Teaching Resources for The Knife and the Butterfly

Teaching Resources for What Can't Wait

All resources are provided as PDF and Word documents to make it easy for you to modify the documents to suit your students' needs. More details for each resource below the list.

• "Trivia Challenge" Scavenger Hunt  PDF (click here for more challenges and the scoop on prizes)
•  What Can't Wait Anticipation Guide       Word            PDF
• College & Planning for the Future Unit   Word           PDF
• Independent Reading Tools                         Word          PDF
• Personal Writing Prompts                            Word          PDF
• Discussion Questions                                     Word          PDF

• What Can't Wait Poster Kit                         Word       PDF
• What Can't Wait Excerpt for classrooms    Word       PDF
• Sample book order form for schools          Word     PDF    

What Can't Wait Anticipation Guide

This anticipation guide is a great opening to the reading of the novel. Confronting students with a series of controversial statements, it offers a way for students to start thinking about themes and situations they'll encounter in What Can't Wait.

College & Planning for the Future

What Can't Wait offers an excellent way to jump-start units on college and planning for the future. I'm happy to share the materials from my Planning for the Future unit, which is especially rich in resources for effective college application essays. Students reflect on their beliefs about higher education, complete the common application, write scholarship essays, learn how to evaluate college options, write a résumé, and create a portfolio of college-related resources.

Independent Reading

What Can't Wait is an awesome title to suggest to students for independent reading. Check out this questionnaire to help students select books they'll actually enjoy reading.

Worried about accountability for independent reading? Have students keep a daily reading log (here's my grid of reading response options, which help to stimulate students to respond in varied ways). Worried that students might read during class but never finish their book? Try this straightforward but effective independent reading summation assignment.

Gather the summations in a binder in your classroom to create a library of reading suggestions for students. In my classroom, this was hugely successful in increasing interest in outside reading; students take each other's recommendations very seriously.

Personal Writing

Consider free writing prompts like these, which make thematic connections to students' reading of What Can't Wait. They can be developed into more formal personal essays.

• Sometimes there are so many demands on Marisa at home that it's hard for her to get out the front door. Write about a time when you had to decide between fulfilling a personal obligation and pursuing your education or other goals.

• Alan inspires Marisa many times throughout the novel. Describe a conversation or encounter with the person in your life who most inspires you.

• Marisa has many dreams for the future, but she also makes efforts each day to get closer to these dreams. Describe something specific that you are doing to work toward a dream of your own.

• There are many times when Marisa is tempted to give up on school and college. Write about a time when you felt overwhelmed or frustrated. How did you respond?

• Marisa's relationship with Anita shapes many of her decisions about the future. Write about a young person who has an important role in your life.

Discussion & Analytical Writing

These discussion questions, courtesy of Carolrhoda Lab (click here for the lovely discussion guide), can be used in small groups for discussion or modified to reflect the format of open-ended questions on standardized tests. They can also serve as a starting place for more extended analytical writing.