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...

You could spend a full day discussing The Phantom of the Opera and not scratch the surface, but a set of lessons about the literary elements and themes of the musical production is a great start. Young thespians build upon the...

Musicals have been adapted from stage plays, novels, and movies. With The Lion King, Disney transforms its animated film into show-stopping, live-action musical theatre. The guide Disney provides to accompany a study...

Jazz and the City, Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement, Jazz and Gender, Jazz and Literature, Jazz and the Arts, Jazz and Film. Here's a packet of unit plans organized around themes that reflect American culture. Each unit examines how...

Aladdin, Disney's Broadway musical comedy, is a magic carpet ride. Prepare your class for a field trip to the show with a study guide that is a treasure trove of activities, cultural connections, and background information.

This resource is part of a three-activity unit that introduces your class to the concept of popular culture and the role that it plays in their lives. Here, learners examine the importance of the music industry and music videos in pop...

How did jazz influence Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man? Class members read some of Ellison's non-fiction writings about blues and jazz, listen to records, watch videos, and engage in student-centered discussions. They then produce podcasts...

Immerse yourself in the beautiful, twisted world of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. A detailed lesson plan provides important details about the writing, stagecraft, music, and literary elements of the famous musical,...

Marc Chagall's painting Romeo and Juliet and Baz Lurhmann's film of the same scene in Romeo + Juliet allow class members to analyze how artists consider the same subject in different media.

I am dancing to the music in my head. Scholars learn to listen for music in their heads as they read literature and poems. After they identify and analyze poetic devices that relate to music, they create their own musical poems.

Introduce the basics of Thanksgiving with a language arts instructional activity. As pupils practice observation skills, vocabulary, and reading comprehension, they design paper turkeys by outlining their hands and feet and by...

Is your head beating as if it would break into twenty pieces looking for activities to accompany a reading of the woeful tale of Juliet and her Romeo? Here's a weighty tool kit that won't hurt your back. The packet is divided into 20...

After reading Acts III and IV of Othello, give your class a fun, interactive, music-related activity. Begin by asking students about songs they have heard in movies or plays. Let them look up the lyrics online and ruminate about the...

What do Lady Gaga and Dame Edith Sitwell have in common? As they examine Sitwell's poetry, class members learn that the similarities are far more than their unique appearance.

Explore concepts of audience, purpose and symbols in this lesson from Media Smarts that asks young scholars to consider all the functions of music. Through a series of discussions and activities, your class will brainstorm possible...

Did you know that Vivaldi’s orchestra was largely made up of girls from an orphanage? Fun facts like this fill a 34-page teacher's kit designed to accompany a cross-curricular study of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. 

Two lessons focus on making a beat. Using popular African American music of its time, scholars listen and analyze the rhythm then recreate it with hands drums, and cups. 

Every artist creates in his own unique way drawing from a variety of inspirational sources. Upper graders work to expand their understanding of the creative process by first analyzing a modern piece and then creating one. They listen to...

Smart Solutions is the theme of a unit created to meet the needs of English language earners. Through a series of lessons, scholars follow a routine—move, speak, and listen— to cover topics including stores, shops, celebrations, pets,...

English language development lessons are brought to you in poems, picture cards, and grand discussions in a We Can Do It! themed unit. Topics of discussion include daily challenges, parts of a whole, words that describe what we...

Young explorers investigate Australian Aboriginal culture by listening to traditional Dreamtime stories and examining dot paintings created by Aboriginal artists. In addition, they locate the country on maps, discuss the geography of...

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is the most frequently cited novel for the Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Open Response Question. Those new to using the book and and veterans as well will find the teaching strategies, the...

Paul Chan's latest exhibit includes seven manifestations of light. Today, kids analyze the pieces 1st Light  and 5th Light. They consider the concept of opposed or dualistic realities found in literature, society, and Chan's work....

A writer has the responsibility to defend the less fortunate members of society. At least that was the view of Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables. The novel is the subject of a study guide from Orlando Shakespeare Theater....