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Curated OER

Breaking News: English Athlete's Hairstyles

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Practice vocabulary and speaking skills in this ESL reading comprehension lesson. Middle and high schoolers participate in a number of before, during, and after reading activities based on an article entitled "Footballer Sent Off for...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Tell-Tale Hearts of Writers

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Knock, knock, knock...Creep out your class with a critical thinking lesson plan focused on word relationships in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." They investigate  the relationship between word choice, mood, and interpretation of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Have your class explore the effects of war by reading Eleanor Coerr's story, "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes." This is a story about a sixth grader who lives in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb is dropped. Learners answer questions,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Knights of the Round Table adapted by Gwen Ross

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Everyone loves the tales involving King Arthur and his knights. After reading Knights of the Round Table by Gwen Gross, learners draw inferences and conclusions, analyze story elements, and discuss figurative language, including...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Matthew Henson

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Discuss the work of Matthew Henson, an African American who traveled to the North Pole with Robert Peary. After reading the story "Matthew Henson" by Maryann N. Weidt, learners answer questions by drawing inferences and conclusions,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Irony in "The Gift of the Magi"

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
Use O. Henry's ubiquitous tale of love and poverty to explore irony. After reading the story, middle schoolers identify examples of all three kinds of irony in the story. With partners, they brainstorm original examples of irony. Then...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Shooting An Elephant": George Orwell's Essay on His Life in Burma

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High school readers examine George Orwell's essay "Shooting an Elephant" for examples of symbolism, metaphor, connotation, and irony. They analyze how these literary tools convey the writer's main point and contribute to the persuasive...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Analyzing Poetry

For Students 10th - 12th
Use this poetry analysis worksheet to help your learners understand a poem of their or your choosing. This resource asks class members to summarize the poem and analyze it by looking at voice, word choice, imagery, and theme. The...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Digging Deep for Figurative Language (Hyperbole)

For Teachers 9th - 12th
What are hyperboles? Examine the attributes of hyperboles with your high school classes. Pupils read selected poems and prose selections that feature hyperboles and discuss their functions in each work of literature. Specific poems and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Language of Surprise

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Aspiring writers complete and discuss fill-in-the-blank cliché expressions, define cliché as a form of predictable writing, take cliché expressions and turn them into new, unpredictable ones, read poetry that illustrates writer's use of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

When I Set My Hat at a Certain Angle: Trying on Zora Neale Hurston's Voice to Dress-up Prose

For Teachers 9th - 12th
After reading and evaluating examples of prose nonfiction by Zora Neale Hurston and other authors, high schoolers write a personal reflective essay rich in figurative language. By incorporating this strategy, they utilize voice within...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is Terrorism?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Spark what's sure to be an interesting discussion in your classroom by introducing the topic of terrorism. Consider the meaning of the word terrorism and examine the associated connotations with a brief introductory reading. With your...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Identify Text Features in Nonfiction

For Teachers 8th - 12th
What does a non-fiction text look like? Examine the text features of non-fiction. Middle and high schoolers read non-fiction passages provided by their instructor and analyze the texts for word choice, details, and organization.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Idiom Exercise

For Students 9th - 12th
Don't let your pupils bite off more than they can chew! Comprehending idiomatic speech can be very perplexing to language learners. Readers must use context clues, common sense, and knowledge of the connotative and denotative meanings to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

You Bleed, You Learn?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Jump back into the 90s with Alannis Morissette's song "You Learn." After hearing the song, small groups analyze the lyrics and write an essay about a mistake they've learned from. Use the example sentences to identify the denotative and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Connotation: "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
What's happening in this poem? Have your high schoolers participate in an activity about connotation and denotation. They apply the concept of connotation to a reading of Theodore Roethke's poem "My Papa's Waltz." Lead a discussion about...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Connotation in Propaganda

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers assess persuasive techniques in propaganda. They identify and critique rhetorical devices in primary source documents (sources are not specified, but links to sites that contain various documents are included). Groups make...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Choosing Words Carefully

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Use literacy tools to select precise vocabulary. High schoolers respond to discussion questions that require them to consider the denotation and connotation of words. They then read non-fiction passages and identify words in the passages...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Vocabulary Development and Writing

For Teachers 12th - Higher Ed
Engage pupils in practicing denotative and connotative strategies to understand particular words. They work in pairs and write a series of sentences using each word that has a positive connotation and negative connotation. Some example...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Visual Puns - Paper Mache Sculpture

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Explore the pop art movement and create a sculpture in the pop art style based on a visual pun, or play on words. The scholar's work may use humor, allegory, metaphor, or be in the form of a parody. Visual examples are provided, and some...
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PPT
Curated OER

Figures of Speech Quotes and Examples

For Teachers 12th - Higher Ed
Providing several examples of figures of speech, such as irony, paradox, and personification, this presentation could complement your lecture on pragmatic humor or humor in writing. Examples from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Word Origins

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Have you ever studied historical words and found that they were deeply rooted in racism or prejudice? Select a long list of these words to have your class examine. What familiar roots do they have? Do they know when this word originally...
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PPT
Curated OER

Figures of Speech Presentation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
If used as part of an exploration of figures of speech, this short presentation defining similes, metaphors, and analogies could be used as a review tool in an English classroom. A teacher could augment this resource with more examples...