K20 LEARN
Between The Lines: Inferences In The Narrative Life Of Frederick Douglass Excerpt
Good literature can be much like an iceberg requiring readers to presume that the bulk of the meaning may be inferred to be found below the surface. Here's a lesson that asks scholars to conduct a close reading of passages from The...
Penguin Books
Teacher's Guide: A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
It's the American Dream! A house of your own, a better life, freedom to be who you want. But what happens when the dream withers? Lorraine Hansberry's award-winning drama, A Raisin in the Sun, offers some powerful answers to these...
K20 LEARN
A Write At The Museum: Ekphrastic Poetry
Which came first—the painting or the poem? In this case, it is the painting. Scholars closely examine a work of art and then craft an ekphrastic poem in response. A carefully scaffolded nine-page plan leads young poets through the process.
K20 LEARN
Antigone's Themes Today: The Greek Drama Antigone
Is Antigone relevant to today's readers? After reading Sophocles' tragedy, scholars must decide if the themes are universal and timeless. Class members engage in a series of activities designed to have them closely consider the...
K20 LEARN
A Visual Exploration Of Theme: Picture The Theme
"What is the theme of this story?" Now there's a question that can strike fear in the hearts of learners. Here's a lesson that uses photographs to introduce the concept of theme. Scholars examine six photographs and then attach a theme...
K20 LEARN
Analyzing Literary Figures: Analyzing Literature
The author study gets an update in a research project designed for high schoolers. Scholars search for information about literary figures that connects them to their times, their works, their themes, and other writers. Researchers also...
K20 LEARN
"The Lady, Or The Tiger?" Which Do You Choose?: Internal and External Conflict
"How come there's no ending?" After a close reading of Frank R. Stockton's tale "The Lady, or the Tiger?" in which scholars examine each of the main characters' conflicts and motivations, writers craft their own ending using textual...
K20 LEARN
A Stone's Throw Away - The Dangers Of Tradition: The Lottery
Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" is the anchor text for a lesson that teaches young readers how to use the Tip of the Iceberg strategy to go below the surface of a tale. After reading the short story and an article about the...
K20 LEARN
Here's How I Heard It: Using Folklore To Improve Close Reading Skills
"X" is for exaggeration, and "F" is for fact. To encourage close reading and to improve literary analysis skills, class members annotate fables and tall tales, like Paul Bunyan, with symbols that identify key features of this genre.
K20 LEARN
A Multimodal Approach To Edgar Allan Poe Using Drawing To Understand An Author's Style
True! Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" makes readers nervous. But how? Young scholars create a drawing while listening to a reading of Poe's eerie tale to understand how writers create the mood of their stories and what their writing style...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Willa Cather's My Ántonia
Willa Cather's My Antonia might seem like a hard sell for today's teen readers. Rather than dramatic plot twists, trysts, and terrors, the novel celebrates the pioneer spirit that lead immigrants to a small Nebraska town. The Signet...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities
It's not the best of guides nor the worst of guides, but time spent examining the guide to Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities is certainly not wasted. The 17-page guide includes book-by-book synopses of the novel, before, during, and...
ReadWriteThink
"Three Stones Back": Using Informational Text to Enhance Understanding of Ball Don't Lie
"Three Stones Back," a passage from Matt de la Pena's best-seller, Ball Don't Lie, allows readers to practice their close reading skills as they compare the passage to an information text about wealth inequality.
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Penguin Edition of John Steinbeck's The Pearl
The guide to John Steinbeck's The Pearl suggests ways instructors can help readers see below the surface of the novella to the parable beneath. Through a variety of activities, readers come to appreciate the complexity of the tale.
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac has enjoyed popularity since its debut in 1897 due in large part to the themes it addresses. Instructors planning on using the play with their classes will find much to like in this teaching guide. The...
Penguin Books
Teacher’s Guide: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man tops the reading list for the AP Literature exam. A five-page guide offers instructors and book clubs discussion questions designed to get readers to think deeply and critically about the inspection of...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra
Was Antony "transformed/Into a strumpet's fool," as Philo declares? (I, i) Was Cleopatra "green in judgment"? (I,5) A guide to Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare's tragedy, provides instructors with a framework for teaching the play about...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare's The Tempest
Imperialism, colonialism, utopianism. There are certainly a lot of "isms" reflected in The Tempest, just as there are a lot of stormy relationships. Instructors new to using the play in their classroom and those more seasoned will find...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure
Trying to get a hold on the author's intent in Measure for Measure can be a problem—no wonder the drama is considered one of Shakespeare's "problem" plays. This guide provides instructors with information about why the play is considered...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing
With all due respect to Beatrice, Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing speaks with both mirth and matter. With the help of this guide, readers will fall in love with the "skirmish of wit" between Beatrice and Benedick, the hysterical...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare's Othello
Villains populate literature. These dastardly characters serve as a contrast to the hero who they set out to destroy. Iago, the villain of Shakespeare's tragedy Othello, certainly rates as one of the most despicable. Motivated by...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew
A study of The Taming of the Shrew proves to be problematic in contemporary classrooms. Is Shakespeare following Elizabethan conventions or being ironic? What are readers supposed to make of all the hunting imagery? Of Katherine's final...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare's As You Like It
A boy is playing a girl disguised as a boy playing a girl. Welcome to William Shakespeare's comedy As You Like It. "And thereby hangs a tale."
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare's King Lear
King Lear is a powerful and complex tragedy that looks deeply into political power and family dynamics, loyalty, betrayal, aging, and madness. This teaching guide includes scene-by-scene plot summaries, information about the elements of...