Open any week to view its slide deck, teacher script, or tracking sheet. Each week studies one author's craft move across the five thinking levels: Notice, Choose, Show, Own, and Defend.
Each deck is a PDF with one slide per page. Adobe Acrobat Reader: View > Full Screen Mode (Ctrl+L on Windows, Cmd+L on Mac). Mac Preview: View > Slideshow (Shift+Cmd+F). Chrome or Edge: open the PDF, set it to fit the page, then go full screen (F11 on Windows, Ctrl+Cmd+F on Mac). Advance with the arrow keys, Page Down, or a clicker; press Esc to exit. On a SMART Board or Promethean panel, open the PDF in Acrobat Reader full screen on the board's computer. On an iPad, open it in Files or Books and swipe.
Week 1: The Villain Delivers the Lesson3 files
from “The Wolf and the Crane” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Prepare Cluster · Module 1
Week 2: The Character Admits the Lesson3 files
from “The Dog and the Oyster” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Prepare Cluster · Module 2
Week 3: Self-Interest Changes Everything3 files
from “The Peasant and the Apple-Tree” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Prepare Cluster · Module 3
Week 4: Personification as Craft3 files
from “My Shadow” (Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child’s Garden of Verses, 1885) · Prepare Cluster · Module 4
Week 5: The Master States the Lesson3 files
from “The Brazier and His Dog” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Cluster 1 · Module 1
Week 6: A Powerful Voice Delivers the Lesson3 files
from “Hercules and the Wagoner” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Cluster 1 · Module 2
Week 7: Imagination Transforms the Ordinary3 files
from “Pirate Story” (Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child’s Garden of Verses, 1885) · Cluster 1 · Module 3
Week 8: Flattery as a Trap3 files
from “The Fox and the Crow” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Cluster 1 · Module 4
Week 9: Speaking Directly to a Character3 files
from “The Lamplighter” (Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child’s Garden of Verses, 1885) · Cluster 2 · Module 1
Week 10: Turning the Blame Back3 files
from “The Rivers and the Sea” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Cluster 2 · Module 2
Week 11: Names That Paint a Picture3 files
from “The Flowers” (Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child’s Garden of Verses, 1885) · Cluster 2 · Module 3
Week 12: The Character Explains the Wisdom3 files
from “The Wild Boar and the Fox” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Cluster 2 · Module 4
Week 13: Point of View Shapes the Message3 files
from “Foreign Children” (Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child’s Garden of Verses, 1885) · Cluster 3 · Module 1
Week 14: Freedom Versus Comfort3 files
from “The Wolf and the Housedog” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Cluster 3 · Module 2
Week 15: Day Ends and Night Begins3 files
from “Night and Day” (Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child’s Garden of Verses, 1885) · Cluster 3 · Module 3
Week 16: Certain Gain Versus Uncertain Promise3 files
from “The Fisherman and the Little Fish” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Cluster 3 · Module 4
Week 17: A Wish That Cannot Come True3 files
from “Looking-Glass River” (Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child’s Garden of Verses, 1885) · Cluster 4 · Module 1
Week 18: The Punchline That Redefines the Argument3 files
from “The Fox and the Leopard” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Cluster 4 · Module 2
Week 19: Contrast That Reveals Renewal3 files
from “An April Day” (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1824) · Cluster 4 · Module 3
Week 20: The Lesson Learned Too Late3 files
from “The Trees and the Axe” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Cluster 4 · Module 4
Week 21: Repetition That Deepens Feeling3 files
from “Calico Pie” (Edward Lear, Nonsense Songs, 1871) · Cluster 5 · Module 1
Week 22: Greed Defeats Itself3 files
from “The Woman and Her Hen” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Cluster 5 · Module 2
Week 23: Perspective Shift Reveals a Bigger Truth3 files
from “The Sun Travels” (Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child’s Garden of Verses, 1885) · Cluster 5 · Module 3
Week 24: Actions Reveal What Words Hide3 files
from “The Hunter and the Woodman” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Cluster 5 · Module 4
Week 25: Making the Reader Feel the Season3 files
from “Winter-Time” (Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child’s Garden of Verses, 1885) · Cluster 6 · Module 1
Week 26: Turning the Ordinary Into the Extraordinary3 files
from “Young Night-Thought” (Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child’s Garden of Verses, 1885) · Cluster 6 · Module 2
Week 27: Dialogue That Delivers the Lesson3 files
from “The Trees Under the Protection of the Gods” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Cluster 6 · Module 3
Week 28: Comparison That Reveals Value3 files
from “The Horses of the Sea” (Christina Rossetti, Sing-Song, 1893) · Cluster 6 · Module 4
Week 29: Change of Mind Delivers the Lesson3 files
from “The Dog’s House” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Cluster 7 · Module 1
Week 30: Extended Metaphor with a Twist3 files
from “Hope is like a harebell” (Christina Rossetti, Sing-Song, 1893) · Cluster 7 · Module 2
Week 31: Gratitude Shown Through Action3 files
from “The Peasant and the Eagle” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Cluster 7 · Module 3
Week 32: A Simple List with a Quiet Message3 files
from “Currants on a bush” (Christina Rossetti, Sing-Song, 1893) · Cluster 7 · Module 4
Week 33: The Wise Voice After the Disappointment3 files
from “The Fishermen” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Cluster 8 · Module 1
Week 34: The Surprise Answer3 files
from “A diamond or a coal?” (Christina Rossetti, Sing-Song, 1893) · Cluster 8 · Module 2
Week 35: The Question That Exposes the Fraud3 files
from “The Quack Frog” (Aesop, trans. George Fyler Townsend, 1867) · Cluster 8 · Module 3
Week 36: A Year of Craft Moves: Review3 files
from “Growing in the vale” (Christina Rossetti, Sing-Song, 1893) · Cluster 8 · Module 4
Real published informational and argumentative texts from before 1929, all in the public domain: historical letters, speeches, and nature and science essays. Each has a slide deck, a teacher script, and a tracking sheet in the same five thinking levels, so students study the craft of informational and argumentative writing they compose in the clusters.
Mentor Text 1: Stating a Purpose and a Principle3 files
Argumentative · from “The Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson and the Second Continental Congress (1776) · public domain
Mentor Text 2: Vivid Language That Persuades3 files
Argumentative · from “The Wild Parks and Forest Reservations of the West” by John Muir (1901) · public domain
Mentor Text 3: Counterclaim and Rebuttal3 files
Argumentative · from “The Book of the National Parks” by Robert Sterling Yard (1919) · public domain
Mentor Text 4: Precise Observation and Comparison3 files
Informational · from “The Pastoral Bees” by John Burroughs (1879) · public domain