What was life like for Irish immigrants settling in America during the late 1800's? Learners examine primary source documents, such as lyrics, poems, and letters, to understand the immigrant experience. They then use those primary source...

Introduce your class to the delights of nonsense poetry and explore literary devices with the writing of Edward Lear. Learners identify rhyme and meter as well as figures of speech, alliteration, and onomatopoeia in "The Owl and the...

Scholars use technology to explore poetry and its related elements, such as theme, figures of speech, and other literary devices. They complete four poetry projects including a poem analysis with a concept web, an interactive poem...

Students analyze the Gwendolyn Brooks use of enjambment in her poem "We Real Cool." In this poetry analysis activity, students define common poetic devices and the examples of enjambment in the poem. Students discuss the poem and write...

Students analyze how Emily Dickinson perceived herself as a poet. Students read correspondence between Dickinson and her preceptor, Mr. Higginson to determine the depths of their relationship. Students interpret several of her poems.

Students examine the historical, social, and cultural context of modernist poetry. They explore websites, complete a chart, compare/contrast rural and urban life, watch a video of early New York, and complete a writing assessment...

Analyze the poetic devices used in Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays" to those found in Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz." Critical analysts discuss poetic meter and rhythm and its relationship to theme. They compare and contrast...

Learners analyze the epic poem form and its roots in oral tradition. In this epic poetry instructional activity, students research the epic hero cycle and recognize the pattern of events and elements. Learners analyze the patterns...

Learners analyze the poems of Emily Dickinson and write their own nature poem. For this poetry analysis lesson, students read Dickinson poetry and analyze the use of imagery, sound, and metaphor. Learners write their own nature poem...

Fourth graders practice writing poetry while examining all types of art.  For this art analysis lesson, 4th graders participate in a field trip to a sculpture garden in which they view sculptures and create different forms of poetry...

Fourth graders explore language arts by analyzing poetry styles. In this writing analysis lesson, 4th graders read several sample poems in class and identify similes, metaphors and other figurative language within them. Students analyze...

The emotional and spiritual oppression of slavery in the African-American experience is the focus of this lesson. Middle schoolers analyze various texts by Frederick Douglass and Maya Angelou related to freedom and oppression....

Engage your middle schoolers with Pastor Martin Niemoller's famous poem that begins, "First they came for the communists." Now that you have their attention, send learners to the various work stations you created to have them explore...

Designed to help readers recognize the point of view of the author of a primary source documents and analyze how that point of view influences the reliability of a text, young historians examine two personal letters, one...

Fifth graders define character words, look for real-life examples of the traits "in action," and write an acrostic poem based on one of these qualities.

Students read a play and create their own play using Thornton Wilder's Our Townas a resource. In this play instructional activity, students analyze how theatrical elements contribute to a play's meanings and effects. Students recognize...

Students analyze the text of Beowulf. In this epic poetry lesson, students explore the themes and imagery in the text to evaluate their meaning. Students analyze the Old English language and examine the cultural and historical context of...

Students examine how Robert Hayden and Theodore Roethke incorporate poetic devices to convey meaning in the poems, 'Those Winter Sundays,' and 'My Papa's Waltz.' They listen to audio clips, explore websites, and write an analysis of the...

Students analyze a "top secret" document written by Eisenhower. They identify and chart cliches for those about to go into battle and read related poetry. They invite a veteran to describe the D-Day invasion.

Celebrate Black History Month with the help of 10 ideas that delve deep into the history, major events, contributions, famous African Americans, and sheds light on how scholars today can take a proactive stance on current civil rights...

Young scholars examine the experiences of African American women. In this poetry lesson, students use their literary analysis skills to compare the poetry of Maya Angelou to rap music performed by Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill.

Students read a version of Ramayana and explore the elements of the epic hero cycle. In this Ramayana analysis lesson, students retell the basic narrative of the Ramayana and identify the main characters. Students identify elements of...

Students discover details about the Underground Railroad. In this slavery lesson, students read primary documents about fugitive slaves and analyze the sources using the provided worksheets. 

Complete an in-depth study of the works or a specific author. Working in pairs, students read at least four works by the same author. After completing the reading, they create an essay comparing and contrasting the works and create an...