design & Promotion

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

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K-12

Professional Development
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Higher Ed

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

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

Professional Development for Educators

Multimedia Novel & Mentor Sentence Studies | STEM | Human & Natural History

Preview the teaching resources below, along with over 200 more on TeachersPayTeachers.

Revision Scaffolds & Hyperdocs Diagnostic-to-Mastery Writing Pathways

Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Emotion/Descriptive Writing/Graphic Organizers/Sensory Details/Imagery/Game

Mentor sentences from Christopher Paul Curtis’ The Watsons Go to Birmingham –– 1963, Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming, Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street, and Cornelia Funke’s The Thief Lord, and Elizabeth Acevedo’s The Poet X star in this editable emotion writing toolkit for teaching approaches to incorporating show-don’t-tell (“feelable”) feelings into writing workshop projects in progress.Mentor passages from both middle-grade & YA titles make this resource work with any grade...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Scaffolded Creative Writing, Dialogue & Tension, Anchor Charts, Mentor Sentences

Mentor sentences from Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Jerry Spinelli’s Loser, Raina Telgemeier’s Ghosts, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, and All American Boys by Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely star in this editable and scaffolded dialogue writing, revising & editing toolkit for teaching strategies that leverage dialogue’s power to build tension and drive narrative. With intro explainer videos, dialogue anchor charts, m...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Flashback Scaffolded/Guided/Narrative Writing/Graphic Organizer Mentor Sentences

Flashback in Comics & Graphic Novels: A Mentor Sentence Study Featuring When Stars Are Scattered, Ghosts, A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel, and Big Jim & the White BoyTeach flashback “anatomy,” the role this literary device plays in storytelling, how to manage flashback verb tense shifting (present to past tense, past tense to past perfect, use of past participles), and approaches to incorporating time shifts into creative/narrative writing projects with this editable, differentiated, digita...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Fiction Writing/Revision Hyperdoc: Checklist, Scaffolds, Guide, Mini lessons

Fiction Revision Hyperdoc/Digital Revision Checklist: Conflict, Character Point of View, Dialogue, Sensory Details, Filters, Repetition, Verb Tense Consistency, Eliminating Passive Voice | Graphic Organizers, Anchor Charts, Videos, Mentor Sentences | Cross-grade Flexibility 4–12This Fiction Revision Hyperdoc is an editable, digital revision checklist, set of mini-lessons, scaffold, and guide that walks students through the entire fiction revision process — step by step.Designed as a self-paced G...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Guided Creative/Descriptive/Show-don't-tell Writing/Graphic Organizers/Imagery

Writing Taste & Smell Imagery With Mentor Authors Gloria Whelan, Thanhha Lai, Cornelia Funke, Sandra Cisneros & Toni Morrison: A Guided Creative/Descriptive Writing Mentor Sentence Study & Show-don’t-tell Revising & Editing Practice Toolkit Featuring an Explainer video, a Narrative Anchor Chart, Word Banks to Promote Sensory Detail-rich Imagery, Student Examples, Descriptive Writing Graphic Organizers & Wayground/Quizizz Game & Discussion Questions That Generate Critical ThinkingStruggling to ge...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Writing With Concrete Adjectives: A Mentor Sentence Study & Revision Scaffold

Mentor sentences from Cynthia Kadohata’s Kira-Kira & Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street star in this editable, gamified, differentiated, digital & printable revising & editing practice toolkit for teaching:Mentor sentences from both middle-grade & YA/High school-level titles make this resource flex across grade levels, from 4th to 12th. Choose the excerpts that will work best for your context.Are you looking for teaching tools that recast instructions like “show, don’t tell” as concrete...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Craft-first Poetry: Show-don't-tell Imagery, Voice & Revision Scaffold

Poetry Writing Bundle: Imagery, Lyrical Craft & Mentor Text Studies | 10-Week Unit | Cross-grade Flexibility 4–12This 8-mini-unit poetry bundle forms a cohesive 10-week poetry-writing curriculum focused on imagery, lyrical language, and show-don’t-tell craft — not poetry forms.Instead of marching students through haikus, sonnets, or free verse as isolated genres, this bundle teaches poetry the way real writers learn it: by studying mentor texts, borrowing craft moves, experimenting boldly, and r...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Small Moment Poem Graphic Organizer Guided Creative Writing Brown Girl Dreaming

Small Moment Poetry With Jacqueline Woodson: A Creative/Narrative/Descriptive Writing Mentor Sentence/Poet Study & Revising & Editing Practice Toolkit Featuring Student Examples, Graphic Organizers, an Anchor Chart, Mentor Poems & Quizizz-gamified Discussion Questions That Generate Critical Thinking Jacqueline Woodson’s “second daughter’s second day on earth” (Brown Girl Dreaming) takes center stage in this editable, differentiated, gamified, digital & printable spin on the small-moment poem, re...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Hands-on Preposition Grammar Game Descriptive/Creative Writing Graphic Organizer

Prepositions & Hyphens as Show-Don't-Tell Power Tools in Poetry & Descriptive/Creative Writing with Robert Burleigh's “Hoops” and Jewell Parker Rhodes' Ghost Boys as Mentor Texts PLUS A “Grammatical Engineering” Maker-space Challenge/Hands-on Grammar Game A Grammar, Punctuation & Part of Speech Mentor Sentence Study, Madlib Poetry Template & Revising & Editing Practice Kit Featuring Mentor Poems, Student Examples, Graphic Organizers, Anchor Charts, a Kahoot Game, and Quizizz-Gamified Discussion...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Point of View Anchor Chart/Game/Guided Narrative Writing/Mentor Sentences

Level up your teaching game with this bundle of writing resources featuring two slideshows available as editable Google Slides presentations and Wayground/ Quizizz lessons & games + anchor charts, a 3-minute explainer video, and a mentor sentence study — all designed to help students master point of view (first, second, third person, omniscient, limited, objective) and narrative distance (how close a narrator is to a character’s thoughts, feelings, and sensory perceptions) and apply their unders...
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 •

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 •

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 •

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...

Multimedia Novel Studies Standards-Aligned, Cross-Disciplinary Learning Pathways

Virtual Classroom

Cur •

Journey to Topaz, Yoshiko Uchida/Dorothea Lange Historical Fiction AAPI History

Yoshiko Uchida’s Journey to Topaz and the Oakland Museum of California’s Dorothea Lange Digital Archive star in this editable, digital, printable, differentiated & Common Core-aligned set of Quizizz & Kahoot-gamified discussion questions & vocabulary resources for use with book clubs, read-alouds, literature circles, interactive notebooks, whole class novel studies, and/or AAPI/Japanese American history units.Lit Study & Vocabulary-building Kit:This is a Google doc. After purchase, you will down...
Curiosity Compass •

The Thief Lord Cornelia Funke Book Club Discussion Questions, Vocabulary

Cornelia Funk’s The Thief Lord 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.Do you struggle to find novel study resources that are editable, easy to navigate, engaging, differentiated, and designed for learning that goes beyond basic plot recall?This resource’s single-page-per-chapter guides keep every...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

The Last Cuentista Book Club Packet Discussion Questions, Vocabulary & STEM

Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista stars in this editable set of discussion questions, vocabulary resources, STEM slideshows & games for use with book clubs, read-alouds, literature circles, interactive notebooks, or a whole class novel study. Prompts appear in order of complexity, and simplified language appears in parentheses (delete or modify to customize and differentiate).Do you struggle to find editable novel study resources that are intuitive to navigate, engaging, differentiated, a...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Loser by Jerry Spinelli Book Club/Novel Study Discussion Questions Vocabulary

Jerry Spinelli’s Loser 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.Do you struggle to find editable novel study resources that are intuitive to navigate, engaging, differentiated, and designed for learning that goes beyond basic plot recall? Our single-page-per-chapter guides keep everything in one pl...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

The Invention of Hugo Cabret: Novel/Film Study Book Club, Read-aloud & STEAM

Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret –– and the 2011 Scorsese screen adaptation –– star 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.Do you struggle to find editable novel study resources that are intuitive to navigate, engaging, differentiated, and designed for learning that goes beyond basic plot...
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 •

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 •

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 •

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...

Standards-Aligned Media Literacy & Civic Reasoning Curriculum

Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

PBS Eons How Evolution Works Episode Outline, Quiz & Quizizz (Editable)

Spark curiosity, foster critical thinking skills, unlock the mysteries of evolution, and save time with this digital, printable, gamified & editable no-prep quiz & episode guide designed for use with the PBS Eons episode “Understanding Evolution.” Key concepts covered: Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, Natural Selection, Mutation, Genetic Drift, Gene Flow, Deep Time Resource Features:

Spark curiosity, foster critical thinking skills, unlock the mysteries of evolution, and save time with this digita...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

PBS Eons Your Place in the Primate Family Tree Outline, Quiz, Quizizz (Editable)

Spark curiosity, foster critical thinking skills, unlock the mysteries of evolution, and save time with this digital, printable, gamified & editable no-prep quiz & episode guide designed for use with the PBS Eons episode “Your Place in the Primate Family Tree.”Key concepts covered: Purgatorius, Synapomorphies, the molecular clock, Taxonomic Hierarchy Resource Features:

Spark curiosity, foster critical thinking skills, unlock the mysteries of evolution, and save time with this digital, printable...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Crash Course US History #2 Editable Comprehension & Analysis Quiz & Quizizz Link

Engage and challenge students with this set of questions and discussion prompts designed for use with Crash Course US History, Episode 2: When is Thanksgiving? Colonizing America.Key Historical Terms, Figures & Moments: Headright System, Virginia Company, Jamestown Settlement, Plymouth Settlement, Pilgrims,  Mayflower Compact, Massachusetts Bay Colony.AP US History Historical Thinking Skills 1A-B, 4A, 6A-BThis resource includes:CURIOSITY COMPASS

Engage and challenge students with this set of qu...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Crash Course US History #1-10 | Quizzes, Quizizzes, Discussion Questions

AP US History Historical Thinking Skills 1A-B, 4A, 6A-BEngage 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, PLUS:• 2 Mystery Document Deep Dives featuring primary source documents• 8 Episode "Side Trips" built around videos (+ one podcast) that offer an in-depth exploration of historical figures and moments that get brief mentions in several of the Crash Cuorse episodes.Each resource in th...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Pontiac's War | Crash Course US History #5 Side Trip Editable Quiz, Quizizz Link

AP US History Historical Thinking Skills 1A-B, 4A, 6A-BEngage and challenge students with this editable teaching resource for use with the Daily Dose Documentary Video: Pontiac's War Summary: Native American Resistance Against British Rule.This Crash Course US History Episode 5 Side Trip features:

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

Engage and challenge students with this editable teaching resource for use with the Daily Dose Documentary Video: Pontiac's War Summary: Nativ...
Curiosity Compass Curricular Resources •

Pocahontas | Crash Course US History 3 Side Trip | Quiz, Discussion Questions

AP US History Artifact Analysis | Historical Thinking Skills 1A-B, 2A-C, 4A, 6A-BVoices and visuals illuminate history in this editable Analysis & Reflection Kit designed for use with the Smithsonian Portraits podcast episode, Pondering Pocahontas. In this 23-minute episode, a Smithsonian host interviews an author and historian about the complex, enduring, and Disneyfied mythology surrounding the famous Powhattan “princess.”Anchored to the Crash Course US History series, Curiosity Compass Episod...

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

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.

Publishing

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