Grading essays after reading a novel written by a lyrical master (think Nabokov, Morrison, Chabon) is a deflating experience. Why can’t your student’s display the same skill in diction as your favorite writers? Because you did not use...

Compare real events from Mark Twain's life to events in the story. Middle school readers identify point-of-view, its purpose, and its reliability by citing two examples. They describe the tone of the story using four examples and...

Hone those musical ears to identify consonance and dissonance in music being played live or on a recording. Learners will work through four activities where they will listen to consonant and dissonant notes being played first by the...

From the setting to the tone of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, this PowerPoint provides a great review of the book for the classroom. It outlines key elements, describes important characters, and gives a brief review of the...

As part of the study of WWII and the Holocaust, class members read a series of diary entries written by children during the onslaught of Nazi occupation. Each entry is accompanied by biographical information and discussion questions. The...

Considering Carson McCullers' The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter for whole-class reading or as a selection for book circles? Check out this resource that overviews the organizational patterns, themes, plot structure, tone, and setting. 

The difference between an average and an unforgettable writing can lie in the author's word choice. The figurative language in Chapter 2 of Christopher Paul Curtis's Newbery Medal Winner, Bud, Not Buddy, is the focus of a series of...

What's the best way to discuss a problem or concern with a professor? Using a helpful PowerPoint, scholars learn how to use e-mail to communicate effectively with their instructors. They discover good and bad e-mail topics, appropriate...

Describe, analyze, compare and contrast poets from the Harlem Renaissance. Critical thinkers analyze the imagery, characterization, tone, symbolism, and historical context of Jacob Lawrence, Helene Johnson, and Paul Laurence Dunbar. A...

Model for your high schoolers how to prepare for the essay portion of the AP Literature exam. For guided practice, pairs analyze metaphor, simile, tone or syntax in Norman Mailer’s “The Death of Benny Paret,” and then work independently...

The topic of gay marriage has gotten lots of attention recently. Without actually asking your class their personal opinions, this two-page learning exercise has pupils study two essays about gay marriage. Readers analyze the attitude,...

Is this any way to treat a Greek Myth? By all means, turn the tale of Orpheus into a reader's theatre exercise.

Let's listen to some codes. To understand how a modem sends binary numbers over a phone line, class member listen to the codes included in the provided mp3 files, translates the tones to binary numbers and then convert the...

Toward the end of the school year when the weather warms up, take your high schoolers swimming! They perform various cardiovascular activities in the pool, beginning with a warm-up activity and followed by stretching, precardio,...

Students explore the symmetry and balance in the composition of a variety of art works and note how the viewer's eye is guided to the important components of the image. How these elements affect the tone of the painting and communicate...

High schoolers examine denotation and connotation in language, and paraphrase a poem. They read and analyze a sonnet by iam Shakespeare, analyze the attitude and tone, paraphrase a poem, and create a thesis about a poem based on textual...

Third graders review concepts of fractions, and one-half. They discuss self portraits and the relationships of eyes, nose and mouth to the whole face. Students create base-line self-portraits. On the second day, 3rd graders observe and...

What makes a good speaker? Upper elementary learners practice oral fluency by working with a partner to read nonfiction books. While reading, they practice using correct tone of voice, making eye contact, and speaking clearly.

Shakespeare can be a challenge to the most skilled high school readers. This selection of short answer questions helps increase understanding of the character, Katherine, by addressing dialogue, tone of voice, making inferences, and...

Build the writing skills of your junior high wordsmiths with activities that introduce many essential skills of writing.  As a class, they develop working definitions of formal vs. informal writing, explore different categories of...

Use a fun and creative activity to introduce junior high learners to how writing changes for different audiences and purposes. The activity begins with a reading by the instructor where teens visualize a food fight in the cafeteria. In...

As part of their study of set design, theater arts students put together what they have learned so far and create a thumbnail sketch of a set that they feel captures the style and mood they want to project. 

Students focus on different ways director and cinematographers use the camera to convey meaning, setting, tone, point of view, personal style, as well as telling a story.