Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reading and Responding: Lesson 9

For Teachers 8th
Follow this lesson plan, which is written more like a script, to practice reading a poem with your class. Pupils read "The Road Not Taken" and respond to five multiple choice questions on a provided worksheet. The plan leads you through...
Lesson Plan
2
2
PBS

Supernatural Shakespeare and Macbeth

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
"A drum, a drum! Macbeth doth come."  The withered and wild witches of Shakespeare’s Scottish play launch an examination of the fantastical elements in Act I, scene iii, paying particular attention to the action, imagery,...
Lesson Plan
Tune Into English

America – West Side Story

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Anita's iconic rooftop ode to American life in West Side Story is the focus of a instructional activity on immigration. As class members listen to "America," they follow along with printed lyrics, and discuss whether they agree with...
Lesson Plan
Read Write Think

Poetry Portfolios: Using Poetry to Teach Reading

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
Over the course of five periods, scholars create a poetry portfolio. They begin with a reading of the poem, Firefly. With a focus on vocabulary, learners reread the poem then look for sight words and other skills. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

6th Grade: Express Yourself, Lesson 1: Poem

For Teachers 6th Standards
While originally created to accompany The Cay, this poetry lesson could be used on it's own, especially if you are working on dialect. Class members conduct a close reading of "When Malindy Sings" by Paul Laurence Dunbar and listen to an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's Discuss Current Events

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Investigate articles from the daily news and share opinions with classmates. Using current events, learners view a news program without sound and predict what news is being discussed by analyzing the visuals. Then they read news articles...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Developing Writing Skills Through Japanese Folk Music

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students listen to Japanese folk songs to get inspired to create a writing piece about Japan.  In this writing lesson, students use primary and secondary sources to add information about Japan. 
Lesson Plan
2
2
Maryland Department of Education

The Concept of Identity Lesson 3: The Archetypal Approach to Literary Criticism

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
As class members continue their study of approaches to literary criticism, readers examine the symbolism and archetypal patterns in John Knowles' A Separate Peace, and how these parallels are used to develop a theme...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Picture This

For Teachers K - 4th
A unique writing lesson, this plan begins with learners talking about multiculturalism in small groups. Each learner will choose a picture from a newspaper, describe it to their small group, and think about how it relates to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Trek Across America

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Bring a time machine into your classroom with this writing lesson plan, in which young writers project themselves back in time and have a variety of choices from that point forward. They either write a conversation with a historical...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry Writing Unit: Writing a Film Poem

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Film poems? To concluded a poetry unit, writers select one of their own poems and create a film that brings to life the sounds and images of their work. Included with the detailed unit plan are daily lessons, student examples, a list of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

'Me Fail English? That's Unpossible' : Studying Literature with "The Simpsons"

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Does your class love The Simpsons? It might seem dated, but with reruns constantly popping up on television, this show still holds the attention of most of your learners. Play the opening sequence of an episode, and brainstorm any...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

From Light to Dark and Back

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Experiment with light and dark in a series of interactive activities that lead up to reading and writing poetry. Class members have the opportunity to observe their feelings while sitting in the light and dark and to play with shadow...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating Civic Awareness Through Artistic and Literary Forms

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Interpret current events using editorial cartoons and other print media. Middle schoolers explore the meanings of literary and artistic terms such as satire, irony, and caricature. They visit internet sites to develop an understanding of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Context Skills

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Here is a fine lesson on teaching ways to use context clues. Upper graders split up into groups and use sticky notes to cover up five words in a passage of text. The passages are rotated to the other groups, and learners must use their...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 7

For Teachers 9th Standards
A story about feral girls raised by werewolves will have some interesting character development! Track how the girls and their teachers act, speak, and change with a lesson focused on Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Practicing Listening and Reading Closely: The Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address

For Teachers 4th Standards
Thanksgiving doesn't occur only once a year for the Haudenosaunee. Weave an instructional activity about reading closely with an inspiring message about eternal gratitude for all of the elements of creation into a unit on Native American...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 9

For Teachers 9th Standards
Are we interested in crime stories because we either identify with the victims or enjoy watching the rich suffer? Do we feel guilty and want someone to take our blame and let us feel innocent? Groups investigate how the author of "How...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 9 ELA Module 3, Unit 2, Lesson 5

For Teachers 9th Standards
Once you find and evaluate your sources, it's time to discern the most helpful information. In a research lesson plan based on questions derived from Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation, practice annotation and taking notes.
Lesson Plan
Shmoop

ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.10

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Make sure that your pupils have mastered complex literary nonfiction by the end of the year and use this resource to help get them to that point. After a brief description of the Common Core standard, a list of age-appropriate...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 10 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 2

For Teachers 10th Standards
Help readers go deeper and gain an understanding of purpose and justification while analyzing a letter written by Martin Luther King, Jr. Literature lovers discuss the letter in a variety of settings, including in pairs, groups, and...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 11 ELA Module 2: Unit 2, Lesson 9

For Teachers 11th Standards
How do authors employ specific word choices to describe complex relationships? Scholars read and analyze the first stanza from Audre Lorde's contemporary poem "From the House of Yemanjá." Pupils determine the meanings of figurative and...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 11 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 17

For Teachers 11th Standards
Scholars enter the midpoint of the unit and connect all the previous 16 lessons about the text "Of Our Spiritual Strivings." They complete a Mid-Unit Assessment that requires a multi-paragraph response to a writing prompt.
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Applying Research Skills: “Rachel Carson: Environmentalist and Writer”

For Teachers 6th Standards
It's important to cite sources! Scholars take a closer look at their research about DDT by examining how to cite sources. Learners take turns sharing information that would be used to cite sources to complement Rachel Carson:...