Rather than a whodunit, "The Masque of the Red Death" is the perfect story to analyze how Poe combines literary devices to create the suspense that grips readers. The richly detailed lesson is carefully scaffolded, moving from teacher...

The 41 slides in a professional development seminar model how to use close reading techniques to examine the many layers of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. In addition to passages from the novel, slides provide biographical...

Known as one of the most iconic advertisements of the 20th century, Macintosh's "1984" commercial has become more of a social statement. Present the ad to a new audience of viewers with a lesson focused on identifying dystopian...

A definitive resource for your figurative language unit includes several worksheets and activities to reinforce writing skills. It addresses poetic elements such as simile and metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and idioms, and...

Emphasize the difference between literal and figurative language, as well as how each adds to the plot, with a lesson plan on Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Readers study the images of the pear tree, the street lamp,...

Zora Neale Hurston's beautiful language in Their Eyes Were Watching God is not only a pleasure to read, it helps to further the plot and character development. Once your class has finished Chapter 6 of the novel, have them discuss...

Focus on symbols from Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club with a rich lesson plan. Young readers discuss the meaning of the section titles from the novel, including "The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates," and write a short essay about Tan's use of the...

Amy Tan uses vivid figurative language to deepen and enrich her writing. Use the fifth of ten lessons on The Joy Luck Club to demonstrate the impact of figurative language, particularly similes and metaphors, on plot and character. Young...

Whether or not Zora Neale Hurston's classic novel is a part of your course, this packet deserves a place in your curriculum library. Designed as a close reading exercise, the series of activities begins with the instructor modeling, with...

“It’s not about what it is, it’s about what it can become.” You’re never too old for Dr. Seuss and using The Sneetches and The Lorax is a great way to introduce readers to allegories, parables, and literary symbolism. The lessons...

While continuing to read the book Eagle Song, your class learns to cite specific details when answering questions and to use context clues when encountering unknown words. Learners begin by listening as the teacher reads aloud the first...

Sherlock Holmes had fantastic skills of observation. Your super sleuths will examine the pattern, rhythm, texture, and color of a painting to uncover the symbolism beneath. A great lesson plan, that incorporates observation, art...

Scholars demonstrate the ability to evaluate authors' use of literary elements such as metaphor, simile, personification, imagery, and onomatopoeia. They are provided with a checklist and must shop for poems that contain the poetry terms...

Order up! Welcome to the World Café, where scholars engage in small-group discussions based on Katherine Paterson's novel Lyddie. As pupils circulate around the room, they talk with classmates about the novel's characters, setting, and...

Yann Martel's Life of Pi is a complex novel, combining as it does elements of fantasy, philosophical questions, and religious references. Rather than using a whole-class discussion approach, the class is divided into book club circles....

A brief introduction to Penelope Barker sets the stage for a discussion about political cartoons and the persuasive technique used to create them. A graphic organizer aids scholars in the analysis of a piece of work using a 2-point...

Governments rely on propaganda to build support for wars. Class members examine six propaganda posters, two each from the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II, and analyze how the way women were portrayed in the posters...

Margaret Atwood calls her novel The Handmaid's Tale "speculative fiction" because she claims everything in the story has happened, is continuing to happen, and could happen again. With an interactive resource, learners examine three...

Personal narratives are powerful things. Whether told from the first-person or third-person point of view, whether in the form of an essay, a short story, novel, or video, whether fiction or fact, they capture readers and give them...

What role does the monarch butterfly play in the holiday, Dia de los Muertos? Find out with a lesson that sheds light on symbolism and cultural traditions. A KWL chart shares scholars' knowledge of the holiday and what they want to know...