+
Lesson Plan
Yale University

What Lies Beneath: A Strategy for Introducing Literary Symbolism

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
“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...
+
Lesson Plan
Prestwick House

Introducing Symbols–The Beach

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Looking for a way to introduce class members to the concept of symbolism and multiple levels of meaning? Readers examine two different passages about the beach and consider how the writers use concrete objects, and places to represent...
+
Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Reading Symbols

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Introduce your upper-elementary students to printmaking. Class members view prints, select and research symbols in a piece, and create their own sets of prints using styrofoam trays. Pupils can wash off the paint on their trays to make...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
Scholastic

Reading Symbols

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass serves as the anchor text for a lesson on symbolism. Readers use the provided worksheets to examine the symbols in the novel as well as in the world around them.
+
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Stars, Stripes and Symbols of America: Comparing Our Flag, Past and Present

For Teachers 1st - 2nd Standards
Your young historians will compare and contrast the details of the American flag today with an an image of the nation's flag from the post-Civil War era, and identify the flag's importance as a national symbol through analysis worksheets...
+
Lesson Plan
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

A Search for Symbolism in The Great Gatsby

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
After reading The Great Gatsby, groups return to the text and note passages where Fitzgerald uses symbols and color imagery in his narrative. They then develop a presentation that explains the context, the implications, and possible...
+
Interactive4:44
PBS

The Symbolism of Sunflower Seeds in Ghost

For Students 5th - 7th Standards
Ghost by Jason Reynolds is a coming-of-age book that resonates with teenagers who have experienced childhood trauma. Explore the novel with an interactive resource that focuses on the author's use of symbolism, particularly with...
+
Interactive5:12
1
1
BrainPOP

U.S. Symbols

For Students K - 3rd Standards
United States symbols are the subject of a video brought to you by BrainPop Jr. Hosts, Annie and Moby, begin with a definition of the word symbol, then go on to detail ten American symbols—the American flag, a Bald Eagle, the Liberty...
+
Lesson Plan
US Mint

Symbols in My Eyes

For Teachers K - 6th Standards
Explore the hidden meanings behind the images on US currency with this elementary school lesson on symbolism. Starting with a class discussion about symbols, children go on to brainstorm different objects that represent the Unites States...
+
Lesson Plan
PBS

The Symbolism of Sneakers in Ghost

For Teachers 6th - Higher Ed Standards
As part of a study of Jason Reynold's Ghost, readers take a close look at sneaker culture and how Reynold uses sneakers as a symbol in his award-winning young adult novel. Groups explore links to "Sneakerology 101", a Carnegie Mellon...
+
Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Harriet Tubman on the $20 Bill: The Power of Symbols

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
How important are symbols and symbolic gestures in society? Middle schoolers have an opportunity to analyze the importance of symbols on American currency with a lesson that investigates the controversies surrounding redesigning the $5,...
+
Lesson Plan
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

Where I'm From: Symbolism in Paint and Poetry

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
After a review of symbolism, class members use the provided worksheet to first list the objects they observe in Arnold Mesches' painting "Coney Island" and then suggest possible symbolic meanings for each of the objects. A second...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
National Endowment for the Humanities

Symbolism in Lord of the Flies

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Readers of Lord of the Flies examine the four main symbols William Golding develops in his novel: the island, the conch, the Lord of the Flies effigy, and fire. Partners select one of the major symbols and create an image by adding words...
+
Worksheet
Fun Music Company

Bat Trails: Music Symbols

For Students 2nd - 8th
Whether written for Therese, Elisabeth, or for Juliane, young music theory students will enjoy pursuing the clues hidden in music symbols that indicate who wrote "Fur Elise."
+
Lesson Plan
PBS

Symbolism and the Use of “New Language” in The Handmaid’s Tale

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed Standards
Words matter. Words frame thought. Words are symbolic. Readers of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale examine how the words In Gilead's "New Language" reinforce the power of the government and provided insight into the symbolic level...
+
Lesson Plan
University of North Carolina

Symbols and Words of Hate

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
This resource is structured with exercises that ask class members to explore hate symbols and hate speech. Learners examine the historical significance and harmful effects of these words and symbols, examine the First Amendment and...
+
Lesson Plan
Discovery Education

Writing about Symbolism and Emotion in Huckleberry Finn

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
To complete a study of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, readers select a well-known quotation or symbol from the novel to use in an essay that analyzes how the quotation or symbol relates to the novel's themes.
+
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

If You're a Bird, I'm a Bird: Symbolism

For Teachers 8th - 9th Standards
Would a bluebird be as scary as a vulture? Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" is the central text in a lesson about symbolism. After a close reading of the poem, learners consider what the raven might represent to the narrator. They then...
+
eBook
Curated OER

Tangible Symbol Systems

For Teachers Pre-K - 12th
Working with children and adults who have severe communication disorders presents its own set of challenges. The goal of this resource is to provide educators, parents, and guardians with research-based suggestions for how to meet these...
+
Lesson Plan
J. Paul Getty Trust

Shaping Ideas: Symbolism in Sculpture—Lesson 3

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The final session in a sequential, three-instructional activity sculpture study designed by the education staff of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles has class members using the criterial they developed to critique each others'...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Gatsby: Symbolic Story Representation

For Teachers 10th - 12th
The themes of The Great Gatsby are embodied in the images F. Scott Fitzgerald creates. To encourage reader interaction with the text, individuals create a symbolic representation of themselves, place themselves in the story, and consider...
+
Worksheet
Fun Music Company

Code Breaking with Music Symbols Representing Letters

For Students 2nd - 12th
Navajo code talkers beware! These kids use music symbols to break the codes and find both the question and the answer to a music trivia question.
+
PPT
Jefferson Township Schools

Major Gods: Names, Roles, & Symbols

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
From Aphrodite to Zeus, here you'll find a PowerPoint presentation identifying basic information about 15 Greek gods and goddesses.
+
Lesson Plan
Walters Art Museum

The Symbolism of Allegorical Art

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Introduce learners to allegorical art with four bronze sculptures by Francesco Bertos. After modeling how to recognize bias and allegory in Bertos' Africa, class groups examine the other three sculptures in the series before creating...

Other popular searches