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Comparing Themes and Plots: "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil"
Students read two stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne and write an essay comparing plots and themes. In this Nathaniel Hawthorne short stories lesson, students read "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil." After a class...
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Literary Analysis - Young Goodman Brown
Why is literary analysis so important? Readers explore writing a literary analysis by reviewing literary elements such as character, metaphor, plot, setting, simile, personification, and style. They read "Young Goodman Brown" by...
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Descriptive Paper - And Then There Were None
Pupils explore And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. For this characterization lesson, students locate passages that contain character descriptions and settings. Pupils write a descriptive essay on the characters in And Then...
Thomas Jefferson Foundation
Personal Morals vs. Political Moves
Was Thomas Jefferson a hypocrite? That is the question facing class members as they examine excerpts from documents that relate to Jefferson's beliefs about slaves and slavery.
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Thesis Statements
Students explain the purpose of a thesis statement in an academic essay. They identify the two components of a basic thesis statement. Students identify, create and correct thesis statements.
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Mood and Tone
Students describe their current mood in several complete sentences. They compare their moods with moods set by authors through the tone of their writing. Students read a teacher prepared handout about mood/tone of writing. They write...
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How Tragic!
Students study and interpret a classical tragedy and role play a character from the play. In this tragedy instructional activity, students discuss a specific work to discover the form, structure, and characteristics of the genre and...
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A Christmas Memory
Students think about and remember a special Christmas they had with their family when they were younger. They write an essay using vivid descriptions that appeal to the senses.
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Defining Character Traits
Pupils read and analyze an extended definition in preparation for writing an extended definition of a CHARACTER TRAIT. They use analogy as a definition strategy to tailor writing to a particular audience. Finally, students SHARE writing...
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Rubric Rating
Learners develop a rubric or scoring guide to assess newpaper articles. They rate the story and write the reasons for the rating. An Essay Scoring Guide is attached for reference.
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Organizing Paragraphs
Students brainstorm transition words, and utilize word list to order paragraphs and multi-paragraph essays.
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Grammar and Mechanics Review
Students review and edit writing pieces for grammar and mechanics. They view sentences and discuss how they feel about them. They collaborate in small groups to revise and edit sentences and present them to the class.
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Philanthropy and You
Students define and discuss philanthropy. They research a philanthropist and write a three-paragraph essay summarizing what they have learned , including their own roles as philanthropists. They also plan and initiate personal acts of...
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Connecting Poetry with Philanthropy
Young scholars use their knowledge of philanthropy and poetic conventions to write original poetry about philanthropic giving. In this philanthropy lesson plan, students write poetry based on philanthropy using poetic conventions. Young...
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The Mark Twain Project at the Principia School
Students read and write an analysis of The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn and write a paper on another Twain literary piece. For this Mark Twain lesson, students select a Mark Twain literary piece to write an analysis paper for the work....
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All About Me
Students examine their own personality traits and preferences. They use this information to write an autobiography.
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Point of View and Mentor Relationships
Tenth graders analyze the role of mentors, point of view, and prejudice using the texts of To Kill a Mockingbird and Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this literature analysis instructional activity, 10th graders review...
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A Dream of Class Perfection
Young scholars discover the influence of Greek classical art and philosophy on the French Revolution. In this art lesson, students analyze a Neoclassical artist and write an essay in which they discuss how the style contributes to the...
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A Year
Students examine an author's philosophical look at life through anecdotes he describes as a teacher in Uzbekistan. In this Uzbekistan lesson, students analyze a literary passage in order to identify, then practice using, similes,...
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The Witch of Goingsnake
Students complete literary analysis and writing activities using The Witch of Goingsnake. For this literary analysis lesson, students interpret a proverb, read poems, complete a quaker reading, and complete research for the lesson....
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Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure
Students research the exploration of Antarctica by the explorer Sir Ernest Shackelton. In this Antarctic exploration lesson, students watch a movie about Sir Ernest Shackelton and his ship the Endurance. Students study a map of...
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The Way You Dream: Gandhi and King's Visions of Nonviolence
Students read Gandhi and Dr. King's messages about nonviolence and discuss their visions about loving one's enemies. In this nonviolence lesson, students read Gandhi's "Ahimsa, or the Way of Nonviolence" and Dr. Martin Luther King's...
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Recognizing Similes: Fast as a Whip
Young scholars review basic knowledge of similes and engage with similes on a more abstract level. In this similes instructional activity, students define similes and identify examples. Young scholars read and analyze the similes used in...
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Appreciating The Scarlet Letter
Tenth graders read the first 10 chapters of, 'The Scarlet Letter.' They utilize an assignment imbedded in this plan to research the characters and define the role each plays in the novel.