Ender's Game Bundle of Quizzes, Worksheets, Research Projects, Test, and Keys

This resource bundle is designed to promote vocabulary development, evaluate reading comprehension, support critical thinking, and facilitate the process of researching topics related to Orson Scott Card's dystopian science fiction novel Ender's Game. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. (Alternatively, a Google Drive bundle option is available.) A breakdown of content follows.

Reading comprehension quizzes: Hold students accountable for assigned readings with six multiple choice assessments focused on plot developments. These assessments may double as guided reading homework handouts to facilitate active engagement with the novel. Answer keys are included. Quizzes are broken down as follows:

• Chapters 1 and 2

• Chapters 3 and 4

• Chapters 5 and 6

• Chapters 7 and 8

• Chapters 9 and 10

• Chapters 11, 12, and 13

• Chapters 14 and 15

Vocabulary games and activities: Frontload assigned readings with these vocabulary games and activities to maximize reading comprehension. Alternatively, stash these materials in an emergency sub folder to keep students meaningfully engaged in the book during unexpected teacher absences. Included are 7 vocabulary application activities, 7 crossword puzzles, 7 word search games, and answer keys. A total of 84 vocabulary terms are featured. By engaging with these activities, students will:

• Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words

• Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings

• Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences

Literature circle activities: A handout detailing student roles, documentation logs to hold students accountable for their tasks, and a standards-based scoring rubric are included. By engaging with these literature circle materials, students will do the following:

• Articulate key details from the story

• Generate open-ended questions related to the novel in order to carry out meaningful discussions with peers

• Respond thoughtfully to open-ended questions and others' contributions to the discussion

• Document ways in which the novel is consistent with aspects of modern society

• Locate specific passages and/or quotations that relate to major themes and concepts such as those relating to technology, space travel, the military, and the value of independent thinking

• Artistically convey important information from the assigned reading

Close reading analysis worksheets: Prepare students to go beyond general reading comprehension and develop critical thinking skills for high school literature classes. Seven activities are included. By engaging with these close reading activities, students will:

• Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly

• Define challenging words and phrases as they are used in the text

• Examine nuances in words with similar meanings

• Discern the greater significance and intended effects of given details

• Consider historical context when answering questions about plot

• Make logical inferences about the author's thinking in context

• Discern the tone of given excerpts

• Determine the function of a given chapter

• Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop

• Compare and contrast characters (Ender and Peter)

• Apply knowledge of literary devices including symbolism, personification, simile, metaphor, epiphany, pun, foreshadowing, invective, euphemism, allusion, paradox, ambiguity, anaphora, rhetorical questioning, situational irony, verbal irony, and dramatic irony

• Explore themes in context

• Support claims and inferences with relevant evidence and sound reasoning

• Write about literature with clarity, accuracy, and precision

Research project materials: Streamline the process of investigating relevant topics, documenting information gathered, and delivering formal speeches. Students will choose from thirty research topics—addressing ideas such as real-life child soldiers, humanitarian organizations, Project Blue Book, the Fermi paradox, space travel, and other events transpiring as recently as 2023. A detailed scoring rubric is provided. Students will perform the following tasks:

• Articulate connections between a research topic and the assigned novel

• Conduct research using available resources

• Collect and classify reliable sources

• Develop successful methods of recording information

• Evaluate the credibility of source work, taking into consideration readability, date, relevance, expertise, and bias

• Apply conventions of MLA formatting

• Correctly site resources to avoid plagiarism

• Organize information in a cohesive manner, using a note-taking system that includes summary, paraphrasing, and quoted material

• Analyze, synthesize, and integrate information, generating a thoughtfully comprehensive report, free of generalities and redundancies

• Present findings verbally, using their own words

Summative unit test: This summative assessment measures reading comprehension, knowledge of literary craft, and proficiency in writing claims in an analysis of the text and its characters. An answer key is included.

Materials are available for a range of dystopian and science fiction texts:

• Feed by M.T. Anderson - Google and printable

• Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer - Google and printable

• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - Google and printable

• The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells - Google and printable

• The Works of Ray Bradbury - Google and printable